We used 162 strip loins to determine the
influence of different quality grades, aging periods,
blade tenderization passes, and degree of
doneness on thawing and cooking loss and
Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS, tenderness).
Select (SEL), Choice (CHO), and
Certified Angus Beef™ (CAB) strip loins were
aged for 7, 14, or 21 days and not tenderized
(0X) or blade tenderized one (1X) or two (2X)
times. Steaks from each strip loin were assigned
randomly to final endpoint cooking
temperatures of 150, 160, and 170°F. For
steaks aged 7 days, all quality grade and blade
tenderization treatments had similar (P>.05)
WBS. For steaks aged 14 days, CHO steaks
had lower (P<.05) WBS than SEL steaks,
CAB tended (P=.07) to have lower WBS than
SEL, 2X steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than
1X steaks, and 1X steaks had lower (P<.05)
WBS than 0X steaks. For steaks aged 21
days, CAB steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS
than CHO steaks, CHO steaks had lower
(P<.05) WBS than SEL steaks, and 2X steaks
had lower (P<.05) WBS than 1X steaks.
Among the 0X and 2X groups, CAB and CHO
steaks had lower (P<.05) WBS than SEL
steaks. For the 1X group, only CAB steaks
had lower (P<.05) WBS than SEL steaks.
Blade tenderization improved tenderness of strip
steaks but should be combined with high quality
grades, increased aging, and lower endpoint
cooking temperatures to achieve maximum
tenderness.
