Why Your Ground Beef Turns Brown So Fast

When you pick up a package of ground beef at the butcher or grocery store, the meat is always a bright-red color. Sometimes, after it sits in your fridge at home for a while, it might start to turn brown. Or other times, it might look brown on the inside even if it's still red on the outside when you go to cook it. It's natural to feel put-off when you see this, but it doesn't necessarily mean your meat is spoiled.

Freshly ground beef is a dark-red or purple color, but as it's exposed to oxygen, it reacts with myoglobin. This pigment is what causes the bright-red color you're accustomed to seeing in the grocery store, even though it's usually wrapped tightly in plastic. This is why vacuum-sealed ground beef that has absolutely no exposure to oxygen is usually a purple-red hue.

However, time and temperature also impact myoglobin, so as it sits in your fridge, even if it stays wrapped in plastic, the prolonged exposure to oxygen can turn it a brown color. This happens more quickly with ground beef than it does with other cuts because ground beef has more exposed surface areas. If it's red on the outside, but brown on the inside, it's simply a mark of the uneven way the oxygen has penetrated the ground beef, and it's still likely safe to eat. If your ground beef has turned brown on the inside and outside, then the U.S. Department of Agriculture warns that it might be spoiled and shouldn't be consumed.

Whether or not the ground beef in your fridge is brown, there are still other signs to look out for that indicate you shouldn't eat it. In addition to ground beef that's gone completely brown, gray is another color that indicates it may be spoiled and means it should be tossed out. Does your ground beef have a strange odor? Proceed with caution if it does, since that's another sign of spoilage. Another way to check if the ground beef is safe to consume regardless of its color is to touch it. If the ground beef feels slimy or sticky, then it's best to toss it out.

There's no reason to let your ground beef spoil in any manner when you have so many Tasting Table recipes to try! Need a quick dinner for taco Tuesday? Use the meat in our Easy Ground Beef Street Taco Recipe that you can get on the table in 20 minutes. You can't go wrong with these Ranch Burgers that are grilled to perfection and topped with cheese. Or take a note from across the pond and cook our Simple Shepherd's Pie Recipe before that ground beef turns brown.