Mystery meat?

[Shiloh Acres]

Hmmm ... asking opinions, what y'all think here?

I went to "The City" a couple days ago, and finally visited one of the big ethnic markets with fresh-made tortillas (yum!) and generally great prices on meats and produce.

I had been needing some ground beef, and they had it for a much better price than anywhere I've seen, so I got about 8 pounds. I got it at the butcher shop in there (very busy shop!) and the label said "Cleaned ground beef" ... it wasn't the high-fat stuff but the next step up. I couldn't ask any questions because I speak Spanish too slowly, and the lady helping me didn't speak English.

Well ... I usually cook in batches, and tonight I'd planned to cook it all. When I took it out of the package (been here 2 days, should be fine) it smelled funny. Not like meat gone bad but ... like something besides hamburger? It has a smell that reminds me of spiced pork mixed with ground beef? It looks ok. Some slight browning to the surface places that have been exposed to air, but mostly looks like fairly freshly ground meat.

It smells great, actually. Just not like plain raw ground beef.

So, now I am cooking it. Haven't added spices. And it still smells ... odd? Not bad exactly, but just different.

This is a huge store, in the middle of a big city. Prices are cheap, but I'm not paranoid that they are trapping possums out back. Besides, I've eaten a lot of things that other people might balk at a bit. I *AM* a country girl. The only thing I ever had a problem with was elk mixed with pork ... for some reason it makes me sick.

I looked up "cleaned ground beef" online in case it means something, but found nothing. Maybe they've just added some spices? I can't figure it out. I wonder if they DID add spiced ground pork?

What would y'all think? Would you use it as normal? I probably will, just not spice too heavily so I can taste it at first.

The last time I cooked ground beef with no seasoning, the fat came out so pretty and white, I should have saved it and I'm thinking of using that fat that I dumped into the bowl to take outside and bury for the chickens .... mix the old fat with a little buggy cornmeal I have and whatever else I can find and make them some cakes. This fat though I may just bury ... since I'm somehow not quite sure what it is that's "off" about it.

 

[lwheelr]

If the fat comes out orange, and the meat has a definite Mexi-spice smell, it might be Chorizo.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Fat is yellow. Normally when I cook unseasoned ground beef the fat comes off clear and hardens white.

I don't know what to think. It's a bit less appetizing to smell it cooking than it smells raw. Again, not bad, but actually puts off a bit less-fresh smell while cooking.

Not as spicy a smell as chorizo. But they sell that too. Maybe a bit of cross-contamination (not in a bad way, just the smell).

 

[TanksHill]

The question is did you see anyone else buy that meat at the store? Did they look worried? Maybe next time you can have someone else ask the lady? Or if there is another customer waiting to be helped. who speaks both English/Spanish . Maybe they could ask for you.

The only thing that worries me is the "Cleaned" part. What did they clean and with what?

I say cook it up and eat some. See how it taste and go from there.

 

[patandchickens]

On the one hand if you are just real sure to cook it super-thoroughly it probably will not kill you.

OTOH I am generally very broadminded about eating "whatever", myself (although not necessarily as broadminded about serving it to others), but the one thing I am real leery of buying cheap or unknown-provenence versions of is ground meat. Partly because any ol' thing can be disguised but chiefly because if you're going to have bacteriological issues with any meat it will be with ground meat as it is just the perfect conditions to magnify any little irregularities in hygeine.

If it were me I would probably cook it all up, very thoroughly, and freeze most of it immediately, eat just a bit of it. Wait a week. If i'm still alive, eat the rest. If I'm alive but hated the taste, feed the frozen stuff to the chickens instead. If I've spent much of the week communing with the toilet one way or another, toss the frozen stuff in the trash and vow not to buy ground meat at mom-n-pop/ethnic markets again

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Shiloh Acres]

It's all cooked. I ate a small amount and I'm fine today.

I think I will call the store and ask about "cleaned". It wasn't so cheap that I suspected some real problem. But I do wanna know.

Once it was cooked and the meat no longer red, I could see here and there flecks of pepper or some red spice. Not sure if it was intentional or they ground it after something spicy.

Things were hopping back there. I didn't see anyone else buy THAT meat, but I wasn't watching either. It was a huge butcher shop with LOTS of different meats.

I think what I smelled was likely a spice residue from something else?

Thanks!

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Thanks Pat.

I was typing while you were, but that's exactly what I did. Cooked it all (no slices), ate a little (tasted fine), and froze the rest. It's only been 10 hours but so far so good. I'll call the store, and wait to see what happens.

Thanks!

 

[patandchickens]

You know, I am wondering whether "cleaned" may have been some poorly-expressed intent to say that it was the batch from when the machine was cleaned/transitioned from grinding one thing (e.g. sausage meat) to another (ground beef), which could also account for the low low price?

Just a wild guess,

Pat

 

[FarmerChick]

Prices are cheap, but I'm not paranoid that they are trapping possums out back.

ya got me interested, when you call the store post back. Now I have to know about this meat!

 

[lwheelr]

Just remember, e-Coli can take up to 48 hours to incubate after ingestion.

Just mention that since I'm still finishing a bout, and that was just NOT FUN.