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Intramuscular tenderness variation within four muscles of the beef chuck¹

Department of Animal and Range Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings 57007

² Correspondence: Box 2170 (phone: 605-688-5439; fax: 605-688-6170; e-mail: Robert_maddock{at}sdstate.edu).

The i.m. tenderness variation was examined within four beef chuck muscles, the infraspinatus (IF), supraspinatus (SS), triceps brachii (TB), and serratus ventralis (SV). The IF, SS, TB, and SV muscles were cut into 2.5 cm thick steaks perpendicular to the long axis of the muscle. An identification tag was placed on each steak, consisting of a muscle identification number, steak number, and orientation of the steak. Steaks were vacuum-packaged and stored at –22°C until subsequent analysis. Steaks were thawed at 1°C and cooked on electric broilers to an internal temperature of 71°C. One core was removed from each 2.5-cm x 2.5-cm section parallel to the muscle fiber and sheared once to determine Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF). The SS had an overall WBSF mean of 5.43 kg (SD = 2.20 kg) with no tenderness difference (P = 0.43) among steak locations. The IF had an overall WBSF mean of 3.16 kg (SD = 1.01 kg) with no tenderness difference (P = 0.51) among steak locations. The SV had a mean WBSF value of 4.37 kg (SD = 1.27 kg) with tenderness variation (P < 0.05) among steak locations; however, tenderness variations were not dispersed in a discernible pattern. The TB had a mean WBSF value of 4.12 kg (SD = 1.26 kg) with lower (P < 0.05) shear force in the middle region of the TB, and the distal and proximal ends were tougher (P < 0.05). Results of this study provided a reasonably detailed mapping of the tenderness regions within the IF, SS, TB, and SV muscles, and this information could be used to add value to the beef chuck by cutting and marketing consistently tender regions.

Key Words: Beef • Chuck • Tenderness