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Every few years (or months), the internet engages in a hygiene debate highly demarcated by race. Use of washcloths, using said washcloths to wash one’s legs, how often sheets and towels should be washed, and where pets should be allowed in the home (Spoiler: NOT on your kitchen counters) have all prompted passionate and occasionally virulent arguments over cleanliness, with Black people predictably erring on the hyper-hygienic side. (After all, we are a very clean people.) On Monday, another recurrent debate was revived; specifically, when handling raw chicken, do you wash or not wash it?
Long-held conventional Black wisdom has not only been to wash chicken but wash it thoroughly. Nevertheless, on Monday, a viral video showed actress Paula Patton defying Black cultural mores as she opted to prepare her mother’s “famous fried chicken” recipe for the viewing pleasure of the internet—and stirred up disgust instead of appetites.
The controversial footage was initially broadcast on March 4 by Patton herself, in an Instagram post gleefully captioned “Fried Chicken Friday.” Notably, the amateur chef turned off the comments at some point after the fact, but exactly one month later, Patton’s kitchen protocol was trending on Twitter after TikTok user @thetrackqueen, aka Ashley Spencer gave her own recap of the proceedings (h/t Twitter user @_zing_bae).
Granted, there’s a lot to take issue with in Patton’s fried chicken prep: the lack of seasoning in the flour(!) was a major grievance, as was the aggressive use of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt (no shade to Lawry’s—a pantry staple—but it does not a “famous” fried chicken recipe make). Then, there was the even more aggressive (and incomprehensible) seasoning of the frying oil rather than the chicken itself, resulting in scorched spices and likely under-seasoned chicken; though ironically, the duration of Patton’s frying time seemed…inadequate, to say the least.
“It’s pink! Paula, don’t eat that,” Spencer warns, as viewers collectively cringe. But in the opinions of many, Patton’s kitchen tutorial was doomed from the very start.
“One of the most important things, if you’re going to cook fried chicken, is you’ve gotta clean it,” says Patton as she introduces step one of her patented technique. That step apparently involves individually rinsing pieces of poultry under cold water for a few seconds at a time before transferring them to a plate, no doubt splashing bacteria (read: salmonella) all over her stainless steel sink and adjacent countertop.
“Just cold water?” Spencer exclaims. “That chicken ain’t clean…it’s not clean.” And thus, the great chicken-prep debate was reborn.
To be clear: the guidelines stated on the U.S. government’s official food safety website read: “Do not wash raw chicken. During washing, chicken juices can spread in the kitchen and contaminate other foods, utensils, and countertops.”
Make of that what you will, given Black folks’ dubious trust of the government, but contamination is a very, very real and legitimate concern. However, if the mere mention of “ chicken juices” (not to be confused with fully cooked juicy chicken) made you dry-heave, you’re not alone. Yes, heat very effectively kills bacteria, but what about any errant feathers, bits of fat or cartilage that need trimming, or that general sliminess raw chicken tends to have right out of the package? Enter Black Twitter to insist we can both be hygienic and within our respective comfort levels of cleanliness when preparing chicken—even if the effect is just a placebo for our easily grossed-out palates.
Like Patton’s, this is a multi-step process: First of all, should you be a chicken-washing adherent, use a large bowl, not your sink—though you should also place said bowl in the sink to mitigate splash and contain the spread of bacteria in your kitchen. You can and should disinfect the sink later—and regularly, regardless.
Then, choose your method: While some are content to thoroughly(!) rinse their chicken before seasoning and cooking, many prefer to be even more thorough in removing any potential detritus. Via both natives of Caribbean and many Black American households, most popular is the acid-and-salt bath. Using this method, you would fill the aforementioned bowl with water and salt and add lemon, lime, vinegar, or some combination of the above in which the parts can soak while frying oil or other components are prepared.
What is the logic here? Salt is not only an organic compound that absorbs bacteria by osmosis but when combined with the acid from sour citrus fruits or vinegar, “sodium and chlorine atoms are set loose and these charged particles can — and do — create powerful chemical reactions,” notes Kitchn. But remember: whatever method you use (or don’t) is pointless if you don’t also thoroughly cook the chicken before serving. Oh—and also thoroughly wash your hands, not only before but every time you come in contact with the chicken, as well as any surrounding surfaces.
Still averse to the idea of soaking your chicken in an acid-and-salt solution before moving to the seasoning stage (which we cannot stress enough, should occur before cooking)? Well, that’s your prerogative, but it’s not too dissimilar to the method of brining poultry or meat, which also uses a saltwater solution to tenderize and infuse flavor ahead of cooking. So, one might consider the benefits multifold.
But what of the cultural implications here? Most, though certainly not all of those engaged in the online chicken debate tend to also be divided along racial lines. (Just Google “race and chicken cleaning” as evidence.) As a result, many were quick to point out that Patton’s mother, who originated this questionable recipe, is a white woman, though Patton has explicitly said she herself identifies as Black. While we’d be remiss not to note that, at least according to Twitter, Black vs. white hygiene and cleaning habits are seemingly often at odds, it would be a gross generalization to say all white people make unseasoned or unhygienic food—or that all Black people are experts on hygiene and flavor.
Unending hygienic debates aside, maybe this is equally a conversation about tradition. We may have serious concerns about the way Patton prepares her chicken, but like her, many of us learned the recipes we most deeply cherish at the feet of beloved elders and ancestors, who in turn learned it from theirs. Though it’s true that most of us are no longer chasing a chicken around the yard to wring its neck and pluck it (making cleaning it an imperative), what some of us might be chasing with our elders’ tried-and-true methods is some deeper connection to our heritage, and that’s meaningful; arguably as meaningful as whether you sanitize your countertops—but you definitely should, regardless.
Maiysha Kai is Lifestyle Editor of theGrio, covering all things Black and beautiful. Her work is informed by two decades’ experience in fashion and entertainment, a love of great books and aesthetics, and the indomitable brilliance of Black culture. She is also a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and editor of the YA anthology Body (Words of Change series).
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