Qualitative aspects of the carcass and meat of young steers Devon finished in tropical pasture, receiving different levels of concentrate

The objective of this work was to evaluate the carcass and meat characteristics of young steers Devon, finished in tropical pasture (association of millet pasture - Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke and Alexander grass – Brachiaria plantaginea), receiving different levels of supplementation (0; 0,5% or 1,0% of body weight). The animals had an average initial weight of 300 kg and 15 months of age, and were slaughtered at an average weight of 353.0 kg. Supplementation with concentrate ration to the level of 1.0% of body weight (BW) of animal provided carcasses with better quality (higher hot and cold carcass, and greater fat thickness, which resulted in lower cooling loss); carcasses more compact (less long, with better conformation and thicker cushion) when compared to non-supplemented. Furthermore, animals fed only pasture, showed a lower percentage of carcasses forequarter (37.6 vs 38.9 e 38.8%), with a higher percentage of muscle (65.5 vs 59.6 e 59.5 %), which resulted in greater relative muscle tissue: bone and edible portion: bone than those supplemented. As the sensory and organoleptic qualities, it was found that meat from animals supplemented with up to 1.0% of body weight, showed greater losses to cooking (24.1 % vs 18.0 %) and required greater force to shear the fiber (3.37 vs 2.05 (kgf/ cm3) compared to meat non-supplemented animals. However, the increased level of supplementation of 0.5% to 1.0% of BW improved palatability and reduced meat texture.