Marination with natural curing ingredients, storage time, and serving temperature effects on the sensory characteristics of forage-finished or commercially-sourced beef roasts.

Beef inside round roasts (n=144) were cut from rounds obtained from both forage-finished cattle (n=72) and commercially-sourced beef (n=72). Roasts were portioned to weigh 0.45-0.68kg each. Each roast was then randomly assigned one of the following treatments: control, injected-no cure, or injected-cured. Additionally, roasts were assigned a serving temperature (hot or cold) and storage treatments (0d or 28d post cooking). Roasts from forage-fed beef had a more red interior color and higher shear values, and also retained more brine than commercially-sourced beef (P<0.05). Curing roasts improved TBARS values in roasts served hot and significantly reduced sensory warmed-over and grassy flavors (P<0.05). Marinating forage-finished beef roasts significantly improves tenderness and flavor characteristics.