Unveiling The Truth: The Surprising Revelation About Steak’s Red Liquid
I learned something new today that blew my mind. Many of you probably already know this but I was today years old when I found out that the red liquid that drips from steaks is actually not blood. What?
I was doing my best to look busy at work today which calls for lots of Facebook scrolling. I know, weird, right?
Anyway, I came across a post by one of my friends who shared another post from J&B Cattle Company which stated that the red liquid from steaks is not blood.
Mind. Blown.
OK, full disclosure: I have to tell you that I used to be a sinner when it comes to how I liked my steak cooked. Yes, I used to like it well done. I know, I was psycho. Eventually, I would learn to at least like it medium well. Then about 4 years ago, I realized my horrible evil ways and started eating my steaks medium rare.
One of the reasons I didn't want to eat a steak that was less than medium well was because the 'blood' dripping from the steak always grossed me out. As it turns out, I was wrong about that juice being blood.
So, after I saw the post, I had to do some research to see if that was indeed the case. One of the many sites I found that had the info I was looking for was meatscience.com.
As meat ages and is handled or cut, proteins lose their ability to hold onto water. Over time, some water is released and myoglobin flows out with it, giving the liquid a red or pink color. When the water seeps out, the protein that gives meat its color (myoglobin) flows out with the water. (Meat Science)
There you have it. The red liquid is not blood after all. If you are like I was and hated the thought of ingesting a bunch of blood from a steak, rest assured it's not actually blood.
So do yourself a favor and start eating steak the right way. Unless you would rather eat a catcher's mitt for a steak, instead of a nice, juicy, tender piece of meat.
To each their own.
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Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins