Gordon Ramsay Has A Hilarious TikTok Warning Against Chicken Tartare
Watching people get roasted by Gordon Ramsay on TikTok has been one of the things keeping us occupied at home for months now (via Washington Post). It's basically become a "thing" to see how far you can go to shock the expletive-laden celebrity chef, including sushi Wellington sandwiches and deep fried Wagyu. Chef Ramsay had to move beyond "donkey" to understand this unhealthy take on the fine-dining steak tartare: "chicken tartare" (via TikTok). In Ramsay's own words, "The pandemic's enough without you trying to kill more of us, you donut!!"
The video goes on to show a user cooking with a piece of paper in their mouth and chopping up raw chicken with something green, probably green onion. As with a regular tartare, the items are seasoned and mixed together with tiny meat cubes that are then shaped into a kind of upside down muffin shape. As one user comments on the video, "Raw chicken can give you about 1 month vacation in the hospital," and another commented that the original cook "deleted their video."
While we're with Ramsay on the "ewwww," it should be noted that there really are raw chicken dishes outside the U.S., and these dishes can be done better than that video.
People really do eat raw chicken
There is a Japanese dish called Torisashi, which might be described as a chicken sashimi (via India Today). The dish is made by flash boiling chicken (think seared Ahi for an example), which leaves a slightly cooked outside and raw inside. The chicken is then finely sliced and served similar to raw fish. Slices are expected to be dipped in soy and Wasabi, or eaten atop a salad.
Chicken tartare is a more common American take on this dish, and has seen some popularity in restaurants with fans of the Paleo diet, since it is less processed (via American Council on Science and Health). Fans of these dishes will tell you that the chicken's safety can be assured by sourcing chickens locally from small, organic farms. We absolutely agree that small, local operations tend to create healthier poultry, but that doesn't necessarily make it safe to eat chicken raw, especially if you're preparing it at home and not dining at a restaurant.
Better is not quite good enough when it comes to food-borne illness. Health experts warn that in addition to salmonella, raw chicken can contain Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Enterococcus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes — some of which can harm not only the person affected, but also a developing fetus in a pregnant mother.
In conclusion, be adventurous with your food, but don't be a donut. Cook your chicken.