Woman Cooks Ground Beef From Grocery Store. Something In The Pan Catches Her Eye—So She Throws It All Away: ‘At Least You Know It’s Real’

A woman saw something in her ground beef that had her contemplating throwing away her whole dinner. But people online are assuring her it’s actually a good sign, proving the meat is real.

If you’re a beef lover living in the United States, the past few months probably have been pretty difficult.

First, beef prices have gone up dramatically. Second, the industry has been roiled in controversy. Over 167,000 pounds of beef had to be recalled due to having incorrect inspection labels, and while officials say they’re going to bring down beef prices through imports, mounting scandals have internet users dubbing the new imports “mystery meat.”

But even if the meat is made and inspected locally, that doesn’t mean that it’s totally ick-free. For example, one woman says she recently discovered an unwelcome addition in her ground beef. What is this?

What’s Inside This Ground Beef?

In a video with over 2.3 million views, TikTok user Maryssa Harrison (@maryssarichardson) says that she may have to “throw away” her dinner.

The reason? Something strange she says she found in her meat.

“I literally think I might have to throw away our dinner right now because I’m cooking, and I’m cooking ground beef, and please tell me—please tell me what this is,” she starts.

She then shows the pan. While most of the pan appears to be normal, cooked ground beef, there’s one part that doesn’t look quite right. Specifically, it looks like a thick, pale piece of macaroni.

“Am I supposed to just throw everything away?” she asks. “At this point, I think I have to, because I don’t think I can eat that.”

The Mystery In The Meat

Harrison’s apprehension is understandable. After all, you’re cooking ground beef. It doesn’t feel normal to see something that is clearly not ground and a totally different color and texture from the meat.

That said, the presence of this mystery item isn’t that weird in ground beef. That’s because this appears to simply be another part of the cow.

In short, this appears to be a vein. While they aren’t supposed to show up in ground beef—especially in such a big chunk—a large piece can occasionally slip through the cracks. Consequently, you might find one of these straw-like pieces of meat in your beef.

Even though this isn’t especially common, it does happen. Searches for the topic online come up with dozens of posts from Reddit and other social media all showing similar pieces found in ground beef. 

Is It Safe To Eat A Vein In Ground Beef?

As with other parts of the ground beef, it is safe to eat a vein, provided it has been properly cooked. This means reaching an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, or 71 degrees Celsius. 

That said, you might not want to eat it. Vessels have a different texture than the surrounding ground beef. If you bite them, you might find them to be chewy and unpleasant to eat.

This unpleasantness is largely because they are being prepared alongside ground beef. If cooked on their own and properly, vessels can actually be pretty tasty. In fact, there are many cultures around the world that happily eat animal veins and blood vessels.

For example, Chinese Sichuan cuisine sometimes employs huanghou, or “yellow throat,” in its hotpot. This is aorta from either beef or pork.

Some restaurants in Japan may also serve specially prepared beef aorta. This is known as hatsumoto, korikori or takenoko.

Crucially, all of these dishes require special preparation. So don’t think you can just pick a vessel out of your ground beef and expect something tasty.

Rancher Weighs In

In the comments section, some users said that Harrison should not be shocked nor disgusted to find animal organs in her ground beef.

“Oh no there’s cow parts in my cow parts,” joked a user.

“Rancher here. It’s a piece of vascular tissue. Either a vein or an artery,” offered another. “It happens sometimes. Perfectly safe to pick it out and eat the ground beef. In fact there are pieces of vascular tissue in ground beef. This one just escaped the grinding process.”

On the flip side, others shared in her disgust.

“Found one of those in a sausage mcmuffin in the middle 1980s. haven’t had one since,” said a commenter.

“I grew up on a beef farm. I know it’s just a piece of vascular tissue or tendon or something. But the second I saw that I’d have to throw the whole thing away,” stated a second.

@maryssarichardson

Why 😭

♬ original sound – Maryssa Harrison

Futbol Chronicle reached out to Harrison via TikTok direct message and comment.