Are brats supposed to be gray?
Because most pork meat turns gray when cooked. Unless you use ham which has been processed beforehand to keep it pink by using sodium nitrates(pink salt) or smoked then the meat changes colors.
Sausages turn grey because of oxidation. The oxygen-delivering protein, called myoglobin, found in meat sausages, gives them their red color. What is this? However, when exposed to air for long enough, the pigment of the meat can turn from an appealing red to a dull greyish brown.
Most meat will "brown" or "gray" as it is exposed to the air and the blood dries up (or drains out). This is not, in any way, a sign of bad meat. In fact it "may" be a sign of good, natural meat.
First, if your pork sausage has gone bad, you can tell by the sausage's smell, look, and texture. If it has a putrid odor, a slimy coat, or a uniform color, then you shouldn't eat it.
Bratwurst is rare if it is still pink in the middle and has a soft texture. A brat should be golden brown throughout and have a firm, but not too firm, texture. Medium-rare, which is slightly pinker than rare, has a firmer texture than rare and medium, is almost cooked, but with a more delicate texture than well-done.
If it has a grayish color or any slimy coat, it may have gone bad. You should also smell the sausage to make sure it doesn't have a sour aroma. Healthy uncooked sausage will be pink and smell only of the herbs inside. When you've got your sausages sizzling, check them to make sure they're cooked through before serving.
Nicoletti said meat that has been frozen can sometimes change color from red to brownish-gray due to a lack of oxygen or introduction of oxygen in the freezer, but it can still be fine to eat.
However, if the exterior of the meat, or a majority of the package contents, has turned gray or brown, then it's a sign that the meat is beginning to spoil and should be tossed immediately.
If you open a package of ground beef and find the interior meat looks gray, it's likely because the meat hasn't been exposed to oxygen. In that case, the meat is still safe to eat, provided it doesn't have any other indicators of spoilage (read more on that below).
When pork is no longer good, you will notice that it is dull in color and can look greyish. The inside might still be pink but once you start seeing any grey or dulling in color you want to toss it out.
How long do brats last in the fridge?
Brats sausages can be stored in the fridge for up to two days once opened. It is possible to store sausages for 14 days after they are packaged. They need to be cooked quickly because they're fresh sausages.
After the package is open and resealed properly when returned to the refrigerator, the links will remain fresh for up to seven days.
Uncooked fresh sausage can be stored in the refrigerator one to two days; after cooking, keep for three to four days refrigerated (40 °F or less). Hard or dry sausage (such as pepperoni and Genoa salami), whole and unopened, can be stored indefinitely in the refrigerator or for up to six weeks in the pantry.
When the juice runs out clear, they are ready (when it runs out pink or bloody, they are not done). It is essential to know, brats will have some pinkish tint to them no matter how long you grill them. The outside should show a golden-brown color when it is done.
You can develop trichinosis (trichinellosis) by eating undercooked meat infected with Trichinella roundworms. Cooking meat at recommended temperatures can help prevent being infected.
The sausages are heated in water—well short of boiling—for about ten minutes, which will turn them greyish-white because no color-preserving nitrite is used in Weisswurst preparation.
Color-wise, the slogan worked because pork cooked to 160 degrees is a pale, languid white-gray color. In contrast, pork cooked to 145 degrees remains decidedly pink. It's not "bloody" like rare-cooked beef but still, the pork's color can be described only as pink-pink-pink.
When pork is no longer good, you will notice that it is dull in color and can look greyish. The inside might still be pink but once you start seeing any grey or dulling in color you want to toss it out.
What Color Should Sausage Be When Cooked? A perfectly cooked pork or beef sausage should have a deep red-pink color. Chicken or turkey sausages usually have a lighter reddish-pink color when cooked.
It's mold. Yup, you read that right. The powdery stuff on your salami is mold, but it's the good kind of mold, and it's completely edible.
What does spoiled pork look like?
Use your eyes and nose to evaluate pork
A slimy or sticky texture is bad, per Livestrong. A dull or grayish color to the pork, as Home Cook Basics notes, is also a sign your pork may be going bad. A yellowish or greenish color is even worse. Healthy pork should have a pinkish hue, with white fat marbling.
Trichinellosis, more commonly known as trichinosis, is a parasitic food-borne disease that is caused by eating raw or undercooked meats, particularly pork products infested with the larvae of a type of roundworm called Trichinella. When you eat food, your stomach acid and enzymes digest what you eat.
A dull grey hue, a terrible or sour odor, and a mushy or slimy texture are all signs of poor pork.
