COMPOSITION AND QUALITY OF BEEF FROM STEERS SIRED BY PIEDMONTESE, GELBVIEH AND RED ANGUS BULLS1

Abstract

Abstract Forty-five steers produced by matings of Piedmontese (P), Gelbvieh (G) and Red Angus (RA) sires to British (B) and Continental crossbred (Cx) dams were started on a finishing diet at an average of 291 d. Five steers from each sire-breed group were slaughtered after 124, 166 or 208 d of finishing. Age-constant values for slaughter weight and estimated degree of maturity did not differ for the three sire breed groups. Carcasses produced by P steers had the least fat thickness, the largest longissimus muscle (LM) areas, the lowest numerical yield grades, the highest yields of separable muscle and the highest muscle-to-bone ratios. Additionally, LM samples from P-sired steers had the highest percentage of white muscle fibers, the lowest percentage of intermediate muscle fibers and the smallest cross-sectional area of red muscle fibers. Marbling scores and intramuscular lipid content were highest for RA steers; P and G steers had similar values for marbling and intramuscular lipid content. Longissimus steaks from G steers received the lowest ratings for tenderness, flavor intensity and amount of connective tissue. Steaks from P and RA steers received similar sensory panel ratings. No differences were observed among the three sire-breed groups for amount and solubility of intramuscular collagen or for partitioning of separable carcass fat.