Thanks! The Smell of the Meat Tells It All. What happened? If you’ve ever opened a package of ground beef and wondered if it’s gone bad… My granddaughter suggested I google "ground chuck gray", which I did & chose your site. Wash your hands after handling raw beef so you don’t contaminate other surfaces. Is my ground beef safe to eat the next day if I defrosted it in the package in water all day and put it in the refrigerator for overnight? Rotten ground beef will smell bad. Please don't tell me to smell it because ground up flesh isn't something I smell often. of hamburger at Grocery Outlet and froze it immediately. The good news is that, no matter which type of ground beef you're cooking with, they're similar enough that you can use the same tricks to tell if it's fresh at the store, and the same techniques to determine if it's gone bad (via USDA ). Otherwise, bacteria could form. Unsafe foods can make you very sick. Spoiled meat smells gross. Store your cooked ground beef in freezer-safe, airtight, leak-proof containers. Beef thawed with water needs to be cooked right away. Can I freeze them now? You may start to notice white freezer spots on the beef after a few months. If your butcher sells ground beef to order, you may notice that when he or she scoops out a portion of meat, the ground beef toward the bottom of the container (that is not exposed to oxygen) looks gray, which understandably, may cause you to worry. Spread beef on dehydrator tray . Properly stored, cooked ground beef will last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. The clear colored juice may have been a watery mixture that leached out while cooking. The mold has started to grow and it is unsafe to be consumed. How To Tell If Pork Is Bad 1. Second, the touch test. If it smells funky or off, it's spoiled. The issue with food poisoning is that whatever baddies are in the meat have left behind toxins - that's one reason it's called food poisoning and not food. Examine the package for an expiration date. If it smells rancid, strong, or unpleasant, the meat has probably gone bad and should be thrown away. If it is slimy or really sticky then it is good chance that it has gone bad and not the risk. My gut instinct said throw it out! The best way is to smell and look at the ground beef: signs of bad ground beef are a sour smell and a slimy texture; discard any ground beef with an off smell or appearance, do not taste first. Depending on the bacteria involved, illness might occur within hours or up to several weeks later. Sources: For details about data … Raw ground beef will last 1 or 2 days past the sell-by date if constantly refrigerated. I bought some ground beef 3 weeks ago. Froze 2lbs of ground beef on 3rd day of refrigeration. Ground chuck is a type of ground beef that comes from beef shoulder, and ground round is made from the hind leg (via SF Gate). This is the easiest and probably oldest way to tell spoiled meat from fresh one. Your beef may have been freezer burned or it was expired when you bought it and you had never noticed it. If you are unsure about how to tell if pork is bad or pork chops are bad, you can do the following tests to check it: Step 1: Smell It. Smell it! You want to feel the ground turkey. That's a good indicator, that the ground beef has gone bad. There are three main ways to tell that ground beef is bad. The more it attacks the pork, the more the degradation that takes place. These areas can be cut off if there are only a few. Immediately you notice that your cooked meat emits a rancid or ammonia odor, looks gray or slimy, and feels damp, moldy, or sticky, it is a sure sign that it has gone bad. It changes color because the meat has been exposed to light and air. According to the USDA, cooked ground beef should be refrigerated and consumed within 3 days, while raw ground beef will only last 1-2 days in the fridge. If it feels sticky or slimy, it is probably bad. Is it safe to cook and eat beef that has turned brown? If it feels sticky or slimy, it is probably bad. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/c0\/Tell-if-Ground-Beef-Has-Gone-Bad-Step-1-Version-5.jpg\/v4-460px-Tell-if-Ground-Beef-Has-Gone-Bad-Step-1-Version-5.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/c0\/Tell-if-Ground-Beef-Has-Gone-Bad-Step-1-Version-5.jpg\/aid1126247-v4-728px-Tell-if-Ground-Beef-Has-Gone-Bad-Step-1-Version-5.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"