Exfoliate your chicken before cooking it! • Steamy Kitchen Recipes Giveaways (2024)

by Jaden | Chicken, Cooking Tips | 17 comments

Why you should ALWAYS exfoliate your chicken before cooking! It gets rid of:

bone fragments
loose outer membrane that you don’t want to eat (yuck)
small feathers
dried blood

Watch short video on how I exfoliate my chicken before cooking:

Vira Gupta on 2/27/16 at 9:51 pm
Well – with salt that changes the natural taste in the culinary preparation. probably you want to make it as a quick to-do tip.
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Theo on 6/25/14 at 1:02 am
This my first visit to your blog and I’m loving it.
Indeed, i couldn’t have agreed more to the need to exfoliate our chicken before cooking as you mentioned on this post.
This is something we cannot not afford to miss because its very necessary owing to the reasons you outlined here.
Thanks for sharing.
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Dee on 5/23/14 at 5:07 pm
The skin look so clean, thanks for the tip! Hope that cuts down on the scum when making chicken broth hehe
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Have you try using lemon halves to scrub the salt off of your chopping board? It gives the chopping board a nice smell and much easier on your hand too =)
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- SteamyKitchen on 5/24/14 at 8:52 am
  What a great tip – I’ll definitely give that lemon a try!
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Beverly on 5/23/14 at 7:01 am
They now say not to rinse chicken anymore because it spreads bacteria over a lot of the area where you are rinsing it. I imagine it’s ok to rinse it AFTER you have rubbed it with the salt because the salt, being a natural antibacterial, will not spread the bacteria as much or at all. Scrubbing with soap???? NOT!
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Arthur in the Garden! on 5/21/14 at 5:10 pm
Yes! Its gets a good scub down with soap to remove bacteria and fat and what ever other junk is on it!
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Maryann on 5/21/14 at 11:51 am
I have been doing this for a few years after reading about it here. One of the best kitchen tips ever!
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Janice on 5/21/14 at 10:45 am
The chickens are so lucky they get a spa treatment from you!
But, in all seriousness, thanks for the tips! Easier than what I usually do.
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Mary on 5/21/14 at 1:21 am
Love this idea and am going to try it. Tired of getting the gross parts of the skin and little feathers left on by having to do a minute inspection all over. Also loved the cutting board hint too! Thanks.
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Karen Martin on 5/20/14 at 11:41 pm
It never occurred to me to do anything more than rinse the chicken, but you have enlightened me! Thanks, Jaden!
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Kentucky Lady 717 on 5/20/14 at 8:31 pm
Love the video’s love seeing step b step of what you do …never heard of this, but will be doing this from now on…but I usually take off all the skin…..but may decide to leave on now after seeing this video, especially when I make chicken and dumplings…..
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philip francoeur on 5/20/14 at 5:56 pm
exfoliating sounds good with cheap kosher salt but I skin most of the chicken we eat and rinse them in white vinegar and water, the cutting board hint was the best though! Thank you Philip
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BARB on 5/20/14 at 5:53 pm
never thought to do this before but will be doing so from now on; thanks, barb
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debbie on 5/20/14 at 5:27 pm
Yes, I exfoliate my chicken w/ salt. I also like to remove the clear membranes under the skin and if it’s cut-up, I remove the fat inside the thighs.
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Theda Stoppel on 5/20/14 at 5:27 pm
I get the point in general but please don’t try to trick us with those “Before and after” pictures where you show us the breast first and the back on the other one…….
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Lira on 5/20/14 at 4:52 pm
Where did you get your cutting board? Mine is cracking all over and I am shopping around for a new one!
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EllenCF on 5/20/14 at 4:39 pm
I love this tip! I just kept rubbing (no salt) until most of the dead skin was gone – this looks SOOOO much easier.
Do you have a good recipe for Cold Sesame Noodles?????
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FAQs

How do you clean raw chicken before cooking? ›

Put simply, if you wash raw chicken, you are cross-contaminating your kitchen. Yes, fresh fruit and vegetables should be washed with cold water before preparation, but raw poultry should not. Don't worry: Properly cooking chicken will destroy any pathogens. In fact, it is the only way to destroy those pathogens.

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Why do you scrub chicken with salt? ›

This helps to remove the slime and film off the chicken. The salt helps to "exfoliate" as you scrub the limes on the chicken like a "sponge". You can add water and let it sit in the solution for up to 30 minutes or you can rinse it off right away.

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Should I wash my chicken with lemon? ›

Washing raw poultry in a diluted lemon juice or vinegar solution is an inefficient method for removing pathogens and results in pathogens both in the wash water and on the chicken, increasing the risk for cross contamination and potential foodborne illness.

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What is the best way of safely preparing raw chicken? ›

WASH YOUR HANDS, NOT THE CHICKEN

Do not allow raw poultry or its juices to touch other foods, especially fruits and vegetables. ...
Do not rinse raw chicken; splashing water can cause cross-contamination.
Before and after handling raw poultry, use hot, soapy water for 20 seconds to wash:

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Should I wash chicken with vinegar? ›

3. Forgo washing chicken. Avoid rinsing chicken, soaking chicken, using vinegar to clean chicken, or using soapy water to clean chicken.

How do you sanitize raw chicken after preparing? ›

Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and countertops with hot, soapy water, especially after they've held raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs. Wash dish cloths often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.

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