We used an electric belt grill, a forced-air
convection oven, and an electric broiler to
cook 170 bottom round, 142 brisket, 177 top
sirloin, 176 strip loin, and 136 eye of round
steaks from USDA Select carcasses to determine
the effects of cooking method and
muscle on shear force values, cooking traits,
and repeatability of duplicate measurements.
All cooking treatments allowed differences
to be detected (P<0.05) in Warner-Bratzler
shear force, although the differences were
inconsistent. Shear force values of strip
steaks and eye of round steaks were similar
across cooking treatments; however, shear
force values of bottom round, brisket, and
top sirloin steaks were different (P<0.05)
among cooking treatments. Based on poor
repeatability, shear force values for top
sirloin steaks appear unreliable. Poor repeatability
for shear force values from steaks
cooked by the forced-air convection oven are
a result of drastic temperature changes that
occur when the doors are opened to remove
steaks. We do not recommend using a
forced-air convection oven to test treatment
effects on shear force values when cooking
multiple steaks simultaneously. Belt grill
cooking resulted in the highest shear force
repeatability R = 0.07 to 0.89) of strip steaks.
Electric broiling resulted in acceptable R =
0.60) repeatability of shear force measurements
for all classes of steaks. The electric
broiler and electric belt grill are both satisfactory
cooking methods when measuring
shear force of bottom round, brisket, strip
loin, and eye of round steaks.
