Did I just eat rotting meat?

Kamiro

So, I bought a large Ribeye steak from Whole Foods on Sunday, and popped it in the fridge as soon as I got home with the idea of eating it on Monday. I didn't end up being hungry enough to eat steak on Monday, so I decided to wait a day. On Tuesday, I took it out and when I unwrapped it from the paper packaging, it smelled a little odd and there were some brownish spots in some locations.

I thought it may be rotten/rotting, but I figured, no way it rots in 2 days! I cooked it up Medium/Medium Rare, and ate it. Some parts tasted funny and halfway through my stomach started gurgling but I wasn't sure if it was the food or something else. I didn't end up eating all of it.

The next day my stomach wasn't in pain or anything, but it was gurgling some more. I doubt anything will come of it at this point (Thursday), but I'm just wondering if it is a real possibility that it was rotting/rotten after only 2 days in the fridge and that I just got lucky at not getting really sick from eating it. I was always under the impression that beef is fine in the fridge for ~3ish days.

akajaybay

I dont know what I'm talking about but I think it would have gone alot browner first.
Maybe this is being caused by your own fear of it having been bad?

Pantshandshake

Well, brown by itself could just be oxidization.

Brown with a smell and/or a funny taste may very well be an indication that the meat was starting to turn.

Was it slimy? Slimy is bad.

ceres

Do you know what the date on the packaging was? If it was on "last day we can legally sell this" fire-sale, it is theoretically possible that it went off.

Generally the brownish spots mean you are not looking at fresh meat, and it's probably not going to kill you but if you see them when you open the packaging and still want to eat it you should really cook it through. The stomach-rumbling while eating was probably psychological though; if bad meat is going to make you really sorry it's going to do so later.

Enc

http://www.howcast.com/videos/405628-How-to-Tell-if-Beef-is-Spoiled

Honestly, it was probably a bit spoiled if it gave you stomach pains, but usually keeping meat in a fridge for a day or two will not be enough for meat to spoil. If you get meat at a discount, it is likely well along its shelf life and should be eaten same day.

Rotten meat is usually meat that has spoiled to the degree of danger (no longer edible, less meat than corpse). It's usually a good call to cook any large bit of meat you are getting quickly, or freeze it if you plan on waiting though.

Enc

Well, I mean stomach rumbling can mean a lot of things. If you are unused to eating a lot of rare meat your digestive tract can face a bit of a challenge, it's pretty hard to digest as far as things go. Unless Whole Foods is having a bad supply problem my guess is either it soured from heat exposure (did it get left in your car for a bit or anything?) or wasn't really bad.

bsjezz

it's probably not just your mind - if it smelled funny it was on the way out - but it's not going to hurt you so stop worrying

Peter Ebel

What you're describing sounds more like what is normally called oxidation. The meat wasn't rotten and it's not dangerous. It might have been less tasty than it was the first day, but that's about the extent of the damage.

Djeet

Cut meat browns due to oxidation, that's not spoilage. Best way to tell with meat, whatever the type of meat, is by smell. If it smells off toss it. Aging beef is popular and so long as it's kept at the right temp it's fine to eat. Although dry-aged meat will develop a leathery exterior that you trim off.

mightyjongyo

If it smells straight up sour then I know that the beef has gone bad. Usually it is brown, too, but sometimes the brown is on the inside of the package (usually the case if I buy, say, stew meat).

Then again usually in my case the smell is strong enough to make me gag, and ymmv in that regard.

MrTLicious

Generally speaking you will be able to tell if the meat is bad by the smell. Brown spots by themselves are not something to worry about. It's probably a bruise or that spot might been pressed against another steak for slightly too long.

If you smelled it and still wanted to eat it, you're probablyfine.

Figgy

Stop worrying. Your stomach starting gurgling because you were worrying that your stomach would start gurgling.

Next time, check the 'best before' date on the packaging. Chances are you still had a day or two left. "Brown" does not mean rotting when it comes to meat.

Bananas? Yeah. Stay away from those shits.

TehSpectre

I'm at a loss here: You thought "Hmm, maybe this meat is going bad." and then after deciding to eat it anyway, you still only cooked it medium-rare?

Tube

It was the right thing to do. The meat wasn't off. It was slightly oxidised. Trust me that the line between "smells a little funny" and "this meat is rotten" is not one you'll mistake.

Fuzzy Cumulonimbus Cloud

Also, you will not mistake the intestinal difference between "smells a little funny" meat and "this meat is rotten" meat. You would probably not have time to post, unless you were posting from your bathroom. :P

Inquisitor77

Also, if you are new to meat, then you might think that something is "spoiled" when in fact it's just aged. As previous posters have noted, you can just trim off the aged portions and eat the rest (which will taste awesome).

Next time, if you're really unsure, just ask the butcher. He or she will probably explain what's going on and give you a heads up on what you should do.

Xenogears of Bore

You'll know if you ever eat truly rotten meat. Hell you'll know before you cook it.

You can get sick from perfectly well looking meat and veggies too! Also sometimes you'll already be a little sick in the stomach and you'll think something was off when it was perfectly fine!

bsjezz

Kamiro wrote: »

Not new to meat at all. I've also had aged beef before, and it wasn't like this. Also, from what I've read, it's not really safe to age beef yourself unless you have a pretty clean environment to do it in, since most times you age it for a while.

pretty much. there's a big difference between 'taking choice cuts of beef from an animal hung-dry in a careful environment' and 'some old meat in my fridge that smells bad.'

i don't know about you guys but for me any meat that has a weird smell also has a weird taste. as in it tastes no good. it's not wrecking your stomach that's the problem - it's wrecking dinner.

Xenogears of Bore

Even a little bit of non controlled aging can help enhance that regular beef flavor, but yeah, funky meat tends to taste funky. Best time to try to spice it up or just cook it up and feed it to the dog.

Terrendos

Even if it were a little rotten, the worst that could happen if you couldn't smell something wrong is on the order of intestinal discomfort. Our ancestors ate much more questionable meat, remember.

Also, although dry aging for the weeks that many commercial restaurants do is unsuitable for the home, some mild dry aging in your refrigerator is totally fine. Wrap your beef in a paper towel and suspend it on skewers punched through a disposable pie tin for 2-3 days, and the dry environment of the fridge will evaporate a good bit of water and concentrate meaty flavors.