Table 2.
Effect of Angus and Brahman genetics on objective and subjective measures of longissimus lumborum steak tenderness and palatability
| Angus/Brahman genetics1 | P-value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Angus | Brangus | Half | Brahman | SEM | Linear | Quadratic |
| Objective measures | |||||||
| Thaw loss, % | 1.07 | 1.99 | 1.51 | 2.14 | 0.70 | 0.01 | 0.44 |
| Cooking loss, % | 15.73 | 13.80 | 15.39 | 14.21 | 1.43 | 0.14 | 0.54 |
| Shear force, N | 37.22 | 38.23 | 40.78 | 43.46 | 2.47 | 0.01 | 0.86 |
| Subjective measures2 | |||||||
| Tenderness | 6.30 | 5.69 | 6.05 | 5.30 | 0.18 | 0.01 | 0.81 |
| Juiciness | 6.27 | 5.92 | 5.99 | 5.84 | 0.12 | 0.01 | 0.22 |
| Connective tissue | 6.76 | 6.49 | 6.64 | 6.11 | 0.21 | 0.01 | 0.49 |
| Beef flavor | 5.75 | 5.70 | 5.87 | 5.68 | 0.09 | 0.56 | 0.35 |
| Off-flavor | 5.86 | 5.85 | 5.85 | 5.87 | 0.05 | 0.84 | 0.73 |
Steers (n = 131) were classified into 4 categories based on the percentage of Angus and Brahman genetics. The breed groups were steers that contained 6/32 or less Brahman genetics (Angus), steers that contained 12/32 Brahman genetics (Brangus), steers that contained 14/32 to 18/32 Brahman genetics (Half), and steers that contained 23/32 to 32/32 Brahman genetics (Brahman).
Tenderness, juiciness, beef flavor, and connective tissue: 1 = extremely tough, extremely dry, extremely bland, and abundant, respectively, and 8 = extremely tender, extremely juicy, extremely intense, and none, respectively,). Off-flavor: 1 = extremely intense and 6 = none).