# Is my beef roast bad? Need answer soon-ish. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013 "2017-02-28T05:01:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/1 "2017-02-28T05:01:26Z")
Your best guess appreciated. I bought a nearly 3-lb roast a week or 2 ago. It sat in the bottom of the fridge for a day or 2, then went into the freezer before it’s sell-by date. There it’s been, until a couple days ago when I put it in the fridge to thaw. It’s brown. There’s a lot of blood in this package, so there’s a blood smell, but nothing sour or ammonia-like. The blood is also brown. The roast is brown about a half-inch all the way around, and is the traditional, “boy that looks good” red inside. No odd texture or feel to the outside. It feels as firm as the inside, and is not slimy. I know it is difficult to tell from a description, but the brown-ness is disconcerting to me, though there’s nothing else about it that makes me think it’s bad. I’ve cut it into pieces and I’m going to throw it into a crock-pot. Thought I’d put it on high for a few hours until it’s fully boiling hot, then turn it down to low. What’s your best guess? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/2 "2017-02-28T05:09:59Z")
Sounds fine. I would rinse it. If it smells fine (and it sounds like it does), you’re good to go. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/3 "2017-02-28T05:41:06Z")
The brown is simply from oxygen exposure. If it smells OK, it should be perfectly good to eat. Let us know the results! ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/4 "2017-02-28T05:49:37Z")
Thanks folks. Everything seemed OK except the color was darker than I’m used to. I threw it in the slow-cooker. Might as well cook it now, rather than give it more time to possibly go ‘off’. ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/5 "2017-02-28T12:17:46Z")
Sounds fine to me. Sometimes I intentionally “age” my beef roasts or steaks a bit longer, though I usually coat them in salt and loosely wrap in paper towelling. (As an aside, I hate when I’ve forgotten something I’m thawing. Had to pitch some pork chops yesterday because they got buried in the fridge. They most certainly did not smell fine ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/6 "2017-02-28T14:59:44Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > except the color was darker than I’m used to. It would be. It’s not unknown to hang beef for much longer than you’ve kept yours in the fridge or freezer, nor was it unusual, in living memory, to keep meat in a “meat safe” in the coolest place in the house, before there were fridges or freezers. A day or two beyond the sell-by date is nothing - that’s just a CYA device on the supermarket’s part. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/7 "2017-02-28T15:12:50Z")
The brown is fine. Fresh meat is often packaged with carbon monoxide to keep it looking red and more desirable longer. It’s supposed to turn brown. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/8 "2017-03-01T20:02:13Z")
Well, it’s been almost 24 hours since we ate it. The roast was tasty, and did not make anyone sick. Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/9 "2017-03-01T20:23:45Z")
In the grocery store I work at, we used to cryo-vac all our meat. Since this sucked all the oxygen out (which is a good thing), it would make the meat look brown. Apparently this was unappealing to our customers as the meat didn’t have that red look to it that oxidizing meat does so they went to just plastic wrapping the meat. If I get some meat done there, I ask them to cryo-vac it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/10 "2017-03-01T20:36:06Z")
While I’ve got you all here, why is some hamburger meat red on the outside and brown on the inside? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/11 "2017-03-02T12:42:58Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > While I’ve got you all here, why is some hamburger meat red on the outside and brown on the inside? > **[Ground Beef and Food Safety | Food Safety and Inspection Service](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/meat/ground-beef-and-food-safety)** > [@](#): > > **Why is pre-packaged ground beef red on the outside and sometimes dull, grayish-brown inside?** > Oxygen from the air reacts with meat pigments to form a bright red color which is usually seen on the surface of meat purchased in the supermarket. The pigment responsible for the red color in meat is oxymyoglobin, a substance found in all warm-blooded animals. Fresh cut meat is purplish in color. The interior of the meat may be grayish brown due to lack of oxygen; however, if all the meat in the package has turned gray or brown, it may be beginning to spoil. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/12 "2017-03-02T13:39:29Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/13 "2017-03-02T13:42:33Z")
I’m actually a little confused now. I thought meat turns brown because of oxygen, which is why they add CO to it to keep it red longer: > [@](#): > > Red meat products are somewhat like sliced > apples. Their color can change rapidly – even though > the product is still safe and wholesome. In fact, > retail stores oft en discount red meat products that > have changed color but are still safe and wholesome > – and well within their shelf life. These detrimental > eff ects to foods, including apples and meat, are the > result of chemical changes caused by oxygen. But by > eliminating the oxygen from the package and adding > minute amounts of carbon monoxide along with other > protective gases to the headspace of the red meat > packages, products like ground beef can maintain their > appealing red color throughout their shelf life. [From the Meat Institute.](https://www.meatinstitute.org/index.php?ht=a/GetDocumentAction/i/60863) So is it both of these factors, depending on how long it’s out, or something else? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/14 "2017-03-02T13:46:53Z")
Dang it! ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/15 "2017-03-02T15:00:58Z")
[This](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoglobin#Meat_color) says both oxygen and CO can cause the red color, and that CO keeps it red for ages, but doesn’t say why it turns brown over time with just oxygen. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-beef-roast-bad-need-answer-soon-ish/781013/16 "2017-03-02T15:04:22Z")
Apparently it’s due to further oxidation: [Metmyoglobin - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metmyoglobin)