Resumo

RUBIO LOZANO, María Salud et al. Freezing, thawing and aging improves the tenderness of chuck muscles from young bulls of different phenotypes. Veterinaria México OA [online]. 2014, vol.1, n.1. ISSN 2448-6760.  https://doi.org/10.21753/vmoa.1.1.333.

We evaluated eleven chuck muscles from phenotypically selected Brahman (BR, n =10) and Charolais (CH, n =10) young bull carcasses for the effect of freezing, thawing, and aging for 2, 9, 16, and 23 days on Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF). Splenius, infraspinatus, teres major, rhomboideus, and subscapularis from both phenotypes, and complexus from CH had tender (≤ 40 N) 9 d WBSF values. No further improvement in WBSF was observed beyond 9 days of aging. Overall, we observed freezing, thawing and aging of several chuck muscles from young bulls significantly improves beef tenderness. Further studies would help optimizing this tenderization strategy and assess its potential impact on other meat quality attributes.

Palavras-chave : Beef quality; Aging; Forequarter muscles; Warner-Bratzler shear force; Young bulls.