Has my ribeye gone bad?

B3

B3

Knows what a fatty is.
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I've got a pack of four ribeyes in the fridge that I was planning on cooking up tonight. Last night, I pulled them out to check on them and found two light brown spots that look a lot like bruises. :icon_shock1: Fortunately, both spots were only on one of the steaks and the other three steaks looked ok. The sell by date is today, and they've been in the fridge since I got them. Am I dealing with meat that's spoiling? If so, can I just trim off the bad portion and cook the rest like normal?

Or, is it fine to go ahead and cook the way it is without trimming? It's not like it had a rainbow going on.
 
Meat turns brown from exposure to air, what does your nose tell you? If the sell by date is today I would think you'd be OK, depending on what your nose tells you!
 
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aquablue22 said:
Meat turns brown from exposure to air, what does your nose tell you? If the sell by date is today I would think you'd be OK, depending on what your nose tells you!
Click to expand...

Agreed! Grill those babies up if there's no "off" smell. If you'd like, rinse it off with water and pat dry....it should be OK. If you still feel uncomfortable, cook them past medium.......although that should be illegal
 
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Hard to tell without looking. Quick, just freeze, ship and I will let you know how they are.... :rolleyes:

Just kidding... Like already said, let your nose tell you, air will change the color of the meat. I have cooked beef that has turned almost all tan before, and it was fine. It just doesn't look good before you cook them. If they feel fine, smell fine, they should be fine.

But like I always say, if in doubt, throw them out....
 
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I will give it a sniff test once I crack the package. I'll also rinse and pat dry. I was leaning towards cooking them as is, and I'll probably reserve the spotted piece for myself, just in case. Thanks for the reassurance.
 
Agree with the rest of da boys. Also, it seems to get a little slippery before it gets nasty. Smell and rinse.
 
What everyone above just said. Looks are not everything and also that "sell by" date doesn't mean a whole lot. If those steaks are kept cold they can last a long time. If they got warm or were left out, then they'll go bad quickly. The only way I know to tell is by smell. I've cooked up steaks that were all over brown and they were just fine.
 
I never cook steaks red. I like to leave them in the fridge till they start to turn. An old man once told me that steaks taste their best just before they spoil. The trick is knowing how long you can leave them in the fridge.
 
B3
Definitely good advice from some of the meateaters among the Brethren. I concur. You should just relax and cook them steaks. They will be fine. As mentioned, give them a sniff test if you want, but a little browning on the cut surface of beef is no big deal. Just oxidation from exposure to the air.
 
I'm with everybody else on this one! Your nose, knows!

Have you ever seen a dry aged steak before? Most people would never eat one if the saw it before the grill gets to it! But there is few things better in this world than a well dry aged steak! A place here had 24 day aged steaks when it opened up, man were they good! Melt in your mouth!

Terry
 
cook 'em...eat 'em...wait 24 hours and post. If we have no post then, we'll know that they were not good.
 
As mentioned above the nose is the answer, but it is also true that good beef is best aged a bit, and is best cooked right before it spoils.

In my case I had major sinus issues as a kid and my nose doesn't work as good as I would like, so I go by color and texture as well.

Don't pay that much attention to dates, it has been well documented that some unscrupulous stores change dates as long as it "looks" good.

Is it slimy? (not good) Is it brownish red? (good) or brownish green? (not good)
How do you plan on cooking it? Above 140 will kill most bacteria, but makes for a medium steak.

Let us know how it turns out
 
B3 said:
I've got a pack of four ribeyes in the fridge that I was planning on cooking up tonight. Last night, I pulled them out to check on them and found two light brown spots that look a lot like bruises. :icon_shock1: Fortunately, both spots were only on one of the steaks and the other three steaks looked ok. The sell by date is today, and they've been in the fridge since I got them. Am I dealing with meat that's spoiling? If so, can I just trim off the bad portion and cook the rest like normal?

Or, is it fine to go ahead and cook the way it is without trimming? It's not like it had a rainbow going on.
Click to expand...

Actually you can let them get a little browner and they will be better. Don't trim a thing. I spent 20 years in the grocery business, just to give you an idea of my credentials. As the son of the owners, I have ate a lot of brown steaks.
 
Car Wash Mike said:
Actually you can let them get a little browner and they will be better. Don't trim a thing. I spent 20 years in the grocery business, just to give you an idea of my credentials. As the son of the owners, I have ate a lot of brown steaks.
Click to expand...

True, as long as they are getting brown between 33-35 degrees F ...:wink:

The brown is more than likely do to it being the last steak cut and sitting on top of the stack collecting the ambient air longer than the other steaks before packaging. No biggie.

As stated, always trust the smell before cooking, and many forget this, after cooking. You know what you cooker produces in fragrances, if it doesn't smell right after, something's wrong.
 
the brown spots could be from where the meat cutter grabbed the steak after cutting.
 
Ran into the same issue this past weekend for the super bowl cook. Bro in Law brought some spare ribs, opened them bad boys up and almost dry heaved. Off to the store he went.
 
Thanks for all the replies fellers. By the time I started prepping them, all four had some brown in them, but smelled ok. So, I gassed them and served, and everything went fine. I even got a "best steak you've ever made" from the wife! Maybe there is something to aging.
 
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