brown beef when raw any ideas

earwig

hi i have some beef in my fridge and i went to cook it and i noticed that some parts of it was brown and not red like beef is normal what dose these mean is it bad or on the turn or quite normal for beef to do this i only brought it firday and its well in its sell by date any help on this would be good as i dont want to cook it for dinner and end up with food posioning but i dont want to throw it if its ok i have never come acros this before

wigginsmum

I've had this happen before - I suspect it's something to do with oxygenation. I've used it as normal and never had any problems. Does it smell bad? If so, chuck it out.

Becles

It is normal and it's to do with oxygen.

When beef is cut, it quickly oxidises and goes brown. Supermarkets think this looks unattractive so the beef is quickly packed in nitrogen to keep it bright red in the shops.

Unless the beef smells bad, there will absolutely nothing wrong with it and it's safe to cook and eat as normal.

Raw beef is one the least likely of meats to go off. They reckon if there is thick green mould on the outside, you can cut it off and the meat underneath will be fine. I've not fancied trying that though!

leni

I bought some mince last Thursday and it's been in our fridge ever since. The BBD was 20th August and it's went brown on saturday morning! Will it still be ok to eat? If not, would it be ok for the dog to eat?

I'm having halloumi salad for tea but OH "needs" some meat!:o

wigginsmum

I reckon it's fine - just where the meat has started to react to oxygen. Nothing to worry about.

wendym

Trust your nose. If it smells fine, it is.

I recently confessed to eating bacon lardons a month after their 'best by' date, but I realise that bacon isn't quite as tricky as raw meat.

WeirdoMagnet

If it's gone a bit brown I'd only use it for something that's going to be cooked for a while (chilli, spag bol), rather than something like beefburgers that would be cooked for a shorter period.

Wilkinson_Sword

As long as the meat is heated thoroughly it'll be OK.

beachbeth

As has already been said, as long as it is cooked properly it won't hurt you. If I have mince that has gone like this I use it for chili and it tastes fine (the slightest thing upsets my stomach so if I can eat it anyone can!). If you use it for cottage pie it may have a certain 'taste' to it.

Nova5

I bought some mince from Mr T on Saturday with a useby date of 7th July, with a view to making spag bol tonight. It's gone a light brown colour - is it still safe to use?

VeryTrying_2

As long as it doesn't smell off, it will be fine. The colour change is just the blood darkening as it is exposed to air. Bit like a scab on your knee really - bright red when you first do it, but goes darker as it dries.

Hope I haven't put you off!