EVALUATION OF METHODS OF ASSESSING TENDERNESS ON RAW AND COOKED BEEF MUSCLE

Abstract

Methods of estimating tenderness of beef muscle were evaluated on 282 steer and heifer carcasses. pH values (1 h and 2 h post-mortem) did not relate to shear values or panel tenderness scores on the cooked longissimus dorsi, evaluated after 6 days’ aging. Values obtained with the Armour tenderometer on the raw rib-eye were not useful predictors of tenderness of the cooked muscle (r2 < 6%). The Ottawa Texture Measuring System extrusion cell did not relate texture properties of the raw muscle to tenderness of the cooked meat. Marbling score explained 14% of the variance in panel tenderness scores. No satisfactory classification of carcasses into tenderness desirability groups was achieved with any of the methods examined.