What It Means When Your Uncooked Steak Turns Brown

Steak is often expensive when ordered at a restaurant. Cooking it at home offers a more affordable alternative, and while it can seem intimidating at first, it's easy to achieve a perfectly seared steak once you do it a few times. But before your steak hits the heat, you should always make sure it's good quality. So, what does it mean when that meat turns brown?

Spoiler alert: it's usually nothing to worry about. We often visually examine food to know whether it's fine to eat, but steak is a little different because it can change color based on its oxygen level. No matter the cut of steak, those bright red pieces of meat you see in the butcher's case actually look that way because of how much oxygen they're exposed to. If you've been keeping your meat tightly sealed and you notice parts of it appear brown when you go to cook it, that has more to do with the lack of oxygen — which isn't bad or unsafe — and less to do with its quality. Still, there are certain signs to look for to know when it's time to toss that old piece of uncooked meat.

Steak gets its color from a protein within the meat called myoglobin, which helps transport oxygen. When the myoglobin has plenty of oxygen, it turns bright red due to a chemical reaction. But when it's deprived of oxygen, it loses that cherry red color we often associate with fresh meat. However, that quality and freshness still remain. Chef Gavin of Certified Angus Beef says that the lack of oxygen results in something called metmyoglobin, which is that unpleasant brown color change when the meat is oxidized.

"That is just an oxidizing effect," the chef says of meat turning brown. "It is not actually a sign of the quality of the meat." He adds that meat with brown spots is still "just as fresh" as meat that's cherry red.

While brown meat doesn't signal spoilage, it's still best to inspect any cut of raw meat to ensure it's fresh before cooking it. The best way to tell is from smell. Spoiled steak emits a foul odor, and this is the most reliable way to tell when something is too old. If the meat is odorless and was cut and refrigerated within the last five days, per FoodSafety.gov guidelines, then it's fine if it has those brown spots.