Is Beef Ok to Eat if It Turns Brownish in the Fridge

You're all ready to fire upward the grill, just and so you take a await at your ingredients. Much to your dismay, the steak turned brown in the refrigerator.

Mayhap it's non brown all over. It could be that there are but a few dark spots hither and there. Nonetheless, it's plenty to make you question the safety of what you're almost to cook and eat. Do dark-brown spots on steak mean you lot should throw it away? Allow's take a look.

Brownish Spots On Steak

If your steak turned brown, that doesn't necessarily mean it'southward spoiled. Brown patches will sometimes appear on meat every bit a result of oxidization. Unless the steak smells foul, feels sticky or slimy, or shows other obvious signs of spoilage, information technology should exist safe to consume.

Why Is Steak Reddish?

Raw beef is a deep burgundy, almost purple colour. If you've always purchased a steak or beef brisket that's been sealed in vacuum packaging, yous'll understand what we hateful.

When yous see steaks on supermarket shelves, though, the meat is usually brilliant cherry-red. What's the reasoning backside the alter?

Equally the raw beef is exposed to oxygen, the myoglobin that's naturally present in the meat volition turn red, giving the steaks a rosy hue. Myoglobin is the same protein that's responsible for giving raw chicken and pork a pinkish colour, though the hue is less pronounced in those cases.

Later on several days, the myoglobin will oxidize, meaning information technology undergoes chemic changes that can cause brown spots to announced on the meat. It'south a normal phenomenon, and 1 that's to be expected if the meat has been stored in the fridge for a certain length of fourth dimension.

How Long Tin Y'all Keep Steak In The Refrigerator?

After you purchase fresh steaks, they should keep in the refrigerator for three to 5 days. The total length of time depends on how the meat was packaged and how long the steaks were on the shelf before you bought them.

Steak that's been vacuum-sealed should go on for 5 days without showing any signs of discoloration or spoilage (see below). Y'all might fifty-fifty exist able to store information technology for 7 days or more, though we would cook it off sooner if possible.

On the other mitt, if the steak you purchased from the grocery shop has been wrapped in plastic wrap or butcher paper, it might beginning to turn dark-brown merely 3 days later. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it'southward still a skillful idea to cook it as shortly every bit you notice the discoloration.

For best results, buy steaks the day yous plan to cook them. If you lot need to store them for longer than 3 days, consider transferring them to the freezer instead. For tips on freezing and defrosting steaks, encounter the separate department below.

Signs of Spoilage

Color alone may not exist an indicator of freshness. Even so, if the darker meat is accompanied by whatsoever of the following warning signs , information technology's ameliorate to throw it out.

• Sliminess or stickiness
• A foul odor (similar rotten eggs)
• White, yellow, or green patches (these could indicate mold)
• An overly dry texture

Can Y'all Cut Off The Brown Spots?

If you lot see brown spots on steak and you desire to get rid of them, is information technology permissible to trim them away before cooking? The respond is aye, but we wouldn't recommend it.

Every bit nosotros pointed out, there's no need to discard meat just because information technology's turned dark-brown. Equally long as it smells fine and has a house, slightly moist texture, the steak should nevertheless be prophylactic to eat.

Cut away the dark-brown patches will give the steak an uneven thickness. That means you may have a difficult fourth dimension cooking it to the desired temperature . Information technology may too make it await lopsided, which would negate any positive effects y'all were trying to achieve in the offset place.

Remember: Once the meat is cooked, the outside will turn dark brown anyway. Yous won't fifty-fifty exist able to tell where the brown spots were. Unless the steak has suffered from freezer burn, it'southward improve to keep information technology intact.

How To Freeze and Thaw Steaks

In theory, you can store raw steaks in the freezer indefinitely. Every bit long as the freezer temperature is 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below, the meat won't go bad.

That said, it'south better to defrost and relish the steaks within 4 to 12 months. After a year, the prolonged exposure to cold temperatures could crusade the texture of the meat to deteriorate. This is truthful especially if it suffers from the moisture loss that's usually known as freezer burn.

For optimum season and texture, thaw steaks on the bottom shelf of the fridge. They should be ready to cook the day after y'all pull them from the freezer. Make sure to wrap them well and ready them on a plate to thaw, or the juices might run all over the refrigerator.

To save time, you tin thaw the steaks in a common cold water bathroom instead. Put them in a zip-acme bag or another leak-proof container, making certain to seal the packet well. Set the sealed meat in a large basin, then fill the bowl with cold water.

The meat should thaw at a rate of about 30 minutes per pound in the common cold h2o bath. Larger, thicker cuts might have a bit longer. At whatsoever rate, y'all should swap out the common cold water every 30 minutes to make sure it doesn't get too warm.

Avoid using the microwave to thaw steaks—or any cut of meat. It can work in a pinch, but you lot'll run the risk of partially cooking the meat while other sections remain frozen solid.

The Bottom Line

Chocolate-brown spots on steak aren't dangerous, only they tin can serve as a useful warning sign. In one case they start to appear, you should fire up the grill as presently as possible. If you aren't planning to cook the steaks right abroad, consider freezing them instead.

Best of luck, and happy grilling!

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