That Red Juice in Your Meat Isn’t Blood! (2024)

FAQs

That Red Juice in Your Meat Isn’t Blood!? ›

Any red fluid you see coming out of your steak is likely water and myoglobin, not blood. What happens when you cook meat? – Myoglobin is made of a protein and a heme ring, which contains an iron atom, both of which change when meat is cooked: The protein denatures, and the state of the iron changes.

But actually that red juice in your meat is not blood. Blood is removed during the slaughter process and afterwards very little blood remains in the muscle tissue. That red liquid is water mixed a protein called myoglobin. See as meat ages, the muscle tissue breaks down – and it doesn't take long.

Myoglobin is the heme iron containing protein that gives meat its color, and it is a great source of dietary iron. Myoglobin stores oxygen in muscle cells and is similar to hemoglobin that stores oxygen in blood cells.

Most mammals have plenty of myoglobin in their tissue, which is why meat that comes from mammals – including beef, lamb and pork – is known as 'red meat', and meat that comes from animals with low levels of myoglobin (like most poultry) or no myoglobin at all (like some sea life) is known as 'white meat'.

Myoglobin is the sarcoplasmic heme protein primarily responsible for the meat color, and the chemistry of myoglobin is species specific. The mechanistic interactions between myoglobin and multiple extrinsic and intrinsic factors govern the color of raw as well as cooked meats.

Because doneness and safety cannot be judged by color, it is very important to use a food thermometer when cooking ground beef. To be sure all harmful bacteria are destroyed, cook all ground beef products to an internal temperature of 160 °F throughout. Ground beef can be pink inside after it is safely cooked.

A juicy, succulent fillet steak, grilled medium rare.

What Does The New Testament Say About Eating Unclean Animals? In the New Testament, Jesus swept away these rules when He “declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:18-19): “There is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.”

Why is the eating of blood prohibited? We can find the answer here in Leviticus 17 and verse 11, and the Bible says: The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the LORD has commanded that all blood be poured out on the altar to take away the people's sins. Blood, which is life, takes away sins.

According to Leviticus 11:3, animals like cows, sheep, and deer that have divided hooves and chew their cud may be consumed. Pigs should not be eaten because they do not chew their cud. The ban on the consumption of pork is repeated in Deuteronomy 14:8.

Why is deer meat purple? ›

When meat is fresh and protected from contact with air (such as in vacuum sealed packages), it has the purple-red color that comes from myoglobin, one of the two key pigments responsible for the color of meat.

That sweet tang of dear meat comes from the copious blood, which also gives raw venison steaks their rich, burgundy color. “Dark meat like venison has more capillaries, so there's more blood in the tissue,” Goff says.

It's all about the level of myoglobin – the iron-containing protein in muscle – giving meat its red colour. White meat contains much less and that's why it has a paler colour.

Have you ever wondered why some cuts of meat you buy seem to have blood sloshing around in the package while others don't? Well, the liquid you see in those packages isn't blood at all. It is actually a combination of water and a protein called myoglobin.

Some consumers may wash or rinse their raw meat or poultry because it's a habit or because a family member they trust has always washed their meat. USDA research has found that washing or rinsing meat or poultry increases the risk for cross-contamination in the kitchen, which can cause foodborne illness.

The protein myoglobin is “one of the transportation vehicles that moves oxygen” around the body, Goldwyn says. It mixes with water to form “myowater,” which is the pink-hued liquid — it's not blood!

Blood not lost at sticking is probably largely retained in the viscera rather than the carcase. The residual blood content of lean meat is 2 to 9 ml/kg muscle. There is no evidence that this amount is affected by different slaughter methods or that large amounts of residual blood influence the microbiology of meat.