Influencer Nara Smith doesn’t wash her chicken — and the USDA agrees with her, even if you don’t
During a cooking demo, model and TikTok star Nara Smith revealed she doesn’t wash her chicken, reigniting a long-held debate.
Texas-based model and TikTok star Nara Smith is many things: For a certain set, she’s an aesthetic mood board; for others, a svelte and aspirational representation of a woman living with lupus and eczema. Amid a sea of so-called “trad wives,” she’s a self-styled 22-year-old homemaking sensation and a rare representation of a young Black wife and mother of three.
However, she is not someone who washes her chicken.
In a recent video on TikTok, the wife of model Lucky Blue Smith and from-scratch home cook demonstrated how she prepares chicken wings for her family after a long day and gave some advice on what to do before cooking your chicken.
“I don’t wash my chicken because you genuinely don’t have to,” said Smith in her now-infamous ASMR-style voiceover. “You can do as you please.”
Needless to say, the internet had a lot of thoughts. Many of her followers had much to say, with some claiming they couldn’t follow her content anymore. This level of outrage and sensation around Smith’s posts is nothing new; the influencer has become known for her outlandish depictions of domestic life, which include baking whole loaves of bread from scratch and handmaking both the peanut butter and jelly for a PB&J sandwich.
In keeping with the typical tone of her comment sections, Smith’s followers have been divided on “Chickengate.” While many commenters across social media condemn the practice (or lack thereof) of not washing your chicken, some have defended her.
Unfortunately for those of us on Team Wash, even the U.S. Department of Agriculture sides with Smith. Along with the CDC, the USDA advises against washing or rinsing chicken because doing so could spread many of the same harmful bacteria we’re attempting to wash off. The feds say all that grossness will be cooked away at the right temperatures.
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Despite this official guidance, many remain staunchly divided. While some have adopted the USDA’s recommendation of just popping chicken straight out of the pack and into the pan, others remain loyal to more traditional preparation methods — largely maintained in many Black households worldwide.
When true proponents refer to “washing” their chicken, they typically don’t mean rinsing the chicken straight from the pack with water and then tossing it on the pan. They are more than likely referring to a more detailed process.
This could involve gently cutting away excess fat and chicken goop with a knife or kitchen shears and then soaking the parts in a bowl, including vinegar and lemon or lime juice solution to disinfect the raw flesh (and hopefully prevent the splashing of contaminated fluid throughout the kitchen). Some even incorporate salt or other seasoning rubs. Methods vary throughout the diaspora, with few reports of salmonella.
Bottom line: Given the demographics of the long-running debate, perhaps chicken washing is the Black culinary version of the washcloth. Experts and science may not have our backs on this one, but as Smith said, “You do as you please” — just don’t expect everyone to want to pull up to your table if you don’t. That said, you have to hand it to Smith; not washing her chicken aside, she’s gotten our attention — and those wings do look amazing!
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