Effects of wet aging, dry bag aging, and stepwise aging methods on meat quality and sensory attributes of steaks from pasture and grain finished steers

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of 2 finishing diets (F: pasture or grain) and 4 meat aging methods (AM) on physicochemical traits, microbiological loads, and sensory attributes of beef, with aging methods as follows: wet aging (WA) for 40 d; dry aging in the bag (DAb) for 40 d; dry bag for 20 d + wet 20 d (DW); and wet 20 d + dry bag 20 d (WD). Sixty striploins, consisting of the right and left Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle, from British crossbred steers, were employed, with 15 pairs of striploins obtained from pasture-finished and 15 pairs from grain-finished diet. Meat from grain-finished steers was lighter (greater L* values; P < 0.01) than from those finished on pasture. Meat aged using DAb presented lower cooking loss values (P < 0.01) than WA. Stepwise WD aging increased Psychrotrophic organisms (PSY) and total bacterial count (TBC) (P < 0.05) compared to the other 3 treatments. No AM * F interaction on the physicochemical characteristics (color, pH, cooking losses, and shear force) and the surface microbiological load was observed (P > 0.05) except for a* and b* coordinates of lean color. There was a significant AM * F interaction effect on the fatty acid compo- sition for conjugated linoleic acid (CLA; c9, t11-18:2), saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), and PUFA n6. Greater concentrations of PUFA, PUFA n6, and CLA (P < 0.01) were observed in all AM treatments from pasture-finished and in WD from grain-finished steers; meanwhile, SFA and MUFA were greater in DW and WD from grain-finished animals (P < 0.05). A greater PUFA:SFA ratio (P < 0.05) and lower n6:n3 ratio (P < 0.01) were found in pasture-finished than in grain-finished steers. Consumers preferred tenderness, flavor, and overall liking from DAb and WA samples (P < 0.05) over WD steaks. AM had the greatest influence on the physicochemical and microbial properties, while the finishing diet primarily affected the fatty acid composition and consumer preferences. All aging methods were acceptable to consumers, but combining wet and dry aging in a bag did not enhance sensory appeal.