Assessment of Postmortem Aging Effects on Texas-style Barbecue Beef Briskets Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Palatability traits (tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall liking) of beef briskets (n = 48) were evaluated for 3 different postmortem aging period comparisons: 7 d vs. 21 d (Set 1), 21 d vs. 35 d (Set 2), and 7 d vs. 35 d (Set 3). Briskets were prepared as Texas-style barbecue by seasoning with salt and pepper and smoking with oak wood over a long period (approx. 11 h) using a commercial oven designed for such purposes until deemed tender (approx. 85C internal temperature). Within each treatment set, Warner-Bratzler shear (WBS) force measurements did not differ (P > 0.05) between aging days; however, WBS force measurements for point (Mm. pectorales superficiales composed of the M. pectoralis transversus and M. pectoralis descendens) were lower (P < 0.05) compared to the flat portions (M. pectorals profundus) within each aging set. Consumer panelists did not (P > 0.05) detect differences between aging days within each set for overall liking, flavor liking, tenderness liking, and juiciness liking. Conversely, differences were found between brisket point and flat portions; Set 1 differed for flavor liking (flat > point; P = 0.0348) and juiciness liking (point > flat; P = 0.0004), Set 2 differed for overall liking (flat > point; P = 0.0499) and juiciness liking (point > flat; P < 0.0001), and Set 3 differed for overall liking (flat > point; P = 0.0296) and juiciness liking (point > flat; P = 0.0112). Our findings indicate postmortem aging did not improve beef brisket palatability, but we did note differences between point and flat portions. Preparing beef briskets as Texas-style barbecue resulted in products with low WBS values and high consumer palatability ratings, which helps demonstrate why barbecued briskets are so popular.

published proceedings

  • Meat and Muscle Biology

altmetric score

  • 59.18

author list (cited authors)

  • Harris, M. K., Riley, R. R., Arnold, A. N., Miller, R. K., Griffin, D. B., Gehring, K. B., & Savell, J. W.

citation count

  • 2

complete list of authors

  • Harris, McKensie K||Riley, Ray R||Arnold, Ashley N||Miller, Rhonda K||Griffin, Davey B||Gehring, Kerri B||Savell, Jeffrey W

publication date

  • June 2017