The influence of cooking rate and holding time on beef chuck and round flavor

Steaks from seven muscles from 10 beef carcasses were cooked quickly or slowly and held 0 or 1 h to explore the influence of cooking rate and holding time on beef flavor. Moisture, ash, pH, and heme–iron concentration were determined for each muscle. Trained sensory panels evaluated the steaks for tenderness, juiciness, connective tissue, and off-flavor intensity in addition to identifying specific off-flavors. Off-flavor intensity was lowest when beef was cooked slowly (on a 149 °C gas grill instead of a 249 °C grill) and when it was held for 1 h prior to sensory evaluation. The M. infraspinatus had the least intense off-flavor and the M. vastus intermedius had the most intense off-flavor. Slow cooking or holding for 1 h prior to consumption reduced the intensity of off-flavor in value cuts from the beef chuck and round while chemical characteristics did not contribute to off-flavor in this study.