Ground beef is a dinnertime staple in many houses, as it's an affordable way to make
a flavorful meal without having to spring for pricier cuts.
But if you've ever stocked up on several packages of bright red ground beef only to see that's
it's grayish brown inside and wondered if it's still safe to eat, you're not alone.
You don't need to worry if the outside of your beef is a different color than the inside.
According to the USDA, ground beef appears bright red because of oxygen interacting with
the pigments in the meat.
If the interior of your beef is grayish brown, it's probably just because that part of the
meat hasn't been exposed to oxygen, and it's safe to eat.
However, if all or a lot of the meat in the package has turned gray or brown, you should
check its freshness in two ways.
First, the sniff test.
Fresh ground beef may have a mild iron smell, but if it starts to smell rotten, you should
err on the side of caution and throw it out.
"How's it smell?
I'll let you do the honors.
Not too good.
Not too good."
Second, the touch test.
Fresh ground beef is usually cool to the touch, smooth, and slightly damp.
But ground beef that's starting to go bad can feel slimy, tacky, or sticky.
Once again, you shouldn't risk it if you think the texture is off — it's best to throw
it out if you suspect it's starting to go bad.
Whatever you do, never eat the meat to see if it's spoiled.
Even a slight taste of it could result in a foodborne illness.
There are a few things you can do to make sure you select fresh ground beef to begin
with, which will increase your chances of longer lasting meat.
When choosing ground beef at the store, you should select a package that's cold to the
touch, with an intact package.
Once you're home, place the ground beef in the fridge or freezer right away.
For the best results, you should cook or freeze your ground beef within two days of buying
it.
If you're using frozen beef, for the safest results, thaw it in the refrigerator.
Last but not least, you should always cook your ground beef to 160 degrees.
It may sound like sacrilege to some, but it's the safest way to prepare your meat.
Ground beef and hamburger may look nearly identical in their supermarket packaging,
but they're actually two different products.
Ground beef can only be made from "skeletal muscles," meaning no organ meat can be included,
and it can only include up to 30 percent fat, from the beef trimmings used to make the ground
beef.
Beef fat cannot be added separately from the meat trimmings.
Hamburger can also only contain up to 30 percent fat, but fat can be added to the lean beef
mixture separately to create the desired fat-protein ratio.
Other names you might see on your label are ground chuck and ground round.
Ground chuck is a type of ground beef that comes from beef shoulder, and ground round
is made from the hind leg.
So in this case, it's just the part of the cow that matters.
“Lot of burger walkin' around.
Lot of delicious burger walking around here."
The good news is that, no matter which type of ground beef you're cooking with, they're
similar enough that you can use the same tricks to tell if it's fresh at the store, and the
same techniques to determine if it's gone bad.
Unfortunately, because of the way it's processed, ground beef has a tendency to go bad or be
contaminated more often than other meats.
That's because bacteria present on the surface of cuts of meat gets mixed into the rest of
the beef when it's ground together, which is why it's recommended that you cook ground
beef to 160 degrees all the way through.
But remember, if your ground beef is sticky, tacky, stinky, or turning green, you shouldn't
risk cooking it at all.
Instead, you should dispose of the beef.
To protect yourself against any bacteria or pathogens growing in the spoiled meat, you
should put on a pair of gloves.
Leave the meat in its packaging, put it in the trash, tie up your trash bag, and take
it outside to your dumpster or trash can.
Otherwise the meat will continue to spoil inside, making your house smell and inviting
bugs for a feast.
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