The objective of this trial was to study the physical composition of carcass and the qualitative characteristics of the meat of 16 finishing young bulls, eight Aberdeen Angus (AA) and eight Hereford (HE), fed diets with two energy levels (lower: 3.07 Mcal/kg of digestible energy - 12% of concentrate; or higher: 3.18 Mcal/kg of digestible energy - 32% of concentrate). Animals were feedlot fed since 9 months of age and an average body weight of 220.31 kg and were slaughtered when the estimate carcass weight reached at least 190 kg. A completely randomized design with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments (two breeds vs. two energy levels) was used. Within breed, meat from HE showed the lowest loss of liquid during thawing and cooking. Meat from HE animals also showed the greatest tenderness when evaluated either by a panel or by the Shear force technique. Animals fed the higher energy diet had greater proportion of muscle, lower loss of liquid at thawing (2.54 vs. 7.22%), and a more tender meat (Shear force) than those fed the lower energy diet. A significant interaction was observed between breed and energy level for both meat flavor and color; AA bulls fed the higher energy diet had meat with greater flavor and better color.
Aberdeen Angus; carcass physical characteristics; Hereford; meat quality; young bulls
