Idiot’s guide to safe chicken
There’s no doubt about it, Kiwis love chicken. In fact, a staggering 37 kilograms of breast, leg, thigh and even feet is consumed by each meat-eating individual every year. That’s a 115 million chooks being served up annually.
So, it’s perhaps no surprise that the country is clucking mad at the latest revelation that chicken meat found in supermarkets and butchers nationwide is not only making New Zealanders sick but is also spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The research straight out of the University of Otago, Wellington, even suggested that NZ has the highest rates of bacteria campylobacteriosis in the world. It’s the bacteria that causes stomach-cramping ‘‘gastro’’ and Guillain–Barre´ syndrome, which is a numbness in the body’s limbs. And it’s believed to be behind 30,000 illnesses and about 600 hospitalisations each year. That’s a whole lot of bad bellies.
So, while the poultry industry tackles the problem, Stuff has put together the ultimate guide to ensuring that chicken can be a continuing part of the country’s regular tucker. Here’s what you need to know…
How to choose the chook?
First up, it doesn’t matter if you get your chicken from a highend organic butcher or from a cut-price supermarket, it’s almost impossible to know if the meat is contaminated. ‘‘You can’t tell from looking,’’ explains Diana Roper of Food Safety Works. ‘‘There’s no way of seeing it visually. Really, if you still want to eat chicken then it’s all down to the way you cook it.’’
The food safety expert does warn that minced chicken is an increased risk and it’s best to opt for full cuts of poultry. That’s because campylobacter sits on the outside of the meat, and the centre is naturally sterile, unless it’s past its best before date.
How to store chicken?
Once home from a jaunt to the shops, it’s important to immediately pop the meat in the fridge. All poultry should be well covered and stored in the bottom of a fridge that’s sitting between 2 and 4 degrees, to ensure its juices don’t drop on other meats. And the key is to eat soon after purchase or immediately freeze to eat at a later date. But remember, chicken doesn’t last forever once frozen. The recommendation for a whole chook is a year, and chicken pieces is around nine months.
Stop giving chicken a bath
Unwrapping chicken and then giving it a good wash in the sink has been the go-to since our nana’s day. But the juices from the chicken and the packaging can be contaminated with camplyobacter. The Foods Standards Agency has been waxing lyrical for years about the dangers of washing chicken, as the bacteria splashes around the kitchen, contaminating the sink and the benches.
But this is one of the most important ways not to get crook from your chook. Avoid washing in sink, avoid juices dropping onto other food in the fridge, and thoroughly wash all chopping boards and utensils used for raw meat.
And of course, your hands. Give them a good wash with hot soapy water in between meat prep and vege slicing.
How to cook your chook properly
Pesky campylobacter is a pretty fragile bacteria and the best way to give it the heave-ho is with heat or with freezing. It really only likes life between 37-42 degrees.
So, poultry meat should be cooked to an internal temperature of 75C. And while that’s easy to test in a commercial kitchen, not many Kiwis will have a cooking thermometer. Instead, when the juices are running clear, that’s a sure sign that the chook is ready to roll onto the plate for meal time. If barbecuing, it’s essential to be even more particular. Cut into the meat to check there’s no pinkness.
Food safety expert Roper explains, ‘‘You have to be a bit more strict when it comes to cooking chicken than other meats.
‘‘You have to follow times and weight, which is usually at the back of the chicken. If it isn’t, look up online.
‘‘It’s really about the old fashioned rules. Cook the chicken thoroughly, the juices need to run clear, and stop eating if you notice it’s pink and undercooked and put it back in the heat.’’
Now, what to do with the leftovers?
Chicken needs to be left to cool and then popped into the fridge in an air-tight container. The next day, the leftovers can be eaten cold straight from the fridge or warmed through.
The best way to check is to pop out a piece and cut through the centre to check the temperature with your finger. It should be piping hot.