Foodservice industry market profile study: palatability characteristics of U.S. foodservice beef steaks

Portion-controlled beef steaks for foodservice use were selected based on USDA Quality Grades from 50 purveyors in 12 cities across the United States to measure palatability traits. Steaks studied included the ribeye, T-bone, strip loin, centercut top sirloin, tenderloin, and cubed steak. Steaks were cooked on a foodservice-style clamshell griddle to a medium degree of doneness (70C) and served to a trained sensory panel. Additionally, Warner-Bratzler shear tests were performed on 1.27 cm cores of the cooked steaks. Overall, sensory scores for all steaks tested were 5 on an 8-point descriptive scale. Tenderloin steaks were rated the most tender (6.4 on an 8-point scale) and strip loin steaks were rated the juiciest (5.93 on an 8-point scale). Generally, steaks collected from the Southwest and Mountain/Desert regions were tougher and drier (P .05) than those from the Southeast region. Means for Warner-Bratzler shear values for all steaks were less than 1.7 kg, with tenderloin steaks being the easiest to shear (.93 kg). When differences between quality grade were found, Prime steaks usually scored higher (P .05) for sensory attributes than Select and no-roll steaks. Results from this study indicate steaks purchased from the foodservice sector are tender; however, geographical variation exists