ACCEPTABILITY OF SELECTED MUSCLES FROM POOR CONDITION AND REALIMENTED CULL RANGE COWS

Carcasses from cull range cows 3–10 years of age were utilized in two separate trials to: (1) establish the influence of animal age on the quantity, composition and tenderness of eight muscles, and (2) to determine the effects of realimentation on the tenderness and overall desirability of four selected muscles. Neither animal age or side of carcass influenced (P < 0.05) muscle weight, marbling score or percent intramuscular fat for the Triceps brachii (TB), Supraspinatus (SP), Semimembranosus (SM), Semitendinosus (ST), Biceps femoris (BF), Longissimus (LD), Psoas major (PM) and Gluteus me‐dius (GM). The LD was the only muscle observed to demonstrate a decrease (P < 0.05) in Warner‐Bratzler (WB) shear tenderness for cows between 3 and 10 years of age. Over all age groups, the BF was the least tender (P < 0.05) muscle, while the GM, LD, PM and TB were most tender (P < 0.05) but not different (P gt; 0.05) from one another according to the WB shear. A 16‐member sensory panel revealed that beef from realimented cows was not consistently more acceptable than beef from nonfed animals. Muscles from nonfed cows were, in most cases, judged to be acceptable. In two of four muscles studied. for realimented animals by the sensory panel, fed animals were more tender (P < 0.05) than nonfed animals. The tenderness of the SM muscle from realimented beef was greater (P < 0.05) when cooked at 135°C vs 107°C or 163°C.