A Popeyes worker takes to TikTok to show how the fast food chain seasons their signature chicken—and viewers have some serious questions.
In a video with over 1.3 million views, Popeyes employee Adrian Jimenez (@adrianjimenezz209) gives the behind-the-scenes of the chicken preparation process.
“You guys ever wonder how we season your chicken here at Popeyes?” he begins. He carries a large cardboard box to a table in the restaurant’s kitchen and says, “Well let me show you.”
“I went ahead and grabbed one of our chicken boxes from the freezer, opened it up, got it all ready for myself,” he says.
Then he grabs one of the slicers and starts slicing open every bag. “I flip over every single bag so I can let out all that chicken juice. Open up the bag, and throw it all in the tumbler,” Jimenez demonstrates.
Jimenez mentions that he did this process with five cases, each containing eight bags of chicken.
“After all that’s done, I grab one of these spicy seasoning bags and throw it all into that chicken,” he says. He tosses the small red packet’s contents into the tumbler with the chicken.
After smearing the seasoning into the chicken and covering and locking the tumbler with a lid, Jimenez turns on the machine and lets it twirl.
“That’s all it is to it. Let me know what you guys want to see next,” he says as he takes off his gloves.
@adrianjimenezz209 Bts of the chicken yall just love😂#fyp#viral#popeyes#fastfood#cooking#xybca#tutorial#food
♬ sonido original – Music Slowed LM
Viewers react in the comments
“I’d be taking them season packets home every night,” one viewer wrote.
Others raised concerns about the cleaning of the tumbler and the chicken. Jimenez’s video didn’t show the process for either.
“How often does the tumbler get cleaned?” one user asked to which Jimenez replied, “After it’s used.”
“Wow, I used to work at Popeyes in my early 20’s and our gloved hands were the tumblers lol. This is great,” came another comment.
“As a former General Manager for Popeyes, yes he was supposed to clean the chicken smh,” a fourth viewer tapped in.
Some weren’t that concerned with the process itself, but the price tag. One wrote, “I just want to know why a two-piece cost $37.99.”
Should you wash your chicken?
Despite some viewers raising their eyebrows at Jimenez for not rinsing the chicken, the practice of washing raw chicken before cooking has been largely debunked.
A 2017 Buzzfeed article reported on the practice by interviewing a USDA rep, a gem expert and environmental health professor, and a NYC Chef. They all spoke against washing raw chicken.
According to the USDA rep, “[the USDA] falls squarely in the ‘don’t wash your chicken’ camp.” The USDA cites the spread of bacteria from poultry juices to other foods and surfaces as a reason not to wash raw meat.
Also, washing the meat does not remove bacteria—cooking it does.
The USDA recommends using a food thermometer. This way, you can ensure the meat has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, which kills bacteria.
Jimenez posted a follow-up video showing how his Popeyes organizes the chicken once it is out of the tumbler. Referring to the dirty tumbler, his caption read, “I’ll promise I’ll wash the chicken next time,” followed by laughing emojis. The content creator also hearted a viewer’s response to a comment that asked if he had washed the chicken. It read, “People who think chicken needs to be cleaned make me feel smart.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Adrian Jimenez via TikTok private message and LinkedIn for more information.
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