| The objectives of these studies were to determine the effects of cut, cooking method, and postmortem aging on improving consumers' perception of beef. Consumers evaluated bottom round, top sirloin, ribeye, and a value cut samples for overall like, tenderness, juiciness, and flavor to understand how different cuts influence consumers' perception of beef characteristics. Consumers' rated the ribeye and value cut similar for overall like, tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. Bottom round steaks were rated the lowest for overall like and the toughest. Correlation and regression coefficients showed flavor was the largest influencing factor for overall like for the ribeye, value cut, and top sirloin. The value cut is comparable to the ribeye. Study two evaluated how different cooking methods (open-pan, oven bag, vacuum bag) influence the formation of warmed-over flavor (WOF) in reheated and fresh beef clod roasts (small, medium, large) utilizing a trained panel and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Fresh vacuum bag and reheated open-pan roasts had higher cardboardy scores compared with fresh open-pan roasts. Brothy and fat flavors were higher in reheated roasts that were cooked in oven and vacuum bags. Lipid oxidation found fresh and reheated large and reheated medium roasts to have lower TBARS values. Presence of WOF can be prevented by cooking, storing, and reheating larger roasts in a cooking bag. Study three evaluated low marbled beef short and strip loins to determine the effect of post-mortem aging time (six aging periods) and type (wet and dry) on Warner-Bratzler shear force, slice shear force, and a trained panel. Slice shear force was not influenced by the aging parameters. As the days increased up to 35 d product was more tender, with days 35, 42, and 49 being similar. Panelists found similar results for tenderness up to 28 d of aging. Overall aged flavor was influenced by aging period, with days 42 and 49 having the numerically highest flavor scores, and dry boneless loins having more intense aged flavor. Beefy flavor was not influenced by aging. Aging regardless of method improves tenderness of low marbled loins, but neither method was able to improve beefy flavor. |
