Beef ribeye rolls, strip loins, and top sirloin butts were aged for 14 days and then blast or conventionally frozen and slow or fast thawed, or were fresh, never frozen and aged for 14 days or 21 days (n = 270). Thawing method affected purge loss and tenderness, and freezing method had a minimal effect. Neither freezing nor thawing methods had an effect on sensory tenderness, and minimal effects on the other sensory attributes. It is possible to freeze and thaw beef subprimals and for the meat to be comparable in tenderness and sensory attributes to fresh, never frozen meat

Beauchamp, Catie

Calkins, Chris R.

Haack, Asia L.

Hergenreder, Jerilyn E.

Hosch, Justine J.

Lobaugh, Brandon

Pokharel, Siroj

Senaratne, Lasika S.

Varnold, Kimberley A., Varnold

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports Animal Science Department 2012 Effects of Freezing and Thawing Rates on Tenderness and Sensory Quality of Beef Subprimals Jerilyn E. Hergenreder University of Nebraska-Lincoln Justine J. Hosch University of Nebraska-Lincoln Kimberley A. Varnold Varnold University of Nebraska-Lincoln Asia L. Haack University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lasika S. Senaratne University of Nebraska-Lincoln See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcr  Part of the Animal Sciences Commons Hergenreder, Jerilyn E.; Hosch, Justine J.; Varnold, Kimberley A. Varnold; Haack, Asia L.; Senaratne, Lasika S.; Pokharel, Siroj; Beauchamp, Catie; Lobaugh, Brandon; and Calkins, Chris R., "Effects of Freezing and Thawing Rates on Tenderness and Sensory Quality of Beef Subprimals" (2012). Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports. 698. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcr/698 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science Department at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Authors Jerilyn E. Hergenreder, Justine J. Hosch, Kimberley A. Varnold Varnold, Asia L. Haack, Lasika S. Senaratne, Siroj Pokharel, Catie Beauchamp, Brandon Lobaugh, and Chris R. Calkins This article is available at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcr/698 © The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.  All rights reserved. 2012 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report  — Page 127 Effects of Freezing and Thawing Rates on Tenderness and Sensory Quality of Beef SubprimalsJerilyn E. HergenrederJustine J. HoschKimberley A. VarnoldAsia L. HaackLasika S. SenaratneSiroj Pokharel Catie BeauchampBrandon LobaughChris R. Calkins1, 2SummaryBeef ribeye rolls, strip loins, and top sirloin butts were aged for 14 days and then blast or conventionally frozen and slow or fast thawed, or were fresh, never frozen and aged for 14 days or 21 days (n = 270). Thawing method affected purge loss and tenderness, and freezing method had a minimal effect. Neither freezing nor thawing methods had an ef-fect on sensory tenderness, and minimal effects on the other sensory attributes. It is possible to freeze and thaw beef sub-primals and for the meat to be compara-ble in tenderness and sensory attributes to fresh, never frozen meat.IntroductionThe 2006 National Beef Tenderness Survey showed the average length of aging for steaks in restaurant set-tings to be 30 days (Savell et al., 2006, Journal of Animal Science 33:111), with a range of 7 to 136 days; 29% of the steaks had less than 14 days of ag-ing. This can lead to inconsistency between products. In the summer not all restaurants have the supply of steaks needed to meet the demand and are forced to use steaks with too little aging. A solution could possi-bly be to freeze and store subprimals after a specific degree of aging. The hypothesis of this project was that if subprimals are properly frozen and thawed, these subprimals would have the same quality of fresh subprimals with similar aging. ProcedureAt 14 days postmortem, 60 ribeye rolls (Longissimus Thoracic, LT), strip loins (Longissimus Lumborum LL), and top sirloin butts (Gluteus Medius, GM) were frozen at a warehouse in a -18°F freezer in Denver, Colo. Thirty LT, LL, and GM were blast frozen. The boxes were placed on pallets with spacers between pallets and high air velocity to allow for more rapid freezing. The other 30 LT, LL, and GM were con-ventionally frozen. The boxes were left packed tightly on the pallet with min-imal air movement. All LT, LL, and GM were frozen for a minimum of 14 days. Frozen subprimals were num-bered, weighed and then placed on a table at 32°F for 14 days to allow for slow thawing. Fast thawing occurred in a 54°F water bath with air agitation in 41°F room in the Loeffel Meat Lab-oratory for 21 hours prior to cutting. The water bath temperature dropped as soon as the subprimals were added. The final water bath temperature was between 32-39°F. The fresh, never frozen beef subprimals were aged in a 32°F cooler for 14 and 21 days prior to cutting. The six treatments were: blast frozen – slow thaw (BS), blast frozen – fast thaw (BF), conventionally fro-zen – slow thaw (CS), conventionally frozen – fast thaw (CF), fresh, never frozen 14-day aged (14D), and fresh, never frozen 21-day aged (21D).Top Sirloin Butt (gluteus medius) subprimals were cut into 1-in steaks. The two steaks from the center of the GM were used for Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS), cooking loss, and sensory evaluation. Two 1-in steaks were cut from the anterior portion of LL and the posterior end of LT for WBS, cooking loss, and sensory evaluation. All WBS steaks were cooked on the day of cutting. Sensory evaluation steaks were vacuum-packaged and placed in a 39°F cooler until sensory evaluation. All steaks were cooked within three days of being cut. Purge LossPurge loss was calculated on ev-ery subprimal. Frozen weights were recorded prior to thawing. Prior to cutting, all thawed and fresh, never frozen subprimals were weighed. Warner-Bratzler Shear Force and cooking lossShear force values were determined on one steak from each subprimal. Steaks were grilled on Hamilton Beach Indoor/Outdoor grills. Steaks were cooked on one side until the center temperature reached 95°F and then turned over. Cooking continued until the temperature reached 160°F. Steaks were weighed before and after grilling. Cooking loss was calculated. Steaks were placed on a tray and covered with oxygen-permeable film and placed in a 39°F cooler. Twenty hours later, the cooked steaks were cored into 6 ½-in cores and sheared to determine WBS.Sensory PanelFor sensory panel evaluation, steaks were prepared and cooked in the same manner described for Warner -Bratzler shear force. Upon reaching 160°F steaks were removed from the grill and cut into 1.27 cm2 cubes and kept warm (not more than 15 minutes) prior to being evalu-ated. The steaks were served to 4-7 trained panelists while still warm. (Continued on next page)Page 128 — 2012 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report  © The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.  All rights reserved.Table 1.  Least square means of Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) and purge loss. Treatments1 Contrasts          Blast Frozen    Blast Blast Conventional Conventional  vs.  Slow ThawMuscle Trait 14 Day 21 Day Frozen, Frozen,  Frozen,  Frozen,  Conventional vs.  Aged Aged Fast Thaw Slow Thaw Fast Thaw Slow Thaw P-value2 Frozen Fast ThawLongissimus WBS, kg 3.44c 3.10c 4.45a 3.70bc 4.21ab 3.53c 0.001 0.4825 0.2897Thoracic Purge Loss, % 0.68b 1.01b 0.98b 5.30a 0.72b 4.49a <0.0001 0.5431 <0.0001Longissimus WBS, kg 3.55ab 3.32abc 3.55ab 2.93bc 3.94a 2.83c 0.01 0.5177 0.0004Lumborum Purge Loss, % 1.78b 1.88b 0.88c 3.53a 0.78c 3.53a <0.0001 0.8171 <0.0001Gluteus Medius WBS, kg 3.35 3.21 4.08 3.48 3.51 3.54 0.08 0.2411 0.1845 Purge Loss, % 1.25bc 1.56b 0.79cd 6.17a 0.53d 6.23a <0.0001 0.7060 <0.0001 a, b, c, dMeans in the same row having different superscripts are significant at P < 0.05.1Blast Frozen = spacers placed between boxes of meat and placed in a -28°C freezer with high air velocity, Conventional Frozen = boxes of meat placed in a -28°C freezer with minimal air movement, Slow Thaw = subprimals set on a table in a 0°C room for 14 days, Fast Thaw = subprimals immersed in a circulating water bath (< 12°C) for 21 hrs 14 Day Aged = Aged for 14 days and fresh, never frozen, 21 Day Aged = Aged for 21 days and fresh, never frozen.2P-value for the interaction between freezing process and thawing process.Table 2.  Least square means of sensory attributes. Treatments1 Contrasts          Blast Frozen    Blast Blast Conventional Conventional  vs.  Slow ThawMuscle Trait 14 Day 21 Day Frozen, Frozen,  Frozen,  Frozen,  Conventional vs.  Aged Aged Fast Thaw Slow Thaw Fast Thaw Slow Thaw P-value2 Frozen Fast ThawLongissimus Tenderness 5.80 5.94 5.12 5.30 5.55 5.67 0.07 0.0613 0.4692Thoracic Juiciness 5.08a 5.07a 4.12b 4.34b 4.48b 4.30b 0.001 0.4384 0.8965 Connective Tissue 5.04 5.48 4.68 4.85 5.14 5.32 0.09 0.0268 0.3961 Off-Flavor 2.10 2.14 1.88 1.97 2.05 2.02 0.30 0.1356 0.6648 Cooking Loss 17.36b 16.53b 21.24a 19.41ab 22.31a 20.51a 0.001 0.3511 0.1230Longissimus Tenderness 6.03 5.90 6.07 6.31 5.79 6.37 0.10 0.5327 0.0194\Lumborum Juiciness 5.63 5.24 4.99 5.03 5.32 5.19 0.17 0.1977 0.8044 Connective Tissue 5.61ab 5.55b 5.77ab 6.04a 5.37b 6.02a 0.02 0.1842 0.0032 Off-Flavor 1.93 1.92 1.89 2.04 1.81 1.86 0.49 0.0751 0.1722 Cooking Loss 20.95 16.51 17.21 19.33 19.36 17.67 0.41 0.8728 0.8882Gluteus Medius Tenderness 5.43 5.88 5.54 5.89 5.59 5.52 0.33 0.6811 0.8198 Juiciness 5.01 5.36 5.33 4.70 5.04 4.55 0.07 0.3217 0.0108 Connective Tissue 4.92 5.38 5.22 5.17 5.07 5.22 0.46 0.7670 0.7689 Off-Flavor 1.90b 2.01ab 1.84b 1.96ab 2.10a 1.85b 0.02 0.2296 0.2505 Cooking Loss 23.44 25.03 26.11 27.79 27.49 25.67 0.40 0.8005 0.9612 a, b, c, dMeans in the same row having different superscripts are significant at P < 0.05.1Blast Frozen = spacers placed between boxes of meat and placed in a -28°C freezer with high air velocity, Conventional Frozen = boxes of meat placed in a -28°C freezer with minimal air movement, Slow Thaw = subprimals set on a table in a 0°C room for 14 days, Fast Thaw = subprimals immersed in a circulating water bath (< 12°C) for 21 hrs 14 Day Aged = Aged for 14 days and fresh, never frozen, 21 Day Aged = Aged for 21 days and fresh, never frozen.2P-value for the interaction between Freezing process and thawing process.Tenderness (1 extremely tough – 8 extremely tender); juiciness (1 extremely dry – 8 extremely juicy); connective tissue (1 abundant amount – 8 no connective tissue); off-flavor (1 no off-flavor – 4 strong off-flavor).© The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.  All rights reserved. 2012 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report  — Page 129 Panelists evaluated six samples (one per treatment) per session. Sensory panels were conducted in a posi-tive pressure ventilated room with lighting and cubicles designed for objective meat sensory analysis. Each sample was evaluated for tenderness (8 = extremely tender; 1 = extremely tough), juiciness (8 = extremely juicy; 1 = extremely dry), connective tissue (8 = no connective tissue; 1 = abun-dant amount) and off-flavor (1 = no off-flavor; 4 = strong off-flavor).Statistical AnalysisPurge loss, cooking loss, Warner-Bratzler shear force, and trained sensory panel data were analyzed using the PROC GLIMMIX proce-dure of SAS (SAS Inst., Inc., Cary, N.C.). When significance (P < 0.05) was indicated by ANOVA, mean separations were performed using the LSMEANS and PDIFF functions of SAS. CONTRAST statements were used to see if there was significance  (P < 0.05) between blast frozen and conventionally frozen as well as slow thaw and fast thaw subprimals. ResultsThere were significant differences in purge loss among all of subprimals (P < 0.0001). Fast thawed subprimals had equal or lesser purge loss com-pared to the fresh never frozen sub-primals. The slow thawed subprimals had the most purge loss (P < 0.001). There were no differences in purge loss between blast frozen and conven-tionally frozen subprimals (P > 0.05); the differences were between fast and slow thawing treatments (Table 1). The differences in purge loss between thawing treatments are likely because fast thaw subprimals were thawed to 28-30°F, and were still slightly fro-zen in the center when cut. The slow thawed subprimals were thawed to 32°F.Strip loin and GM frozen steaks were all equal or superior in WBS to 14D and 21D steaks. Slow thawed steaks were equal in WBS to 14D and 21D steaks. All slow thawed steaks for the LT and LL were equal or superior (P < 0.01) in WBS when compared to fast thaw steaks (Table 1). There were no significant differences in WBS among treatments within the GM  (P = 0.08). There were few differences found in the sensory evaluation (Table 2). There were no significant difference in sensory tenderness within the LT, LL and GM (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in juiciness in LL and GM steaks (P > 0.05). The 14D and 21D LT steaks were juicier than all frozen steaks (P < 0.001). The 14D and 21D LT steaks also experienced less or equal cooking loss than all frozen steaks (P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in cooking loss in the LL and GM. For all steaks, frozen treatments were equal to 14D steaks in connective tissue. There were no significant differences in con-nective tissue detected in LT and GM steaks (P > 0.05). Slow thawed steaks for the LL had less connective tissue than the fast thawed and 21D steaks. There was no significant difference detected in off-flavor among the treat-ments for the LT and LL. The CF had the strongest prevalence of off-flavor (P = 0.02) in the GM. Overall, neither freezing nor thawing rates had sig-nificant meaningful effects on War-ner-Bratzler shear force or sensory. Freezing rate did not affect purge loss. When thaw rates are properly man-aged (the meat is thawed slowly or quickly and outer surface of the meat does not exceed 45°F), tenderness and sensory attributes will be comparable to fresh product.1Jerilyn E. Hergenreder, graduate student; Justine J. Hosch, graduate student; Kimberley A. Varnold, graduate student; Asia L. Haack, graduate student; Lasika S. Senaratne, graduate student; Siroj Pokharel, former graduate student; Chris R. Calkins, professor, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Animal Science, Lincoln, Neb.; Catie Beauchamp, Colorado Premium, Greeley, Colo., Brandon Lobaugh, iQ Foods, Fayetteville, Ark.2This project was funded, in part, by the Beef Checkoff and Colorado Premium, Greeley, Colo.

Effects of Freezing and Thawing Rates on Tenderness and
Sensory Quality of Beef Subprimals

UNL | Libraries

University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports Animal Science Department 
2012 
Effects of Freezing and Thawing Rates on Tenderness and 
Sensory Quality of Beef Subprimals 
Jerilyn E. Hergenreder 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
Justine J. Hosch 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
Kimberley A. Varnold Varnold 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
Asia L. Haack 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
Lasika S. Senaratne 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
See next page for additional authors 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcr 
 Part of the Animal Sciences Commons 
Hergenreder, Jerilyn E.; Hosch, Justine J.; Varnold, Kimberley A. Varnold; Haack, Asia L.; Senaratne, Lasika 
S.; Pokharel, Siroj; Beauchamp, Catie; Lobaugh, Brandon; and Calkins, Chris R., "Effects of Freezing and 
Thawing Rates on Tenderness and Sensory Quality of Beef Subprimals" (2012). Nebraska Beef Cattle 
Reports. 698. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcr/698 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science Department at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Nebraska Beef Cattle 
Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
Authors 
Jerilyn E. Hergenreder, Justine J. Hosch, Kimberley A. Varnold Varnold, Asia L. Haack, Lasika S. 
Senaratne, Siroj Pokharel, Catie Beauchamp, Brandon Lobaugh, and Chris R. Calkins 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/
animalscinbcr/698 
© The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.  All rights reserved. 2012 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report  — Page 127 
Effects of Freezing and Thawing Rates on Tenderness and 
Sensory Quality of Beef Subprimals
Jerilyn E. Hergenreder
Justine J. Hosch
Kimberley A. Varnold
Asia L. Haack
Lasika S. Senaratne
Siroj Pokharel 
Catie Beauchamp
Brandon Lobaugh
Chris R. Calkins1, 2
Summary
Beef ribeye rolls, strip loins, and top 
sirloin butts were aged for 14 days and 
then blast or conventionally frozen and 
slow or fast thawed, or were fresh, never 
frozen and aged for 14 days or 21 days 
(n = 270). Thawing method affected 
purge loss and tenderness, and freezing 
method had a minimal effect. Neither 
freezing nor thawing methods had an ef-
fect on sensory tenderness, and minimal 
effects on the other sensory attributes. It 
is possible to freeze and thaw beef sub-
primals and for the meat to be compara-
ble in tenderness and sensory attributes 
to fresh, never frozen meat.
Introduction
The 2006 National Beef Tenderness 
Survey showed the average length of 
aging for steaks in restaurant set-
tings to be 30 days (Savell et al., 2006, 
Journal of Animal Science 33:111), with 
a range of 7 to 136 days; 29% of the 
steaks had less than 14 days of ag-
ing. This can lead to inconsistency 
between products. In the summer 
not all restaurants have the supply of 
steaks needed to meet the demand 
and are forced to use steaks with too 
little aging. A solution could possi-
bly be to freeze and store subprimals 
after a specific degree of aging. The 
hypothesis of this project was that if 
subprimals are properly frozen and 
thawed, these subprimals would have 
the same quality of fresh subprimals 
with similar aging. 
Procedure
At 14 days postmortem, 60 ribeye 
rolls (Longissimus Thoracic, LT), strip 
loins (Longissimus Lumborum LL), and 
top sirloin butts (Gluteus Medius, GM) 
were frozen at a warehouse in a -18°F 
freezer in Denver, Colo. Thirty LT, LL, 
and GM were blast frozen. The boxes 
were placed on pallets with spacers 
between pallets and high air velocity 
to allow for more rapid freezing. The 
other 30 LT, LL, and GM were con-
ventionally frozen. The boxes were left 
packed tightly on the pallet with min-
imal air movement. All LT, LL, and 
GM were frozen for a minimum of 14 
days. Frozen subprimals were num-
bered, weighed and then placed on a 
table at 32°F for 14 days to allow for 
slow thawing. Fast thawing occurred 
in a 54°F water bath with air agitation 
in 41°F room in the Loeffel Meat Lab-
oratory for 21 hours prior to cutting. 
The water bath temperature dropped 
as soon as the subprimals were added. 
The final water bath temperature was 
between 32-39°F. The fresh, never 
frozen beef subprimals were aged in a 
32°F cooler for 14 and 21 days prior to 
cutting. The six treatments were: blast 
frozen – slow thaw (BS), blast frozen 
– fast thaw (BF), conventionally fro-
zen – slow thaw (CS), conventionally 
frozen – fast thaw (CF), fresh, never 
frozen 14-day aged (14D), and fresh, 
never frozen 21-day aged (21D).
Top Sirloin Butt (gluteus medius) 
subprimals were cut into 1-in steaks. 
The two steaks from the center of the 
GM were used for Warner-Bratzler 
shear force (WBS), cooking loss, and 
sensory evaluation. Two 1-in steaks 
were cut from the anterior portion 
of LL and the posterior end of LT 
for WBS, cooking loss, and sensory 
evaluation. 
All WBS steaks were cooked on 
the day of cutting. Sensory evaluation 
steaks were vacuum-packaged and 
placed in a 39°F cooler until sensory 
evaluation. All steaks were cooked 
within three days of being cut. 
Purge Loss
Purge loss was calculated on ev-
ery subprimal. Frozen weights were 
recorded prior to thawing. Prior to 
cutting, all thawed and fresh, never 
frozen subprimals were weighed. 
Warner-Bratzler Shear Force and 
cooking loss
Shear force values were determined 
on one steak from each subprimal. 
Steaks were grilled on Hamilton 
Beach Indoor/Outdoor grills. Steaks 
were cooked on one side until the 
center temperature reached 95°F and 
then turned over. Cooking continued 
until the temperature reached 160°F. 
Steaks were weighed before and after 
grilling. Cooking loss was calculated. 
Steaks were placed on a tray and 
covered with oxygen-permeable film 
and placed in a 39°F cooler. Twenty 
hours later, the cooked steaks were 
cored into 6 ½-in cores and sheared to 
determine WBS.
Sensory Panel
For sensory panel evaluation, 
steaks were prepared and cooked 
in the same manner described for 
Warner -Bratzler shear force. Upon 
reaching 160°F steaks were removed 
from the grill and cut into 1.27 cm2 
cubes and kept warm (not more than 
15 minutes) prior to being evalu-
ated. The steaks were served to 4-7 
trained panelists while still warm. 
(Continued on next page)
Page 128 — 2012 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report  © The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.  All rights reserved.
Table 1.  Least square means of Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) and purge loss.
 Treatments1 Contrasts 
         Blast Frozen
    Blast Blast Conventional Conventional  vs.  Slow Thaw
Muscle Trait 14 Day 21 Day Frozen, Frozen,  Frozen,  Frozen,  Conventional vs.
  Aged Aged Fast Thaw Slow Thaw Fast Thaw Slow Thaw P-value2 Frozen Fast Thaw
Longissimus WBS, kg 3.44c 3.10c 4.45a 3.70bc 4.21ab 3.53c 0.001 0.4825 0.2897
Thoracic Purge Loss, % 0.68b 1.01b 0.98b 5.30a 0.72b 4.49a <0.0001 0.5431 <0.0001
Longissimus WBS, kg 3.55ab 3.32abc 3.55ab 2.93bc 3.94a 2.83c 0.01 0.5177 0.0004
Lumborum Purge Loss, % 1.78b 1.88b 0.88c 3.53a 0.78c 3.53a <0.0001 0.8171 <0.0001
Gluteus Medius WBS, kg 3.35 3.21 4.08 3.48 3.51 3.54 0.08 0.2411 0.1845
 Purge Loss, % 1.25bc 1.56b 0.79cd 6.17a 0.53d 6.23a <0.0001 0.7060 <0.0001 
a, b, c, dMeans in the same row having different superscripts are significant at P < 0.05.
1Blast Frozen = spacers placed between boxes of meat and placed in a -28°C freezer with high air velocity, Conventional Frozen = boxes of meat placed 
in a -28°C freezer with minimal air movement, Slow Thaw = subprimals set on a table in a 0°C room for 14 days, Fast Thaw = subprimals immersed in a 
circulating water bath (< 12°C) for 21 hrs 14 Day Aged = Aged for 14 days and fresh, never frozen, 21 Day Aged = Aged for 21 days and fresh, never frozen.
2P-value for the interaction between freezing process and thawing process.
Table 2.  Least square means of sensory attributes.
 Treatments1 Contrasts 
         Blast Frozen
    Blast Blast Conventional Conventional  vs.  Slow Thaw
Muscle Trait 14 Day 21 Day Frozen, Frozen,  Frozen,  Frozen,  Conventional vs.
  Aged Aged Fast Thaw Slow Thaw Fast Thaw Slow Thaw P-value2 Frozen Fast Thaw
Longissimus Tenderness 5.80 5.94 5.12 5.30 5.55 5.67 0.07 0.0613 0.4692
Thoracic Juiciness 5.08a 5.07a 4.12b 4.34b 4.48b 4.30b 0.001 0.4384 0.8965
 Connective Tissue 5.04 5.48 4.68 4.85 5.14 5.32 0.09 0.0268 0.3961
 Off-Flavor 2.10 2.14 1.88 1.97 2.05 2.02 0.30 0.1356 0.6648
 Cooking Loss 17.36b 16.53b 21.24a 19.41ab 22.31a 20.51a 0.001 0.3511 0.1230
Longissimus Tenderness 6.03 5.90 6.07 6.31 5.79 6.37 0.10 0.5327 0.0194\
Lumborum Juiciness 5.63 5.24 4.99 5.03 5.32 5.19 0.17 0.1977 0.8044
 Connective Tissue 5.61ab 5.55b 5.77ab 6.04a 5.37b 6.02a 0.02 0.1842 0.0032
 Off-Flavor 1.93 1.92 1.89 2.04 1.81 1.86 0.49 0.0751 0.1722
 Cooking Loss 20.95 16.51 17.21 19.33 19.36 17.67 0.41 0.8728 0.8882
Gluteus Medius Tenderness 5.43 5.88 5.54 5.89 5.59 5.52 0.33 0.6811 0.8198
 Juiciness 5.01 5.36 5.33 4.70 5.04 4.55 0.07 0.3217 0.0108
 Connective Tissue 4.92 5.38 5.22 5.17 5.07 5.22 0.46 0.7670 0.7689
 Off-Flavor 1.90b 2.01ab 1.84b 1.96ab 2.10a 1.85b 0.02 0.2296 0.2505
 Cooking Loss 23.44 25.03 26.11 27.79 27.49 25.67 0.40 0.8005 0.9612 
a, b, c, dMeans in the same row having different superscripts are significant at P < 0.05.
1Blast Frozen = spacers placed between boxes of meat and placed in a -28°C freezer with high air velocity, Conventional Frozen = boxes of meat placed 
in a -28°C freezer with minimal air movement, Slow Thaw = subprimals set on a table in a 0°C room for 14 days, Fast Thaw = subprimals immersed in a 
circulating water bath (< 12°C) for 21 hrs 14 Day Aged = Aged for 14 days and fresh, never frozen, 21 Day Aged = Aged for 21 days and fresh, never frozen.
2P-value for the interaction between Freezing process and thawing process.
Tenderness (1 extremely tough – 8 extremely tender); juiciness (1 extremely dry – 8 extremely juicy); connective tissue (1 abundant amount – 8 no connective 
tissue); off-flavor (1 no off-flavor – 4 strong off-flavor).
© The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.  All rights reserved. 2012 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report  — Page 129 
Panelists evaluated six samples (one 
per treatment) per session. Sensory 
panels were conducted in a posi-
tive pressure ventilated room with 
lighting and cubicles designed for 
objective meat sensory analysis. Each 
sample was evaluated for tenderness 
(8 = extremely tender; 1 = extremely 
tough), juiciness (8 = extremely juicy; 
1 = extremely dry), connective tissue 
(8 = no connective tissue; 1 = abun-
dant amount) and off-flavor (1 = no 
off-flavor; 4 = strong off-flavor).
Statistical Analysis
Purge loss, cooking loss, Warner-
Bratzler shear force, and trained 
sensory panel data were analyzed 
using the PROC GLIMMIX proce-
dure of SAS (SAS Inst., Inc., Cary, 
N.C.). When significance (P < 0.05) 
was indicated by ANOVA, mean 
separations were performed using the 
LSMEANS and PDIFF functions of 
SAS. CONTRAST statements were 
used to see if there was significance  
(P < 0.05) between blast frozen and 
conventionally frozen as well as slow 
thaw and fast thaw subprimals. 
Results
There were significant differences 
in purge loss among all of subprimals 
(P < 0.0001). Fast thawed subprimals 
had equal or lesser purge loss com-
pared to the fresh never frozen sub-
primals. The slow thawed subprimals 
had the most purge loss (P < 0.001). 
There were no differences in purge 
loss between blast frozen and conven-
tionally frozen subprimals (P > 0.05); 
the differences were between fast and 
slow thawing treatments (Table 1). 
The differences in purge loss between 
thawing treatments are likely because 
fast thaw subprimals were thawed to 
28-30°F, and were still slightly fro-
zen in the center when cut. The slow 
thawed subprimals were thawed to 
32°F.
Strip loin and GM frozen steaks 
were all equal or superior in WBS 
to 14D and 21D steaks. Slow thawed 
steaks were equal in WBS to 14D and 
21D steaks. All slow thawed steaks for 
the LT and LL were equal or superior 
(P < 0.01) in WBS when compared to 
fast thaw steaks (Table 1). There were 
no significant differences in WBS 
among treatments within the GM  
(P = 0.08). 
There were few differences found 
in the sensory evaluation (Table 2). 
There were no significant difference 
in sensory tenderness within the LT, 
LL and GM (P > 0.05). There were no 
significant differences in juiciness in 
LL and GM steaks (P > 0.05). The 14D 
and 21D LT steaks were juicier than 
all frozen steaks (P < 0.001). The 14D 
and 21D LT steaks also experienced 
less or equal cooking loss than all 
frozen steaks (P < 0.001). There were 
no significant differences in cooking 
loss in the LL and GM. For all steaks, 
frozen treatments were equal to 14D 
steaks in connective tissue. There 
were no significant differences in con-
nective tissue detected in LT and GM 
steaks (P > 0.05). Slow thawed steaks 
for the LL had less connective tissue 
than the fast thawed and 21D steaks. 
There was no significant difference 
detected in off-flavor among the treat-
ments for the LT and LL. The CF had 
the strongest prevalence of off-flavor 
(P = 0.02) in the GM. Overall, neither 
freezing nor thawing rates had sig-
nificant meaningful effects on War-
ner-Bratzler shear force or sensory. 
Freezing rate did not affect purge loss. 
When thaw rates are properly man-
aged (the meat is thawed slowly or 
quickly and outer surface of the meat 
does not exceed 45°F), tenderness and 
sensory attributes will be comparable 
to fresh product.
1Jerilyn E. Hergenreder, graduate student; 
Justine J. Hosch, graduate student; Kimberley 
A. Varnold, graduate student; Asia L. Haack, 
graduate student; Lasika S. Senaratne, graduate 
student; Siroj Pokharel, former graduate 
student; Chris R. Calkins, professor, University 
of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Animal 
Science, Lincoln, Neb.; Catie Beauchamp, 
Colorado Premium, Greeley, Colo., Brandon 
Lobaugh, iQ Foods, Fayetteville, Ark.
2This project was funded, in part, by the 
Beef Checkoff and Colorado Premium, Greeley, 
Colo.


https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1714&amp;context=animalscinbcr

Effects of Freezing and Thawing Rates on Tenderness and Sensory Quality of Beef Subprimals

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