Fowl Play In The Kitchen

[sceadugenga]

Decided to cook chicken tonight and went through my usual process of cutting up some chicken, washing my hands, doing something else, cutting up some chicken, washing my hands etc etc.

Rumors put about by ex-spice... that sounds too good to be the plural of ex-spouse, that I can wash my hands 20 times while cutting up a chicken are completely untrue.

It's never exceeded 15, unless it's been a particularly large bird.

OK, so I'm a bit OCD when it comes to handling raw chicken but is anyone not? Don't those salmonella bugs breed in chicken in the countless squillions?

Has anyone here actually got sick from uncooked chicken?

I know if I'm out and I order chicken and it's even slightly pink it goes back to the kitchen. Unless I think it's only going to get reheated then it goes to the side of the plate and the tip is adjusted accordingly.

[PhilHarries]

I have to admit that my food hygene would make mere mortal's blood run cold. I've only ever had one chopping board, and that's timber, for all foodstuffs and it barely gets a wipe over during a cooking session (gets a good scrub after though). I'm not very fastideous (sp?) about washing my hands, usually once at the start, again when raw food is prepared prior to actual cooking and once more at the end plus as many times in between as I get phone calls or I have to top up my glass. So the total for an average meal comes to around 27 as I get very few phone calls.

As for chicken I do, when I'm cooking, make sure it is well cooked throughout as I know how many people feel about pink meat appearing on the plate. However I have eaten undercooked chicken on many occassions and never felt any ill effects but I often put my almost rude good health down to the fact that alcohol kills 99% of all bugs. The 1% that survive are most commonly eaten by people on a Sunday evening resulting in a sickie being thrown Monday morning.

But that is all when I'm doing the cooking, if I'm in a restaurant I will demand that the food is cooked properly and as per my order. Quite honestly if the chicken is undercooked and they give it another blast under the grill that's okay by me as the heat kills the bugs.

[sceadugenga]

Yeah, I never worried as much about this sh!t when I drank, but I've been off the juice for 12 months now.

[loong]

I will normally cut and prepare chicken and transfer to a bowl for marinading or flouring or whatever, then wash hands and clean board and knife.

This is just basic hygiene that has been drummed into me.

I have yet to see a Thai do this. They will usually use the same knife and board to slice tomatoes and cucumber etc that is placed uncooked on your plate.

I do believe that Thai stomachs are stronger than ours, but there are still a lot of deaths from food poisoning in Thailand.

[NanaFoods]

I've only ever had one chopping board, and that's timber,

Actually, a wood cutting board is most hygienic.

It's been found that the capillary action of wood sucks water away from bacteria, which die by the next time you use it (assuming it has been left to dry). Wood boards are also self healing to a degree that score marks tend to close up over time through the swelling action of the wood when wet.

In plastic cutting boards, score marks become a haven for bacteria and just enough water for them to breed, and are not easily cleaned once scored.

Not to mention, the "green" aspect of a wood board vs plastic is no contest.

[LuckyFive8888]

I will normally cut and prepare chicken and transfer to a bowl for marinading or flouring or whatever, then wash hands and clean board and knife.

This is just basic hygiene that has been drummed into me.

I have yet to see a Thai do this. They will usually use the same knife and board to slice tomatoes and cucumber etc that is placed uncooked on your plate.

I do believe that Thai stomachs are stronger than ours, but there are still a lot of deaths from food poisoning in Thailand.

loong, you might be rigth as i always go to the toilet early in the morning to flush that hot stuff. i really liked it tho...

[sorensen]

I once got sick from eating a chicken burger in Iran, most likely I got salmonella. I lost 15 kg during the following 3 weeks, but one morning I was fine again and recovered pretty quick.