Carcass boneless yield of Braford steers, classified according to fat coverage class

Abstract

-The objective of this study was to evaluate total and individual meat yield of boneless cuts, retail cuts, descarded trimmings and carcass bones of 38 Braford castrated steers, slaughtered at 22 months of age after feedlot finishing.Carcasses were classified in three ranks according to fat coverage: even fat coverage over the carcass, with fat thickness of approximately 6-8 mm on the 12 th rib; animals with uneven fat cover, with fat thickness of 3-5 mm and steers with insufficient fat coverage over the carcass, with fat thickness of 1-2 mm. Shrinkage losses decreased as fat coverage increased, and it was 2.57, 2.22, and 1.96%, respectively, for insufficient, uneven, and even fat coverage whereas flank yield increased, reaching values of 13.04, 13.47 and 14.36%. Boneless yield was the highest in carcasses with insufficient fat coverage (78.70%) when compared to even fat coverage (77.62%), which is a result of the lowest trimming percentage, which increased according to coverage fat (4.40; 5.14 and 6.01%, respectively for carcass with insufficient fat coverage, uneven fat coverage and even fat coverage). Back rib and short rib yields were the greatest in carcasses with the largest fat thickness, whereas percentage of silverside and topside were the greatest in carcass with insufficient fat coverage compared to the ones with even fat coverage. Braford castrated steers can be slaughtered with the smallest fat coverage because the low fat coverage does not affect negatively yield of secondary cuts. Increase in coverage fat reduces shrinkage losses mainly in cuts submitted to little fat trimming.

Influence of age and method of carcass suspension on meat quality attributes of pure bred Ankole bulls

“…Berg and Butterfield (2005) noted that after animals have attained puberty and are fed on a positive plane of nutrition, an increasing age comes along with increasing subcutaneous fat deposition. Higher subcutaneous fat cover provides thermal insulation (Pascoal et al, 2011) reducing intercellular fluid losses during chilling more in older bulls than in younger bulls. Higher chilling losses in carcasses from younger bulls could also be attributed to low carcass weights which present small muscle masses for chilling (Berg and Butterfield, 2005) and higher surface areas per unit weight over which evaporation occurs (Pascoal et al, 2010).…”

Sex and animal behavior on yield and bruises in different beef cuts

“…The quantification of carcass yield is a controversial issue that leads to errors in the beef production chain (Pascoal et al, 2011). It is impossible to predict its exact result, since in addition to being influenced by several factors inherent to the animal and the production system, losses related to injuries during transport and animal reactivity cannot be measured before slaughter.…”

Bone and Subcutaneous Fat Influence on Yield, Physicochemical Traits, and Color Stability of Dry-Aged Loin From Grass-Fed Nellore Bulls

“…During carcass chilling, subcutaneous fat reduces carcass shrinkage and prevents evaporation from lean meat (Savell et al, 2005). According to Pascoal et al (2011), the thicker the subcutaneous fat, the lower the carcass weight loss during chilling. However, it is still unclear the amount of evaporation from the lean that the presence of bone and subcutaneous fat prevents during dry aging.…”