Starting 3 days postmortem, sections from eight USDA Choice or better, yield grade
4, strip loins were dry-aged (aged unpackaged) or vacuum-aged (aged in vacuum bags) for an
additional 11 days. The dry-aged loins lost more (P<.05) weight during aging than vacuum-aged
loins, and cooked faster, with less (P<.05) cooking loss than the unaged loins. Vacuum-and
dry-aged samples were similar (P>.05) in tenderness, and both were more tender (P<.05)
than unaged counterparts. A trained taste panel found no differences in subcutaneous fat flavor.
However, lean from the vacuum-aged samples had a more intense sour flavor note and more
intense bloody/serumy flavor and metallic notes than either of the other treatments. The lean
of dry-aged samples was beefier and had more brown/roasted flavor than vacuum-aged or unaged counterparts.
