Chicken is the ultimate protein form for anyone who is trying to avoid red meat. It’s lean and healthy (provided you remove the skin) and relatively cheap.
It’s also an incredibly versatile type of meat that lends itself to an enormous variety of different dishes from curry to roast to pasta dishes. If you look on Google for chicken dishes, there will be an endless list of recipes.
However, it has come to our attention that some people are having a problem with their chicken tasting soapy. Chicken is a mild-flavored food so tastes picked up from the environment are easily detected.
Read on if you are having the same issue because we propose 5 possible causes and solutions for this problem.
Chicken Tastes Like Soap
1. Pans
First things first – if the soapy taste is coming from unrinsed kitchenware, you cannot blame the chicken. Cast iron pans are particularly porous, as is plastic.
There may be some soap residue remaining on your kitchenware. Prevent this by using only the recommended amount of dishwashing liquid and not more.
Also make sure that you are, indeed, using kitchen soap to wash your dishes and not laundry soap. Laundry soap often has a very strong fragrance that is difficult to rinse off.
For storing leftover chicken, glassware is better than plastic as it does not retain soapy smells and tastes. Avoid highly perfumed dishwashing liquid and rather go for the fragrance-free varieties.
Always rinse your dishes after washing and make sure that your dishwasher rinse cycle is functioning correctly.
Secondly, if you are using a new pan, there is a chance that the manufacturing process’s oils are still burning off and creating soapy odors and tastes.
It usually goes away after the first wash but if it doesn’t, you need to report the issue with pan manufacturers.
For people using non-stick pans, if they have scratches on the non-stick surface, there is a chance that some dishwashing soap has become trapped.
When you cook your chicken, this soapy flavor will be transferred. It is advised that you rinse the pan thoroughly in hot water, using a soft non-scratch brush to thoroughly wash the surface.
2. Stove Vents
In other cases, the pans are not the culprit. Sometimes the soapy flavor and taste on your chicken is the result of off-gassing from the stove vent filters.
To rectify this you can either change the stove if it is very old or replace the vent filters with new ones to optimize the flavor and taste of all your food.
3. Water Matters
Believe it or not, the type of water you are using to wash the pan and add to the food plays an important role. You have a choice of using soft, filtered water or hard water straight out of the tap.
Some regions’ water contains a lot of sodium or chloride which can give the water a soapy taste. Either invest in a home water purification system or purchase filtered drinking water from a reputable supplier.
Use this for all your drinking and cooking. Hopefully, doing this will sort out your soapy chicken problem.
4. Temperature
According to the latest studies, when non-stick pans are heated for a long time at high temperatures, it will break the Teflon coating, and soap will be able to seep into the pan’s surface giving the food a soapy taste.
Be mindful of the temperature you are using your non-stick cookware at.
5. Maybe It Is the Chicken
If you are unable to get rid of the soapy taste from the chicken even after changing pans, replacing the vent filters, and using filtered water, there is a good chance that something is wrong with the chicken.
Change where you are buying your chicken from and try a different brand. Opt for free-range organic birds wherever possible.
If you still have some in the freezer that you must use up, cook it in strongly flavored spicy dishes like chicken curry with lots of chilies, garlic, and ginger to disguise the soapy taste.
Conclusion
We hope our suggestions help you to find the source of the soapy taste on your chicken. If all else fails, rinse your chicken in cold water with lemon juice added to see if that helps. Good luck!