Meat Tenderness
Numerous consumer surveys done in recent years indicate that meat tenderness is the most important consideration made by shoppers and consumers when mealtime decisions are made. Tenderness, juiciness, and flavor are the three main factors contributing to palatability, however, much more variation from cut to cut can be found in the tenderness category than in the other two. Causes for variation can range from age of carcass, genetics, muscle stress, and handling after kill to suspension of the carcass, rigor mortis, and enzyme soaking and radiation treatments. This paper will focus primarily on the tenderness factor in beef; however, pork will be addressed when applicable. Beef is essentially a 'muscle food'. In order to fully understand the tenderness factor of beef, one must have working knowledge of the properties of muscle structure. One of the primary factors in tenderness levels is the amount of connective tissue in the cut of beef. Connective tissue surrounds the myofibrils, and another layer of connective tissue covers the muscle fiber. Still more layers cover the muscle bundles, and the entire muscle itself. Different parts of the beef animal have different amounts of connective tissue. Gene
Increases in both factors improve tenderness (beef production and management d). For cuts of meat containing relatively large amounts of connective tissue, like the round, the toughening of fibers is less important than the softening of connective tissue, and cooking methods combining a long heating period and a moist atmosphere are chosen. the overall impression of meat tenderness comes from three sources: first, the ease with which the teeth sink into the meat when chewing begins; second, the ease with which the meat breaks into fragments; third, the amount of residue remaining after chewing. Another factor in tenderness is sacromere length. Some of the most influential effects on meat tenderness occur after the animal is slaughtered. Finally, the consumer can also play a very important role in the palatability and tenderness of the meat they purchase by selecting the proper cooking method. Research shows that on the average, young carcasses subjected to electrical stimulation and ribbed 24 hours post mortem grade 8% higher than beef carcasses that have not been stimulated. The cutaneous, the trapezius, and the super pectoral have large amounts of connective tissue, and therefore are some of the toughest cuts of beef. A natural food enzyme preparation is injected into the blood stream of an animal a specified length of time before slaughter. An extra one half to one day of shelf life can be expected from electrically stimulated carcasses. The key to understanding meat tenderness is understanding that beef is muscle, and therefore must be handled specially to achieve maximum tenderness and palatability. Fed steers and heifers produce the most tender beef between 12 and 24 months of age.
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