When you look at the meat and it has a gray-brown color with no pink, and has charred blackening on the outside, then you have a well-done steak. It is a challenge to cook beef to this level without overdoing it. The key is to cook on low heat, or else your steak could end up dry and difficult to chew.
Even at the higher end of endpoint cooking temperatures, some of the myoglobin is not heat denatured. At a high pigment concentration, the meat can appear red because a sufficient level of undenatured pigment remains.
"Myoglobin's chemical compound contains iron, which after a few days of oxygen exposure, will oxidize," the company explains. The result of metmyoglobin is a loss of color that makes your steak appear gray instead of red, even before it hits the grill.
A cold steak will cook unevenly, potentially causing the outside to burn while the inside remains undercooked. What to do instead: Depending on the cut, allow a half-hour to two hours for the meat to sit on the counter. While you're waiting, keep hunger at bay with some of the appetizers we can't stop eating.
When it comes time to cook your steak, the myoglobin will darken as it's exposed to heat and the meat loses its moisture. That's why a rare steak looks 'bloody' and a well-done steak takes on a grey colour.
Change in color alone does not mean the product is spoiled. Color changes are normal for fresh product. With spoilage there can be a change in color—often a fading or darkening. In addition to the color change, the meat or poultry will have an off odor, be sticky or tacky to the touch, or it may be slimy.
A few grey spots or a less-than-red interior due to a lack of exposure to oxygen pose no threat, but steak with a completely brown exterior is probably best avoided, as it indicates that meat has been oxidizing for at least few days, if not longer. Luckily, color is not the only freshness indicator at our disposal.
This darkening is due to oxidation, the chemical changes in myoglobin due to the oxygen content. This is a normal change during refrigerator storage. Beef that has turned brown during extended storage may be spoiled, have an off-odor, and be tacky to the touch and should not be used.
If you don't have one, however, or if it's not within reach when you need it, the touch test also works: Touch the cut of meat with your finger and then feel the fleshy part of your hand underneath your thumb. The meat is raw if it feels like the fleshy part.
The color that a piece of meat will turn when cooked depends on its composition. Generally, when cooked, meats that contain more myoglobin turn brown or red, while meats that contain less myoglobin turn white. Myoglobin is a protein found in the muscles of animals, and its primary role is to store oxygen.
Both myoglobin and oxymyoglobin have the ability to lose their oxidation which results in a brown color called metmyoglobin. This essentially means that meat can turn from a bright red color (which many associate with fresh) to a brown color from a lack of oxygen.
How much liquid was in the bag? That's one thing that I've found is that steaks that lose a lot of their fluids can turn out this way - what they end up doing is simmering in their own juices, drawing more blood out of the meat. Best way to counter this is to trim as much fat from the steak as possible before cooking.
The red you see in this meat is actually not blood, but mostly fat, water, and myoglobin. This is is a protein that causes the red coloring in meat. Even when served rare, a quality cut of meat that has been properly cleaned and drained should have hardly any blood in it.
Medium-rare steak gets cooked to an internal temperature of 130-135 degrees, while medium gets cooked to 140-145 degrees. Both cooks have a slight amount of pink in the center that can be generally safe to eat when the steak has been handled and cooked properly.
The red liquid on the plate when eating a rare steak is not blood. It is a protein called myoglobin, which distributes oxygen to the muscles. All blood has been removed from the carcass during the slaughtering process. There is no such thing as a bloody steak.
Overcooked steak tends to be solid light gray all the way through, flavorless, dry, and feels like chewing a bundle of tough muscle fibers. It detracts from the sensory experience and can make eating your steak a painstaking and laborious task.
Certified Angus Beef says that a steak is considered rare when it is cooked to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. This falls short of the USDA's recommendations by 20 degrees, so it's still not considered safe to consume.
If the steak is underdone on the inside and outside...
For something you simply just took off too soon (i.e. the outside isn't blackened), the stovetop is your answer. Heat your cast iron over high heat and lightly oil the pan with Canola when it's nice and hot. This will prevent the meat from sticking.
Brown steak isn't always a sign that it's bad. Steaks sitting in the refrigerator for a few days could turn brown due to the natural oxidation process. However, if the steak is also past its expiration date, smells bad, and is slimy to the touch, it isn't safe to eat.
Are Brown Spots On Beef Bad? No. Brown patches are not bad and your steaks are still safe to eat as long as there are no other signs of spoilage such as a pungent smell or a slimy texture.
That colour actually indicates a lack of exposure to oxygen, which is normal. Grocery stores will often discount meat, such as ground beef, that has turned brown, though it's well within its shelf life. If the meat turns brown or grey on the outside, though, it's likely not yet unsafe, but it is beginning to rot.
Color changes are normal for fresh product; you'll notice color change as you store fresh meat in the refrigerator and even in the freezer. The freshest beef is purplish in color, with the color changing to cherry-red and then to brown-red over time.
Due to lactic acid released during the aging process, a dry-aged steak may smell like cheese. With dry-aged steak, the smell isn't the best way to determine if it's bad. You'll have to look for other signs, such as discoloration or slime.