I'm sorry, but since no one knows the temperment of this snake when it is hungry, I would personally leave it in the cage to feed. That way you have a much lesser chance of getting bitten rather than the much higher chance you get when first placing it in the feeding bin, feeding it, and then moving the snake back to it's enclosure all while it is still in feeding mode. With large snakes, feeding them in their enclosure is the much safer alternative, since you can open the lid(or open the door), toss the rat in, close the lid or door, and back off.

Regardless of how well you wash your hands, that snake will be in feeding mode as soon as that rat enters the house. The smell of rat will be on your clothes, in the air, etc. It is just safer to feed these guys in their enclosures and stick to that routine as they get bigger.

My $0.02 though...