How to Clean Knives After Cutting Raw Meat?

Cutting raw meat is one of the many tasks that you might use a knife for. Knives can be used for all kinds of functions, from cutting vegetables to cutting up meat and other items that can lead to contamination of your knife.

You might find that all you need to do is wash off the debris and the juices from the item that you are cutting, but if you are cutting raw meat, you need to be able to sanitize the knife as well.

Bacteria can proliferate on your knives in the knife block and you want to be sure that you are not creating an unsafe cooking and eating environment through incorrect cleaning and sanitizing processes used in your kitchen to clean knives.

If you are ready to clean your knives the right way, learn more about cleaning your knives after cutting raw meat from this article.

Kitchen Knives Can Contaminate Other Surfaces

If you are using a contaminated knife that has not been cleaned properly, you will find that you might be adding germs to vegetables and other items that you are cutting in your kitchen.

If you use wooden cutting boards, this can be a major issue if you have moved germs from your knives to the cutting board.

This is why cleaning your knives can be so important to your kitchen. You will find that you can move salmonella and E. coli to all the surfaces in your kitchen through contact with your knife.

Knives can carry all of the germs that are contained within your meat products all over your kitchen if you do not clean them properly after each instance where they are used to cut meat.

How to Clean Your Knives After Cutting Raw Meat

If you are ready to learn how to clean your knives properly after cutting raw meat, you should read this list of steps that will make sure that you clean your knife properly each time that you use it to cut meat.

1.  Wash Your Knife

Just using soap and water can make a big difference in your overall kitchen safety processes. Soap and water are effective against most germs, especially if you use antibacterial soap in your dishwashing process.

Make sure that you dry your knife after you wash it so that you do not leave contaminated water on the knife surface and then contribute it to your knife block when you store your knife.

2. Use Diluted Bleach

If you are really concerned about the germs that might come from your knife, you can keep a bleach cleaning solution nearby that will take care of that additional layer of cleaning that you need before you wash with soap.

Never use the bleach wash as your last cleaning step as the bleach can lead to contamination in your kitchen as well.

3. Dry the Knife

Dry your knives with a soft and clean towel after each cleaning process that you undertake. You should never let your knife air dry as germs can stay on the surface of your knife after you are done cleaning and rinsing it.

You should always take the time to dry your knife after you wash it so you do not store it wet.

4. Never Let Food Dry on Your Knife

There is nothing that can retain contaminants like food stuck to your knife. You should never let food sit on your knife when you can just wash it right after use.

Even rinsing the knife after each use can make sure that food will not stick to your knife and retain germs that can bring E. Coli and other bacteria across the rest of the kitchen.

5. Never Clean in the Dishwasher

You should never wash your knives in the dishwasher. The dishwasher can overheat the knives and they can rub against the other items in your dishwasher and get dull.

You should never give in to the temptation to use the dishwasher to clean your knives due to the conditions in the dishwasher.

You can soak your knives in the sink in hot water and soap briefly if you want to make sure that they are easy to clean, but the dishwasher with all the agitation can lead to damage to your knives.

This is where it is much easier to dip your knife in a bleach solution and then wash with soap and water before drying thoroughly.

How to be Sure That Germs Are Gone

It can depend on what you are cutting. E. Coli can be harder to kill than other germs, and you should be sure that you are taking steps to clean your knives with very hot water and soap if you are cutting items that might bring E.

Coli to your kitchen. For other meat surfaces that do not bring E.coli with them, you can just wash with warm soapy water.

If you have concerns about E.coli in specific, use a bleach wash to make sure that all the germs are gone for good.

Red meats and other meat types are not as likely to bring E.coli with them like chicken. Cleaning your knife thoroughly does not have to be hard if you follow consistent protocols for your meat-cutting cleaning needs.

Cleaning Your Knives Can be Easy

Cleaning your knives and making sure that they are safe and secure can be easy if you always use hot water and the right soap.

Make sure that you plan for making a bleach wash for E.coli prevention in some instances, like when you are cutting chicken. Kitchen safety is easy when you are prepared in advance.

Knife cleaning is mostly all about cleaning with soap and water and drying your knives carefully before you store them.

Make sure that you never skip any of these basic steps and you will have clean and safe knives for your use at any time that you need them.

Kitchen safety is mostly about making sure that you wash and clean all of the items that you use after each use.