RESTRUCTURED BEEF WITH FAT VARIATIONS

Prerigor beef samples from U.S. Choice Yield Grade 3 beef forequarters were excised within 1 h postmortem and converted to restructured beef steaks containing 10, 15 or 20% fat. The blended samples, regardless of fat level, were formulated with 1.0% NaCl and 0.25% sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) and stored at -20°C until evaluation at 0 and 56 days. Appearance and taste attributes were measured objectively and subjectively. Results suggested that fat content variation of restructured beef steaks with 20% fat or less had a minimal effect on color degradation and other appearance traits. These attributes were affected more by storage time than fat level. Fat content had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on the objective and subjective measurements for palatability. These data suggest that low-fat steaks can be produced without anticipation of reduced palatability as fat content decreases below 20%.