Effects of quality grade, aging period, blade tenderization, and degree of doneness on tenderness of inside round steaks

We used 162 inside rounds to determine the influence of different quality grades, postmortem aging periods, blade tenderization passes, and degree of doneness on thawing and cooking losses and Warner-Bratzler Shear force (WBS, tenderness). Select (SEL), Choice (CHO), and Certified Angus Beef™ (CAB) inside rounds were aged for 7, 14, or 21 days and not tenderized (0X) or blade tenderized one (1X) or two (2X) times. Steaks from each inside round were assigned randomly to final endpoint cooking temperatures of 150, 160, and 170°F. Percentage of thawing loss was higher (P<.05) for steaks aged 7 days than steaks aged 14 and 21 days. For CHO steaks only, cooking loss was higher (P<.05) for the 2X group compared to the 0X and 1X groups. Steaks aged 14 and 21 days had lower (P<.05) WBS than steaks aged 7 days. Cooking loss and WBS were higher (P<.05) with each increase in endpoint cooking temperature. Postmortem aging (14 or 21 days) and lower endpoint cooking temperatures were the most effective methods to improve WBS of inside round steaks

Effects of postmortem aging period and blade tenderization on sensory traits of beef steaks

We used 54 strip loins, 54 top sirloin butts, and 54 inside rounds, all USDA Choice grade, to determine the influence of different postmortem aging periods and blade tenderization passes on sensory panel traits. Cuts were aged for 7, 14, or 21 days and not tenderized (0X) or blade tenderized one (1X) or two (2X) times. All steaks were cooked to 160°F internally, and samples were evaluated by a trained sensory panel for flavor intensity, juiciness, myofibrillar tenderness, connective tissue amount, and overall tenderness. Both longer aging periods and blade tenderization passes improved tenderness of strip loin and top sirloin butt steaks without affecting either flavor or juiciness, but did not affect tenderness of top round steaks. Therefore, meat purveyors should use these technologies to improve tenderness and consistency of strip loin and top sirloin butt steaks

Effects of quality grade, aging period, blade tenderization, and degree of doneness on tenderness of strip loin

We used 162 strip loins to determine the influence of different quality grades, aging periods, blade tenderization passes, and degree of doneness on thawing and cooking loss and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS, tenderness). Select (SEL), Choice (CHO), and Certified Angus Beef™ (CAB) strip loins were aged for 7, 14, or 21 days and not tenderized (0X) or blade tenderized one (1X) or two (2X) times. Steaks from each strip loin were assigned randomly to final endpoint cooking temperatures of 150, 160, and 170°F. For steaks aged 7 days, all quality grade and blade tenderization treatments had similar (P>.05) WBS. For steaks aged 14 days, CHO steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than SEL steaks, CAB tended (P=.07) to have lower WBS than SEL, 2X steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than 1X steaks, and 1X steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than 0X steaks. For steaks aged 21 days, CAB steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than CHO steaks, CHO steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than SEL steaks, and 2X steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than 1X steaks. Among the 0X and 2X groups, CAB and CHO steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than SEL steaks. For the 1X group, only CAB steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than SEL steaks. Blade tenderization improved tenderness of strip steaks but should be combined with high quality grades, increased aging, and lower endpoint cooking temperatures to achieve maximum tenderness

A survey on the use of blade tenderizers by beef fabrication plants

A questionnaire to determine the use of blade tenderizers in beef fabrication facilities was sent to 241 members of the North American Meat Processors Association (NAMP). Eighty-four percent of the 90 respondents used blade tenderizers. These subprimals were at least sometimes tenderized by the following percentages of respondents: tenderloins, 7.9; chuck cuts, 18; round cuts, 36; ribeyes, 38; strip loins, 56; and top sirloin butts, 62. If a processor blade-tenderized a particular cut, they tenderized a majority of their production for that cut, generally with multiple passes through the tenderizer. For example, the 62% of respondents who tenderized top sirloin butts tenderized 87% of their production of that cut with an average of 1.6 passes. Cuts were aged by 70.7% of respondents that used blade tenderizers. The average aging period was 20 days, and the range was 7 to 60 days. Our respondents fabricated 75.1% of their beef products for the hotel/restaurant industry, 13.3% for retail, and 6.0% for other markets such as export or warehouse distributors. Blade tenderization is used widely by NAMP members, most often on ribeyes, strip loins, and top sirloin butts, and often combined with aging

Effects of quality grade, aging period, blade tenderization, and degree of doneness on tenderness of top sirloin butt steaks

We used 162 top sirloin butts to determine the influence of different quality grades, postmortem aging periods, blade tenderization passes, and degree of doneness on thawing and cooking losses and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS, tenderness). Select (SEL), Choice (CHO), and Certified Angus Beef™ (CAB) top sirloin butts (n=54 for each) were aged for 7, 14, or 21 days and not tenderized (OX) or blade tenderized one (1X) or two (2X) times. Steaks from each top sirloin butt were assigned randomly to final endpoint cooking temperatures of 150, 160, and 170°F. Each longer aging period resulted in lower (P<.05, more tender) WBS. In addition, steaks blade tenderized 2X had lower (P<.05) WBS than steaks not tenderized or blade tenderized 1X. Within each quality grade, WBS increased (P<.05) as endpoint cooking temperature increased. When cooked to 160 or 170°F, CHO and CAB steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than SEL steaks. Increased aging periods and blade tenderization passes of top sirloin butt steaks improved tenderness. When cooking to higher endpoint temperatures, using higher quality grades will minimize toughness caused by cooking