Tenderness and sensory attributes of 11 muscles from carcasses within the Canadian cull cow grades

Abstract

The eating quality and shear force of meat from mature beef carcasses graded within the Canadian grading system were compared with youthful carcasses. Eleven muscles were obtained from mature-graded carcasses with >50% ossification (D1, D2, D3, and D4; n = 84) and youthful carcasses with <50% ossification [over 30 mo (OTM); n = 18, and under 30 mo (UTM) of age; n = 18, based on dentition]; muscles were aged 14 d prior to sensory and shear force analysis. Many muscles from mature-graded carcasses were juicier than UTM, however, most were less tender (P < 0.05). Psoas major was tender, particularly in D1 and OTM carcasses where tenderness measures were not significantly different from UTM (P > 0.05). Shear force values from the infraspinatus of D1 and OTM carcasses were not different from UTM. Flavour intensity was higher in several muscles from D1, D2, and D4 carcasses (P < 0.05), whereas flavour intensity was lower in several muscles from D3 (P < 0.05). Changes to eating quality attributes differed among mature grades; therefore, processors could potentially use the information presented here as a guide for utilizing cuts which retain high eating quality and separating those requiring tenderness intervention to reach consumer acceptability.