Especially when grilling, fresh meat is often put on the grill, which is only seasoned with a few spices. It is striking that a red juice often remains in the package. What’s this?
They unpack a piece of meat, leaving a red liquid. Sometimes it comes out of the meat when it is cooked. Is this blood?
What is the red liquid?
The juice that comes out of fresh meat is not blood. It is a liquid that contains the molecule myoglobin, explains the online magazine “twentytwowords.com”. From the outside, myoglobin is similar to the blood pigment hemoglobin, but it ensures that oxygen can be stored in the muscles. So the more active the animal was, the more oxygen its muscles needed. As a result, meat from animals with a lot of movement contains more myoglobin and is easily recognized by a striking red color.
When the meat is cooked, the liquid increases. The heat releases water from the meat, which combines with the oxygen-binding molecule and turns the broth red. This increases the “blood” effect.
Why is steak “bloody”?
Animals have to bleed completely after slaughter before their meat can be processed. A piece of meat that was not properly bled would spoil quickly and thus become inedible.
A “bloody” steak is actually a “watery” steak. It still contains sufficient liquid and is therefore soft and delicate. However, the longer it is cooked, the more water evaporates. It becomes firm. The expression “watery” steak would be correct, but this sounds less appetizing.
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