The effect of feeding native warm-season grasses during the stocker phase on meat composition, quality characteristics, and sensory properties of loin steaks from forage-finished cattle

The objective of this research was to determine the quality of beef from cattle that were fed native warm-season grass (NWSG) in the stocker phase and forage finished on tall fescue. Seventy-two British crossbred steers were randomly allotted to 9 pasture plots with 3 different forage treatments that included Bermuda grass (BER), Indian grass monoculture (IND), and big bluestem, little bluestem, and Indian grass (MIX) and forage finished on tall fescue. Two steers were randomly selected from each pasture plot for meat quality analyses (n = 18). Carcasses graded 67% Select for IND and 17% for both BER and MIX treatments, respectively. All other carcasses received quality grades of Standard. Steaks from treatments did not differ (P > 0.05) in sensory attributes, average sensory acceptability, color, tenderness, pH, or bacterial counts at each storage time, with limited differences in aroma, flavor, and texture. The IND steaks had lower cooking loss (P < 0.05) than steaks from the MIX and BER treatments. Steaks from the BER treatment had higher thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values (P < 0.05) after 6 d of storage when compared with steaks from the MIX and IND treatments, which indicated a higher susceptibility to lipid oxidation. Cluster analysis was conducted to group consumers on the basis of their preference and liking of steak from the different forage treatments. On the basis of panelists' acceptability scores, consumers were grouped into 4 clusters. The largest group (60% of consumers) liked all treatments between moderately and very much. In addition, 17% of consumers preferred steaks from the IND treatment over the BER treatment, and 11% of consumers preferred steaks from the BER and IND treatments over steaks from the MIX treatment. Overall, results indicate that high-quality forage-fed beef can be produced when cattle are fed mixed NWSG, Indian grass, or Bermuda grass during the stocker phase and then finished on tall fescue.