Effects of chilling methods and hot-boning on quality parameters of M. longissimus lumborum from Bos indicus Nelore steer.

To study the effects of chilling methods and hot-boning on quality parameters of M. longissimus lumborum (LL) of Nelore steers, sixteen left-carcass sides were electrically stimulated and the LL muscles were hot-boned and chilled at -20°C (HBVFC) or 0°C (HBO). Eight control left-carcass sides were cold-boned (AT). All muscles were vacuum-packaged and aged at 0°C for 14 d. Shear force and tenderness of the AT-treated muscles were not different from HBO-treated muscles. The shear force values of the HBVFC muscles were higher after 7 and 14 d post-mortem (pm) compared to those of the AT muscles, but there was no difference from the HBO muscles. Aging did not reduce the shear force values of the HBVFC muscles. The purge losses of the HBVFC muscles were higher than those of the HBO and AT muscles. The HBVFC muscles were less tender than the HBO and AT muscles at 14 d pm.