Objective: The objective is to better understand the contribution of each tenderness factor to the perception of tenderness of three specific beef muscles with similar tenderness ratings.
Study Description: Longissimus lumborum (loin), tensor fascia latae (tri-tip), and gastrocnemius (heel) were collected from 10 U.S. Department of Agriculture low Choice beef carcasses and assigned to a 5- or 21-day aging period (n = 60). Steaks from each aging period from each subprimal were assigned to one of three assays: 1) trained sensory analysis; 2) objective tenderness evaluation (Warner-Bratzler shear force); or 3) physiochemical analysis (sarcomere length, proteolysis, intramuscular fat content, collagen crosslink, and content).
Results: Sarcomere length, troponin-T degradation, collagen content, mature collagen crosslink density, intramuscular lipid content, and trained panel analysis were measured. Correlation analysis indicated each muscle has a specific tenderness factor that contributed to the overall tenderness evaluated by trained panelists. The equations indicated Longissimus lumborum tenderness was driven by lipid content (P < 0.05) and that Tensor fascia latae tenderness was driven by collagen content (P < 0.05). Gastrocnemius tenderness was driven by proteolysis (P < 0.01), and only collagen content can be casually used as an overall tenderness predictor for all three cuts.
The Bottom Line: Each muscle showed a unique tenderness factor profile. Loin is inherently tender, and tri-tip has the makings for a tender cut as seen by our biochemical analysis, yet panelists rated tri-tip to have similar overall tenderness as heel, an inherently tough muscle.
View the complete report by authors C. K. Chun, W. Wu, A. A. Welter, T. G. O’Quinn, G. Magnin-Bissel, D. L. Boyle, and M. D. Chao at Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports: Vol. 7: Iss. 1. https://doi.org/10.4148/2378-5977.8035