How To Know If Steak Is Spoiled
If you are going to check out whether a steak is spoiled or not, taste, slimy texture and color are good indicators. It will give off an unpleasant smell and start to turn yellowish. Dark molds begin to grow on a spoiled steak. Spoiled steak may have a bitter and rancid taste.
Before getting to the method of how to tell if raw steak is spoiled, first lets take a look at what is considered spoiled meat. In this first section, I am going to walk you through how to tell the difference between bad raw steak, cooked steak, and marinated steak, looking for several symptoms. Although we have explained with details all of the signs of bad steak, this is a simple guide that you can follow to see whether or not meat is good.
Once you learn to know how to tell if a steak is bad, you never need to take a chance on eating bad meat and getting sick. If you see no signs that your steak is bad, and it is only one day past its best-by date, then it should be fine to cook and eat. Even if your steak is past its use-by date, you need to be extra cautious if it was not stored correctly, because it could be spoiled.
| How to identify a spoiled steak | Shelf Life |
| If the steak is older or expired, it will definitely smell bad, either like it is acidic, or it will have some sort of smell that is like rotten eggs or ammonia. | 3-5 days (In refrigerator) |
| If there is some discoloration on the surface of the meat (green-grayish color mostly), then it has gone bad. | Freezing it will extend its shelf life for up to 6-12 months. |
If it has been properly preserved, you may still use it one to two days later, but it might not be quite as tasty. Even if keeping your steaks in the fridge slows the aging process and helps you keep them a couple days, still, meat does not keep fresh forever. If not stored correctly, having been sitting in a fridge or freezer for an extended period, then eventually, the meat will spoil and go rotten. A spoiled steak will have a dirty color, slimy coating on the surface, and it will have a foul taste and smell.
To learn about How Long Can Steak Last In The Fridge, then check out this article!
While you are not advised to test spoiled steaks for flavor, spoiled meat has a rancid flavor. If your steak has gone rancid, it will have a harsh odor, which smells acidic, or eggy, or like ammonia. If your steak has gone bad, however, it will have a strong odor that smells sour, or like eggs or ammonia in small amounts. If you are unsure if your steak has an aging odor, or an off-putting one, use your other senses to confirm if it is gone bad.
By the way if you are interested in Can You Eat Spoiled Tuna, then check out my another article.
Your steak should smell perfectly fine, and if it has gone bad, smell is generally a reliable indicator. This aroma is not overwhelming, and you need to hold your nose really close to the steak in order to detect it. While it does not smell quite like a bouquet of flowers, it also should not completely turn anyone off. If something is not right with the smell, you are better off simply throwing out the steak, just to be safe.
If your steak is older or expired, it will definitely smell bad, either like it is acidic, or it will have some sort of smell that is like rotten eggs or ammonia. Assuming that you are eating steaks that are a bit discolored or that smell and feel a bit less appealing, it is unlikely you are going to get any foodborne symptoms. If a steak looks lackluster, and when you bite into the meat, it feels leathery, this may be having an adverse effect on your meal. If the steak looks truly dried out or has shrunk, it is no longer fit for eating, and you should throw it out.
If, however, you see your steak looking discolored, and shows any of the other signs of changes or deterioration that I already mentioned, you should throw it out. If your steak is noticeably darker, and shows the other signs described in this guide — that is when it is time to toss. If the troubling color is coupled with other signs that your steak is not good, you definitely should not be using it. Just like the grub signs your steak is bad, if a dryness factor and another sign are paired, it is probably a bad one.
The best way to handle a used one is to try and avoid letting the steak get too bad to begin with. If your used-by date is 1st March, then you need to either throw your steaks on a grill, or put your steaks in your freezer before that date in order to prevent them from going bad. If the use-by date is 22nd March, you will need to throw it on your grill or put it in the freezer before that date to keep it from going bad. Getting it would give you a two-day window to get the steaks to thaw (most take just around 24 hours, but some of the thicker cuts might require closer to 48 hours) before they can spoil according to their original use-by dates.
You can probably still eat your steak one day past the used-by date, but you will have to test it to make sure that it is not spoiled–luckily, your senses of smell, sight, and touch will tell you everything you need to know. Remember, a use-by date is for stores to know when to take items off shelves, but if your steak is well past its use-by date, you will need to check it for any other signs of spoiledness. Leaving your steak in the refrigerator for 10 days is certainly a risky move, but this post will show you how to tell the signs your steak needs to be thrown out.
In addition to showing you how to know whether your steak is spoiled, this article will look at the best ways to store your steaks and extend their shelf life. I am going to give you an easy-to-follow guide to telling when steak is bad, how long it will last, how to properly store it, and plenty of other helpful tips that can help you enjoy the most delicious steaks. Now that you know what to look out for, you should feel confident you will be able to distinguish between good steak and bad steak.
Raw steaks can quickly turn rancid, so it is important to pay close attention and look out for any signs that may suggest a spoilage. You cannot avoid the inevitable: Steaks eventually go bad, despite stories you may have heard of people eating meat from a woolly mammoth found on an Arctic tundra. If your steak is dry and lacks juice, that does not always mean that you are going to get a bad stomach if you grill it.
Will steak taste bad if it’s spoiled?
Even though it is not advisable, rotten meat can be identified by its rancid taste. Your steak has gone rotten if it tastes very sour or harsh. Bad steak frequently develops this sticky layer a few days before it starts to mildew.
How can you tell if meat is spoiled?
Your face will wrinkle up from the unique, strong scent of spoiled flesh. Spoilt meats might feel slimy or greasy to the touch in addition to having an unpleasant odor. Rotten proteins will also appear to have a little color shift. A bluish-white to yellowish hue range should be seen in poultry.