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

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.

Do chefs wash chicken before cooking? ›

So how does a food safety expert handle their raw chicken? They certainly don't wash it and, whenever possible, they limit the meat's contact with other kitchen surfaces by using cutting boards designated for raw meat.

Read On ›

What can I soak chicken in to clean it? ›

Briefly soaking meat in a solution of baking soda and water raises the pH on the meat's surface, making it more difficult for the proteins to bond excessively, which keeps the meat tender and moist when it's cooked.

Get More Info Here ›

Does vinegar clean chicken? ›

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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Should you soak chicken in vinegar? ›

The reason you do not want to marinate chicken for longer than 4 hours is that the acidic ingredients in the marinade (like vinegar, wine, or lemon juice) will begin to break down the structure of the meat too much and it will start to “cook” before ever touching a heat source.

What does vinegar do to chicken skin? ›

The vinegar removes all the gooey, fatty residue from chicken skin so that chicken parts hold coating better. Rinse off vinegar water and pat chicken pieces dry. You will be amazed to notice the difference in how the chicken feels! 5.

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What ingredients remove chicken skin? ›

Westbay recommends products that include keratolytic agents, which as she explains, “work to break down the clumps of dead skin cells” blocking your hair follicles. Some common keratolytic agents include salicylic acid, urea, ammonium lactate and glycolic acid.

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Does Vaseline help chicken skin? ›

Over the counter moisturizers that contain lanolin, vaseline (petroleum jelly), or glycerin would be ideal. These ingredients trap moisture and soften the skin. Use these moisturizers on the affected skin many times a day.

Do you need to wash chicken skin? ›

Despite what your elders may have told you, you don't need to rinse raw chicken or any other poultry or meat before prepping and cooking it. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other food safety experts recommend against this practice.

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Do I need to remove chicken skin before cooking? ›

The skin protects the meat while it's cooking by preventing it from drying out, it also adds flavour but it's where a lot of the fat is kept, just under the skin. It's of course healthier to remove the chicken skin before it's cooked, Because the fat underneath the skin won't melt onto the chicken when cooking.

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