We used a forced-air convection oven to
cook steaks from two muscles; strip loin
(longissimus lumborum) and outside round
(biceps femoris). We used a mathematical
model to predict cooking time and temperature
profiles for each steak. No differences
(P>0.05) were found in cooking times between
experimental and model values for either
of the steaks. Modeled temperature profiles
were consistently higher (except for the
beginning of the cooking cycle) than the experimental values up to 65°C (150°F) in the
cooking cycle for outside round steaks,
whereas better agreement between experimental
and modeled values was found for strip
loin steaks. A highly positive linear relationship was found between experimental and modeled temperature histories for both strip loin (R2=0.99) and outside round (R2=0.96) steaks. The developed model should be useful for steak cooking, because the constant time to a given degree of doneness should increase consumer satisfaction by reducing variation in degree of steak doneness.
