Ground beefis a weeknight workhorse.
But what if you grab the ground beef from the fridge or freezer and its gray?
In a nutshell, the answer is… maybe.
Simply Recipes / Myo Quinn
Why Does Ground Beef Turn Gray?
Freshly cut meat is a purplish or burgundy color, but that changes quickly.
After about five days in the fridge, the outside will turn gray.
What about raw ground beef thats red on the outside and brownish in the center?
Lets revisit our friend myoglobin.
Myoglobin has three color states: purple, red, and gray/brown.
Simply Recipes / Myo Quinn
So Can I Cook It?
Thaw ground beef in the fridge before cooking.
If your ground beef is gray before cooking, visuals alone wont tell you when its cooked properly.
TheUS Department of Agriculturerecommends cooking ground beef to 160F.
