ABSTRACT
Twenty Bos taurus (Hereford x Angus crosses) and 20 F1 Bos indicus x Bos taurus heifers of the same age, management and feeding regimen, were harvested and evaluated at 2 days postmortem for carcass and meat traits. Ten muscles were obtained from the right sides and aged until 10 days postmortem. Bos indicus carcasses were lighter, had less fat cover, smaller ribeyes, and less intramuscular lipid (all p≤0.05). Bos taurus longissimus lumborum, gluteus medius, triceps brachii, and semimembranosus muscles cooked as steaks and roasts had a lower Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) (p≤0.05) than those from Bos indicus. Bos taurus deep pectoral and semitendinosus muscles cooked as roasts had a lower WBSF (p<0.05) than Bos indicus. Infraspinatus, longissimus lumborum, and semitendinosus muscles were more tender (p<0.05) as roasts than steaks, whereas the opposite was true for the deep pectoral and semimembranosus muscles. Seven of the 10 muscles had lower WBSF (p≤0.05) for Bos taurus when cooked as steaks, roasts or both.
