brown beef when raw any ideas

Nova5

Scab on my knee - yum yum! Looking forward to scabby bolognaise! :rotfl:

I haven't opened the pack up yet so don't know about smell.

VeryTrying_2

Have you heard about the new pig-friendly blackpuddings? The pig doesn't need to be killed first, you just take a pint of blood (just like our Blood Transfusion Service really), let it cool and scab a bit, stuff it in a skin and VOILA ...... delicious blackpudding, whilst showing compassion to the animal.

I'm doing cannelloni tonight - same raw materials, just different pasta. Don't you find some Italian food very same-ish?

PS edited to say, when you open the sealed pack, let the captive air escape and the meat breathe properly for half a minute. The smell from the opening pack usually is pretty horrible - wait a minute before having a sniff.

pollyskettle

VeryTrying wrote: »

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!

:eek: I shudder to think how much I have wasted over the years throwing it away because it's gone a bit brown :eek:

newbiemum05

i open it, give it a min, then smell it - if its smelly its binned !

bylromarha

I find Tesco value mince terrible for going brown and smelling bad.

As soon as I buy it, it either gets cooked that night or bunged straight in the freezer.

manicstreetpreacher

Blimey I always throw brown mince away! I always think when delaing with meat or fish you should err on the side of caution.

Nova5

This is lean steak mince - buy 2 for £3.50, not value mince. Have the other one in the freezer so might whip that out if this one turns out tom be stinky. If I had Tesco closeby, I would take it and complain - but I don't!

annie-c

I don't think that it is accceptable for Tesco to sell that, personally.

I agree with others about the sniff test, but if you are not happy then ring Tesco and explain and they will no doubt make arrangements to refund/replace when you next visit.

Although you bought it from the chiller cabinet, it may have had a trip round the store in someone's trolley and then got put back, for example, and so might have started to deteriorate before the best before.

I've complained about brown meat received in aan online delivery and have been given a refund, no probs without having to return it. They need to know really, in case it is happening frequently, so I'd tell them!

Nova5

Just rang their customer services and they are sending a refund through the post.

Going to bin the other one as usually I don't take chances with meat, (like manicstreetpreacher - love your name by the way!) but thought the OSers would have something to say about it and might talk me round.

Thanks for your replies :T

VeryTrying_2

I didn't know that so little was understood about the quality of our food that perfectly good meat would be casually thrown away when there was no risk to health. Does this explain things better?

[URL="javascript:;"]"Colour[/URL] is a major influence on the visual appeal of meat rather than on quality. The colour of meat is primarily dependant on the concentration and chemical state of the [URL="javascript:;"]pigment[/URL] [URL="javascript:;"]myoglobin[/URL], which is responsible for moving oxygen through the muscle. In post mortem muscle that has not been exposed to air, myoglobin exists in its deoxygenated form which is a deep purple colour. On exposure to air, oxygen is held at the centre of the myoglobin molecule, giving rise to oxymyoglobin which gives meat its bright red colour. Finally, oxidation of the myoglobin to metmyoglobin occurs resulting in the brown colour of discoloured meat.

"The amount of myoglobin varies widely between species, which accounts for the marked differences in colour between their meats. Myoglobin concentration usually increases with the age of the animal. Highly active muscles also have more myoglobin, for example loins.

"The type of packaging used at retail and thus the amount of oxygen to which the meat is exposed, influences the meat’s colour and appeal to the customer."

By all means, throw your meat away if you don't like the colour, but remember there really isn't anything wrong with it and all you are doing is wasting money, not protecting your family's health.