Effects of dry aging on meat quality attributes and metabolite profiles of beef loins.
The objectives of this study were to evaluate different dry aging regimes and their impacts on quality attributes and metabolite profiles of beef loins. Thirty loins (M. longissimus lumborum) from 15 beef carcasses at 2 days post mortem were obtained. Each loin was cut in half yielding 60 sections, which were randomly assigned to six treatments including 4 dry aging (2 temperatures (1 or 3degC) x 2 air velocities (0.2 or 0.5 m/s) and 2 wet aging regimes for 3 weeks; n=10/treatment. The sensory panel found that dry aged loins had better flavour and overall liking (P<0.05) but there were no differences in tenderness and juiciness. No differences in drip/cook loss and colour were observed. Metabolite analysis showed that 7 metabolites, including several flavour precursors, were more abundant in the dry aged beef compared to the wet aged beef, which may contribute to the enhanced flavours of the dry aged beef. Overall, dry aging loins at 3degC with 0.2m/s resulted in the greatest improvement in beef palatability.
Meat science