Ok so I made birria (for quesabirria tacos) in my crock pot tonight. Recipe is linked below for reference. I’m inexperienced with stew meat and slowcooking so I’m not sure what’s normal.
When I first took the meat from the package, some of the edges on the bottom were kinda blueish. I asked my bf if that’s normal & he said it’s just oxidation. The beef was packaged and bought yesterday. Looked good other than the bit of blueishness. I use it, and then four hours later I take it out of the pot to shred and notice that all the fatty & connective tissue areas are literally charcoal gray. And slimy. They looked unsettling. This was not at all the case before cooking. I showed my bf & he said it’s probably just bc the broth the meat cooked in was dark (the broth is a maroon color) but I’m not convinced by that. He kept insisting it was fine & my google searches of whether the meat was safe to eat were inconclusive so I went ahead and shredded it all, put it back in its broth, and made the tacos with it. It looked pretty normal once all shredded and soaked in the broth. My bf has eaten 5 now and I’m still hesitant (though I have taken a bite, & they’re good! Lol). The specific type of meat is “usda choice beef chuck short rib boneless”. Bought at safeway.
Why did the fatty/connective tissue parts turn charcoal gray?
Is it safe to eat?
Appreciate any input!
https://muybuenoblog.com/birria-de-res/
by TightElk9092