Seeing Things in Color

• Fresh steak has a purple to red hue, but if your meat seems a bit gray, it doesn't necessarily mean that the meat has spoiled. When meat is exposed to the air, it oxidizes and changes color to more of a gray or darker red tone. Steak that feels a bit slimy or sticky to the touch and has an unpleasant odor, though, has likely spoiled and should be discarded. If you see any mold on the meat, this also means that it has spoiled. Because mold filaments can spread into parts of the meat that you can't see, you must throw away the steak rather than simply cutting away the moldy bits.

The Average Life of a Steak

• Raw steak lasts for about two days past the "sell by" date printed on the package when refrigerated at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. If your steak has been in the fridge longer than this amount of time, it's probably starting to spoil. To preserve your steak for a much longer amount of time, freeze it at 0 F for up to eight months. Whether refrigerating or freezing your steak, wrap it in plastic first to prevent it from drying out. If your steak was frozen and wasn't wrapped tightly, it may develop white patches of freezer burn. The steak is still safe to cook, although you might want to trim those patches away because they can affect the taste and texture of the meat.

Where's That Steak Been Hanging Out

• If beef isn't consistently refrigerated, it can develop harmful spoilage bacteria. When you defrost frozen steaks, always do so in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage. Steaks that have been out at room temperatures from 40 to 90 F for more than two hours at a time have grown too much bacteria, which you can't see, and should be discarded. If you've left the steaks out in temperatures above 90 F, discard them after one hour. The steaks may not appear or smell bad, but if they haven't been constantly refrigerated or if the power has gone out for more than four hours in your fridge, it's best to toss those steaks and purchase new ones.

Safety First When Cooking Meat

• Cooking a steak that's spoiled won't kill off certain heat-resistant spores and toxins produced by spoilage microorganisms that develop in the meat. However, if your steaks have been properly refrigerated and they look and smell good, cook them to an internal temperature of at least 145 F, using a meat thermometer to test them. This will kill off any harmful bacteria like E. coli that's in the meat, even though it's not spoiled. Allow your steak to rest for at least three minutes before serving. Store your cooked steak for up to one week in the refrigerator, or eight months in the freezer.