Community Chat

[qualityshopper]

Baked a ham a few days ago, along with roasting a turkey for the holiday, and came across something weird last night when I was slicing pieces off to eat. On the first slice, I noticed some dark (looked blackish to me) spots or dots--about 4 or 5 close together. Sliced off a little more and saw a few more. Then, as I kept slicing, instead of spots, I was finding dark pieces of whatever?? I really don't know how to describe what I saw. Little lengthwise dark things within the meat. Can't imagine what any of this could be. We had already eaten a lot of the ham without seeing anything strange. These places just showed up in the middle of the ham. I plan to call the company Monday to see if they can explain this, but meanwhile was wondering if any of you had any ideas. Afraid to eat any more till I know. Have never encountered this before in my whole life.

[lolakimono]

@qualityshopper

From Food Network-

Fresh hams are good roasted, braised or stewed, but keep in mind that they are less forgiving than shoulder because the ham is leaner. Pork should be pink to pale red in color with white fat. Avoid pork that looks dry, shows dark spots on either the meat or the fat, or is sitting in liquid. A little marbling (veins of intramuscular fat that run through the meat) is a good thing if you can find it —marbling means juicy meat.

Pork will spoil within about three days, so cook and eat it fairly quickly after purchase. If it develops a smell or feels sticky to the touch, it is no longer fresh and should be thrown away.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/ham-guide-and-recipes.html?oc=linkback

[nomless]

I googled "dark specks within ham" and found a comment that it could be discoloration from the needle used to inject water/brine into the ham.  The commenter felt it was safe to eat.  But, yes, call the company and ask to be sure.  

[gabstoomuch]

By your description I am thinking you are seeing injection sites. They inject "stuff" into hams. Scary when you actually know they inject our food with chemicals for either taste or to control the ripening speed (they inject bananas).

[ROMARY]

Call the company, and if you don't know the name of the company, return it to the store.   I'm now thinking that it's probably a good idea to either save the wrapper, or at least write down the product expiration date and code number. Just in case.

[qualityshopper]

Since I can't call the company until Monday, I decided to call the grocery store where I bought it and talk to someone in the meat dept. He thought the dark spots (more like dots) might be where it wasn't bled properly. I used a magnifying glass to get a closer look at the long dark things and think they might be blood vessels. Whatever they are, I've never seen this before. He said I could bring the ham back to the store and they'd make it good, but now I'm not sure I'd want to replace it with another ham. I'll see what the company says tomorrow.

[CelticCrafter]

If it were me and I were leery of eating anymore of it, I would have gotten rid of it.

Could it be harmless, yes.  Is it wasteful, yes but it wouldn't be worth wondering about it for days.  

You said yesterday you baked it a few days ago, it's probably time for it to go anyway.

Chalk it up and don't buy that brand again. 

[qualityshopper]

Just a final update. I called the company Monday. The person I spoke to said she would have to ask someone else what they thought it might be and would call me back. She didn't offer any coupons or anything else to me. On Tuesday, I waited till about closing time and called again since I hadn't heard from her. Got someone else who, not only had an idea of what I had seen (blood spots and probably a blood vessel), but immediately offered me a refund and coupons for a future purchase. Very satisfied with the outcome.

[ROMARY]

When THEY don't know what it is, then it's best to not eat it.  Glad you called and all is well!