Scientists Test Method That Makes Beef Tastier

The type of beef used for cutting, the period and the way the animals are suspended in the slaughterhouses after slaughter are some of the factors that influence the taste and texture of the meat.

This is what a new study carried out by researchers from the São Paulo State University (Unesp), in Jaboticabal and Botucatu, in partnership with the startup Brazil Beef Quality points out.

Research reveals that hanging bovine carcasses by the pelvic bone makes the meat around 20% tastier and juicier, in addition to making it tender in a shorter amount of time. The study was funded by the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and the results of the technique were published in scientific journal Foods.

For the study, 96 volunteers were invited to blindly taste pieces of sirloin steak that were suspended both by the pelvic bone and by the Achilles tendon, the latter considered the conventional method applied in Brazilian slaughterhouses.

In all, 576 samples were offered to consumers. The dishes were identified by random codes and also went through different maturation periods – the process of tenderizing the meat that occurs after the animal is slaughtered, when its enzymes begin to break down the muscle fibers of the meat cuts. At the end of the sensory test, participants rated the roasted meats considering aspects such as flavor, texture, aroma, juiciness and appearance.

The CEO of Brazil Beef Quality, Marcelo Coutinho, says that the study is the first to carry out sensory tests with consumers to assess whether the product would improve in practice.

“Our proposal was to assess whether the way we hung the animal’s carcass could interfere with the quality of the meat, and we saw that the sirloin steaks suspended by the pelvis always received better marks from the volunteers, who considered them more tender and tastier. This suspension method is already used in some European countries and, mainly, in Australia, but not yet in Brazil”, says Coutinho.

The expert says that Brazil still lacks standardization of meat quality, which varies significantly even if the animals are the same age, handling and even among those who are siblings.

“A large part of the animals produced in the country are commodities (commodities of global importance), so quality often takes a backseat, with quantity and low price being more relevant. Brazil still has to wake up to reach higher levels of product quality”, he adds.

In the study, meat from crossbred cattle, which supply the so-called “premium” market, and from zebu, which correspond to about 80% of the Brazilian herd, were used. The analysis also points out that zebu carcasses suspended by the pelvic bone need a shorter maturation time to meet consumer expectations regarding meat quality.

“The results showed that the carcasses suspended by the pelvis showed a significant improvement in the quality of the meat after five days of maturation, whereas in the conventional method it takes about 15. This is a great advantage for butchers, as they are able to place the product of better quality for sale more quickly and spend less on the maturation process”, explains Professor Welder Angelo Baldassini, from the Graduate Program in Animal Science at the Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences at Unesp, in Jaboticabal.

At Unesp’s Meat Science laboratory, in Botucatu, the researchers also verified the improvement in the quality of the meat that was suspended by the pelvic region. One of the tests carried out, for example, uses equipment that “goes through” the meat to assess its texture and tenderness after it has been roasted at a predetermined temperature. The researchers observed that the device exerted less force to cut meat suspended by the pelvis compared to that which was suspended by the Achilles tendon.

(With information from Henrique Fontes, from the PPG-CA/Unesp Communication Office)