Chicken Smells Like Bleach: Is It Safe To Cook Chicken That Smells Like Bleach?
The smell of bleach is not something that everyone loves smelling in their houses, especially on food.
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If your chicken smells like bleach, it needs to take a closer check.
In this article, we are going to delve into this topic to figure out all necessary information about chicken that smells like bleach and how to get rid of it.
Why does my chicken smell like bleach?
Sometimes, you might notice that your chicken doesn’t smell quite right.
If you notice that there is a bleach flavor in your chicken, it would be because the chicken has been soaked in bleach before being sold on the market.
There might be several reasons why people submerge the chicken in a chemical substance before selling it.
With a small and allowable amount of chlorine or bleach, it will help remove the bacteria from raw chicken.
But if they use a high concentration of bleach water, your chicken smells relatively bad.
In most cases, it is because they are trying to hide the bad appearance or smell of stale chicken that was slaughtered days or even weeks ago.
Soaking chicken in bleach will remove the unpleasant smell of old or contaminated chicken and coat it with a chlorine odor.
Is it safe to eat chicken that smells like bleach?
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There are ways to tell if your chicken is safe to eat or not.
In general, you shouldn’t rely on just the smell of the chicken to decide to discard it or consume it.
However, chicken that smells like bleach is actually not safe to eat, especially if your family’s health is your priority.
The first reason why chicken that smells like bleach is not safe to eat is that it is often chicken that is contaminated or stale.
The second thing is that bleach is a chemical that is not meant to be eaten.
If you have sensitive digestive and immune systems, you might get foodborne illnesses after eating chicken that has been soaked in bleach.
How to get rid of the bleach flavor from chicken?
In case you still want to make use of the chicken with a bleach smell that you have just bought recently because you don’t want to discard it, it is still possible.
As long as the chicken doesn’t smell really bad or has no discoloration, you can follow either one of the below methods to get the bleach flavor out of your chicken:
Rub the chicken with Kosher salt
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You can use Kosher salt to remove the bleach smell from your chicken.
Kosher salt is inexpensive and easy to find on the market.
Salt has long been used as an ingredient to remove any bad odor from meat and it is safe to eat.
Submerge the chicken in an acidic solution
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Another way to take the bleach flavor from your chicken is to use acidity.
You can dissolve some vinegar or lemon juice in lukewarm water and submerge the chicken in that solution for 15 to 20 minutes.
The acidity will help remove the bad odor from your chicken without making it harmful.
Remember to rinse the chicken again with plain water so that it won’t taste sour when cooked.
Marinate chicken with a lot of garlic and pepper
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The last method that can help you remove the bleach flavor from your chicken is to thoroughly cook it with some pungent spices and condiments.
Chicken goes best with garlic and pepper.
These spices also have a strong and aromatic flavor that will not only help remove the bleach flavor but also make your chicken taste better.
The bottom line
With this article, you are now armed with the knowledge of chicken that is packed with a bleach smell.
When it comes to chicken that smells like bleach, it should be discarded if you want to get rid of the worst situation in which you have to meet the doctor.
So the next time you go shopping for chicken, remember to purchase it from a reputable store and give it a smell if possible to make sure that you have the best chicken for your meal.
