How To Tell If Meat Glue Was Used On A Restaurant Steak

When you order a steak at a restaurant or steakhouse, you expect the meat to have been cut directly from the source and not modified in any way. In a bid to cut costs, though, some restaurant and hotel chains use "meat glue" to bond pieces of meat together to create real-looking whole steaks, specifically filet mignon, the most tender cut of steak. Fortunately, there are several ways to tell when a restaurant does this.

First, let's explain how restaurants form or pre-form filet mignon. They start by covering leftover chunks of meat with transglutaminase, an enzyme that the body naturally has but can be manufactured and used in powder form as a food additive. Then, the pieces are squished together, wrapped with plastic to form a roll, and refrigerated overnight to set. The enzyme acts as a binder or glue, coagulating and fusing the chunks into a flawlessly shaped filet mignon that can be sliced into whole-looking cuts.

Now, let's determine if your filet mignon was created with this meat glue. It's difficult to see the difference just by looking at the outside of your steak, and it will taste normal, too. Cutting the portion of meat in half, though, will reveal seams where the chunks were bonded together. The steak could even fall apart rather than remain whole as you slice. If you want to avoid food that's held together with meat glue, ask your waiter before ordering filet mignon whether the meat is formed or pre-formed. The FDA doesn't require restaurants to tell diners on the menu when transglutaminase is used in dishes.

Learning what meat glue is and that you can find it in restaurant steaks might not sound appetizing or safe. Since 1998, though, the FDA has generally recognized it as safe for improving cooking yields and texture in meat and poultry and for reforming or fabricating meat cuts. Plus, some chefs like to use transglutaminase to create meat fusions by combining different kinds of proteins together, such as steak and chicken.

That's why the safety of the finished product depends on how restaurant chefs use, handle, and cook meat glue-containing foods. According to the USDA, they are required to follow specific guidance regarding formed meats. Steaks must be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit and allowed to rest for at least three minutes afterward before cutting into them.

However, Oregon Health & Science University Professor of Medicine Dr. P. Barton Duell, believes that all transglutaminase-fused meats should be cooked to a minimum of 165 degrees. The reason is that, since formed products are made of pieces of meat, bacteria could be in the center. As a result, medium-rare and medium-cooked products could be a health hazard, whereas cooking them to a higher temperature eliminates that risk. In the end, the only way to ensure a restaurant steak containing meat glue is safe to eat is to order it well done.