Utilizing Canadian Commercial Beef

In this section:

Adding Value to the Ground Beef Category
Eating Quality of Steaks and Roasts

Adding Value to the Ground Beef Category

Source ground beef produced from defined portions of the carcass (such as round, sirloin, and chuck) presents an opportunity to move away from a commodity-oriented approach for the ground meat category. Retail sales of source ground beef continue to grow in Canada. Research indicates that consumer ratings for overall acceptability (appearance and eating quality) are not significantly different for source grinds produced from youthful vs mature cattle.¹ Accordingly, the use of commercial beef offers a significant opportunity to add value to the ground beef category.

Eating Quality of Steaks and Roasts

Testing by trained sensory panels also shows that the overall acceptability of selected cuts from mature cattle can be quite similar to those from youthful animals. In fact juiciness and flavor desirability of commercial beef can exceed that of product from youthful cattle.² Tenderness does decrease with age, but selection of naturally more tender cuts and/or the use of interventions such as mechanical tenderization and moisture enhancement can provide an effective solution. Use of steaks and roasts from Canadian commercial beef can provide an important source of raw material for value-added meat production.

1. Research performed at the Leduc Food Processing Centre in Alberta using a 200 person consumer panel in 2005.
2. Trained sensory panel evaluation performed in 2005 at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Research Station in Lacombe, Alberta.

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