Borderline beef - should I risk it?

luckycat99

I have some stewing steak that I have just defrosted that I bought on whoopsie a while ago. It doesn't look great, dark brown rather than red but it doesn't smell like it's gone off. Should I risk it or cut my losses?

Thanks

Toxic_Lemon

Personally, if it smells fine, I'd eat it.

Akom

I've often done exactly the same as yourself, with the meat looking the same, and I'm still standing.

In fact I've seen meat in date looking like that on the Whoopsie shelf which is probably why it's there.

Your nose will soon tell you if meat is off.

Stephen_Leak

Another vote for checking if it's past what I call the "sniff by" date.

Meat goes from dark red to brown as it ages and improves. However, they now pump it full of dye to make it a bright red, and people now associate this with being fresh.

wilf55

if you cook it properly too most bacteria will be killed! sniff test!

spike7451

Properly hung meat IS a brownish color & not red,supermarkets either kill & butcher the animal & don't hang it for very long,hence the redness is mainly blood,or they inject a red dye into the meat to make it look appealing.
If it smells OK then it will be OK to eat.

Good quality meat comes from animals that have enough space to roam, are not pumped full of antibiotics and are fed decent food. Meat such as Kobe beef, popular in Japan for many years, is now gaining popularity in the UK. Here, cattle are regularly massaged and can drink beer to keep them relaxed and produce a tender, well marbled meat.

Rare breeds and regular breeds being reared in a responsible manner are provided with good husbandry, careful attention to changes in behaviour and illness, with a ready source of suitable, natural food. There are no red dye additives to make the meat look more 'consumer friendly' because the meat comes from animals that are free to roam and forage.

http://www.meateat.co.uk/good-quality-meat-reared.html

C_Mababejive

Supermarkets make meat look reddish cos thats what the customer expects to see. In reality,its often different. If it smells right and nothing is growing on it,get it cooked !

Beef curry...?

Butterfly_Brain

I am another who would use it. Have had to do a sniff test on many occasions.

Farway

It is just oxidisation, eat it if it does not pong

rosie383

Some people deliberately leave their beef to 'mature' like that as it gives a more tender meat. Even some top chefs say that their secret is to hang it until it darkens before they cook it.

meer53

Brown beef tastes better than red beef ! Green beef, no good, bin it.