Whut: that red juice coming out of your steak isn’t blood

In the Today I Learned category, I’ve got a fun one for you—one that I, at least, only found out about fairly recently. That red juice that can come out of your steak (unless, of course, you’re a weirdo who only orders a steak well done) isn’t blood at all. Some people also order it ‘nice and bloody’ (which, to me, sounds anything but appetizing), but that actually doesn’t make any sense.

So what is it? In any case, it has nothing to do with blood.

No blood in steak

The blood is almost entirely removed during the slaughtering process, leaving very little in the muscle tissue. What remains is a mixture of water and the protein called myoglobin—and that’s what can seep out of your steak.

This protein is released when muscle tissue breaks down, and that happens fairly quickly. Fun fact: myoglobin is also the protein that makes the difference between white and red meat. The more myoglobin is present, the redder the meat. Chicken (as well as seafood) contains very little myoglobin.

There you go, you’ve learned something new on a Sunday evening—and now you can make a great impression the next time steak is served.

Also read:

• Tried and tested: pulled oats, your new favorite meat substitute?
• Trend watchers on the 17 most important food trends of 2023
• Why we should all be eating goose (no joke)