Development of Beef Volatile Flavor Compounds in Response to Varied Oven Temperature and Degree of Doneness

Abstract

Beef volatile flavor compound (VFC)development at the center, mid, and surface layers of cooked steaks wasevaluated through eighteen cookery treatment combinations consisting of oven cookingtemperature (OT; 177°C, 246°C, and 343°C) and final internal steak temperature(IT; 57°C, 63°C, 68°C, 74°C, 79°C, 85°C). In total, seventy-two VFC were measuredrepresenting the Maillard reaction and lipid degradation. Five VFC wereimpacted by a three-way interaction of OT × IT × layer (P ≤ 0.030). TwoVFC were impacted by a two-way interaction OT × IT (P ≤ 0.010). SixteenVFC were impacted by a two-way interaction OT × layer (P ≤ 0.050). SixteenVFC were impacted by a two-way interaction IT × layer (P ≤ 0.050).Twenty VFC were impacted by main effect of layer (P ≤ 0.010). Eight VFCwere impacted by main effect of IT (P ≤ 0.050). Maillard compounds were formedprimarily at steak surfaces with a general increase in content with greater finalIT and OT to a lesser extent. Lipid derived compounds were diverse. Methyl estersand aldehydes were consistently in lower content at steak surfaces and primarilyfound within the inner portions of steaks. Conversely, certain alcohols and ketoneswere more prominent at steak surfaces. Development of compounds among layers wasalso consistently influenced by IT and OT. It may be concluded that flavor contributingcompounds vary among cooked beef steaks at different depths and cookery temperatures,such as OT and final IT, may be utilized to mediate the final volatile compoundcomposition.