Texas A&M University, College Station, TX , USA b Texas Beef Council, 8708 Ranch Rd. 620 N., Austin, TX , USA

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1 Meat Science 66 (2004) Interrelationships of breed type, USDA quality grade, cooking method, and degree of doneness on consumer evaluations of beef in Dallas and San Antonio, Texas, USA D.R. McKenna a, C.L. Lorenzen a, K.D. Pollok a, W.W. Morgan a, W.L. Mies a, J.J. Harris b, R. Murphy b, M. McAdams b, D.S. Hale a, J.W. Savell a, * a Meat Science Section, Department of Animal Science, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, TAMU 2471, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX , USA b Texas Beef Council, 8708 Ranch Rd. 620 N., Austin, TX , USA Received 30 January 2003; received in revised form 20 April 2003; accepted 30 April 2003 Abstract The objective of this research was to evaluate the consumer controlled factors of cooking method and degree of doneness on top loin steaks from different USDA quality grades (Low Choice, High Select or Low Select) and breed-types (English, Continental European Cross or Brahman Cross). In addition, cities within the same region were evaluated for differences in consumer controlled factors and palatability responses. The in-home product test was conducted in Dallas and San Antonio, Texas, USA. Consumers (n=173) evaluated steaks for overall like (OSAT), tenderness (TEND), juiciness (JUIC), and flavor (FLAV) using 23-point hedonic scales. Respondents in Dallas cooked their steaks to higher degrees of doneness than did those in San Antonio. Outdoor grilling was the most frequently used method of cookery for steaks in both cities. Generally, consumers in San Antonio gave higher palatability ratings to Choice steaks and Dallas consumers gave higher ratings to Select steaks. The interactions of citycooking method, breed-typecooking method, and degree of donenesscooking method were significant for all palatability attributes. In addition, the interaction of cooking methodquality grade was significant for TEND, JUIC, and FLAV. Warner Bratzler shear (WBS) force was determined on a steak from each strip loin. Steaks from Continental European Cross cattle and Low Choice carcasses had the lowest WBS values. Differences in consumer preparation of beef top loin steaks present very unique challenges for the beef industry. Consumer information programs may serve a valuable role in connecting consumer perceptions with the preparation techniques needed to consistently achieve satisfaction. # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Beef; Market research; Meat grades; Consumer preferences 1. Introduction Determining the factors that dictate customer satisfaction of a product is a major undertaking. For beef, the complexity of understanding consumer attitudes and expectations on a national, or even regional, scale is quite challenging. Savell et al. (1987, 1989) were the first to investigate consumer preferences for beef steaks on a national level. They found that consumer preferences for quality grade and degree of doneness differed * Corresponding author. Tel.: ; fax: address: j-savell@tamu.edu (J.W. Savell). between regions of the United States. Subsequent studies by Neely et al. (1998, 1999), Lorenzen et al. (1999), and Savell et al. (1999) concluded that different regions of the USA preferred different types of beef and prepared those cuts in ways that were traditional to that region. Such studies have forced the beef industry to rethink their marketing approaches because the type of beef that will evoke the highest ratings by consumers is dependent upon the regional tastes and preferences of those consumers. Neely et al. (1998) suggested that targeted marketing of beef products for different regions of the country was the most logical way to maximize customer satisfaction. However, such a marketing strategy may still be too broad as differences in consumer preferences /03/$ - see front matter # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi: /s (03)

2 400 D.R. McKenna et al. / Meat Science 66 (2004) for beef may exist within a region. We recognized a need to investigate beef consumption preferences within a regional setting. Given the large population and geographical area of Texas, it was determined there was a tremendous opportunity to evaluate beef customer satisfaction in two Texas cities (Dallas and San Antonio, Texas, USA). This was of interest because Houston, Texas, USA had been used in previous studies and because the Texas Beef Council, a statewide promotion group, had interest in gathering additional information on consumers in the major metropolitan markets. The objectives of our study were to see (a) if consumer preferences for beef exist within a region and (b) how consumer controlled factors influence palatability ratings of top loin steaks from different USDA quality grades and breed-types. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Beef selection and processing We selected cattle from the Texas A&M University Ranch to Rail education program for this project. Cattle were from nineteen ranches and were fed in three different feedyards, two in the Texas Panhandle and one in South Texas. Cattle were harvested at one of two beef processing facilities. Three groups of cattle representing the breed types commonly found in Texas were identified near the time they were ready for harvesting. These breed types were English, Continental EuropeanEnglish (Continental European Cross), or BrahmanEnglish (Brahman Cross). The cattle were harvested and chilled for a h time period, and three USDA (1997) quality grade groups Low Choice, High Select, and Low Select were selected. A total of 189 carcasses were obtained resulting in approximately 20 carcasses per breedtypeusda quality grade group. Each breedtypeusda quality grade group had cattle/carcasses from each feed yard and from each processing plant, but as is common with similar research, it was impossible to have exact numbers in each cell. Beef loin, strip loin, short cut, boneless (IMPS #180; NAMP, 1997; USDA, 1996) were collected from selected carcasses at the packing plants. All strip loins were vacuum-packaged, boxed, and shipped by refrigerated truck to the Rosenthal Meat Science and Technology Center at Texas A&M University. Strip loins were stored at 22 C and were aged for days before further fabrication. After aging, beef loin, strip loin, short cut, boneless (IMPS #180; NAMP, 1997; USDA, 1996) were fabricated into 2.54 cm thick top loin (strip) steaks (IMPS #1180B; NAMP, 1997; USDA, 1996) with 0.32 cm of external fat trim, and 1.27 cm tails. Heavy connective tissue over the top edge of each steak, and connective tissue and associated fat near where the transverse processes were attached were removed. Steaks were individually vacuum-skin packaged on an American National Can Bivac 1 machine with roll stock oxygen barrier film (American National Can, Neenah, WI) and blast frozen and stored at 40 C until shipping Consumer recruitment and evaluations Households (n=210) in two Texas, USA cities Dallas and San Antonio were selected for use in this study. Consumers were recruited as moderate-to-heavy beef users between the ages of with a minimum yearly income of US$20,000. Each household consisted of two participants and received two mirror-image steaks per meal for a total of nine meals (one for each quality grade by breed type cell). Participants were allowed to prepare steaks using a cooking method of their choice, but were instructed to cook all nine meals using the same cooking method. Evaluation forms were provided for participants to complete after each meal and the preparer of the meal was asked to describe the preparation method used for the meal (outdoor grill, broil, indoor grill, oven roast uncovered, pan-broil, panfry/saute, stir-fry, braise, simmer/stew, deep-fry or other) and to what degree of doneness steaks were cooked (very rare, rare, medium rare, medium, mediumwell, well-done or very well-done). A cooked meat color guide was provided to aid in assessing degree of doneness. After consumption, participants were asked to rate steaks for overall satisfaction (OSAT), tenderness (TEND), juiciness (JUIC), and flavor (FLAV). Participant ratings were based on 23-point hedonic scales with anchors at 23 (very satisfied, very tender, very juicy, very satisfied) and 1 (very dissatisfied, not at all tender, not at all juicy, very dissatisfied). Participants were asked to complete steak evaluation forms immediately after each meal. Of the 105 households in each city asked to participate, 85 completed the study in Dallas, and 88 completed the study in San Antonio Warner Bratzler shear force One steak (2.54 cm thick) from each strip loin was used for Warner Bratzler shear (WBS) force measurement as an objective means of determining tenderness. Steaks were cooked over a Farberware Open-Hearth broiler (Farberware Co., Bronx, NY) to an internal temperature of 70 C (e.g. medium degree of doneness) and cooled to room temperature (approximately 22 C). Six, 1.27 cm diameter cores were removed parallel to the muscle fibers from each steak and sheared on a Warner Bratzler shearing device. Shear

3 D.R. McKenna et al. / Meat Science 66 (2004) force measurements for each steak were recorded as the average of the six cores and units were reported as kg of force Statistical analysis The statistical model for consumer satisfaction ratings included main effects of USDA grade, city, breed type and their interactions. Because 23-point scales were used, data were not normally distributed, therefore, Box Cox transformations (Neter, Wasserman, & Kutner, 1989) were used to produce normally distributed errors. Least squares means were generated and tested for significance (P < 0.05) using Bonferroni s procedure (Lenter & Bishop, 1993). Dependent variables were tested for significance by ANOVA using the GLM procedure in SAS (1991). Only significant terms were retained in the model (P <0.05). 3. Results 3.1. Cooking methods and degree of doneness Frequency distributions for degree of doneness and cookery method by city are presented in Figs. 1 and 2. Because some cooking methods were used infrequently, a combined category classified as other was created for use in analysis. Cooking methods pooled in the other category were: oven-roast uncovered, stir-fry, braise, and deep-fry. Likewise, because some degrees of doneness were used infrequently, very rare, rare and medium rare were pooled into a category classified as medium rare or less and well done and very well done were pooled into a category labeled well done or more for use in analysis. Consumers in both Dallas and San Antonio most often cooked steaks with outdoor grills, while broiling, pan-frying and other methods were frequently used by consumers in San Antonio. Lorenzen et al. (1999) reported approximately 54% of respondents from Houston, TX cooked top loin steaks on outdoor grills, which was similar to the percentage of consumers in Dallas that used outdoor grills. Generally, San Antonio consumers cooked their steaks to lesser degrees of doneness than Dallas consumers. For San Antonio, medium was the most frequently reported degree of doneness and 50.1% of respondents cooked to a medium or lower degree of doneness, whereas 38.2% of Dallas consumers cooked to a medium or lower degree of doneness. For Dallas, well done was the most frequently reported degree of doneness with 41.7% of respondents indicating that they cooked to a well done or higher degree of doneness, whereas 31.8% of consumers from San Antonio cooked to a well done or higher degree of doneness. Lorenzen et al. (1999) found that 50% of Houston consumers in their study cooked top loin steaks to a medium or medium-well degree of doneness. Our study found that 44.6% of consumers in San Antonio and 41.6% of consumers in Dallas cooked top loin steaks to a medium or medium-well degree of doneness. Fig. 1. Frequency distribution of degree of doneness by city.

4 402 D.R. McKenna et al. / Meat Science 66 (2004) Fig. 2. Frequency distribution of cooking method by city Consumer overall like ratings There were no significant differences in main effect responses for OSAT, however, five interactions were observed: quality gradecity, cooking methodcity, cooking methodbreed-type, cooking methoddegree of doneness, and degree of donenesscity. San Antonio consumers had higher ratings for Choice steaks, whereas Dallas consumers had higher ratings for Select steaks (Table 1). San Antonio consumers rated steaks cooked using other methods the highest, however, more traditional cooking methods (i.e. pan-broiling and broiling) also were rated very highly. Consumers from Dallas had the highest ratings for steaks cooked on indoor grills and the lowest ratings for broiled steaks (Table 2). Table 1 Least squares means for quality gradecity interaction on consumers responses a USDA quality grade Low Choice High Select Low Select San Antonio 18.4a 17.4bc 17.6abc Dallas 17.3c 18.2ab 18.1abc San Antonio 18.1a 17.0b 16.6b Dallas 16.7b 17.4ab 17.6ab Means within the same consumer trait lacking a common letter differ a Responses based on a 23-point scale with 23=very satisfied, and very satisfied; 1=very dissatisfied, and very dissatisfied. Steaks from English cattle, cooked on indoor grills, had the highest ratings, while steaks from Continental European Cross cattle, cooked on broilers, received the lowest ratings (Table 3). Consumers preferred Other cooking methods (Table 4) at lower degrees of doneness( medium or less). Consumers from both cities had the lowest ratings for steaks cooked to a medium well degree of doneness. Dallas consumers preferred steaks cooked to lower degrees of doneness, whereas San Antonio consumers preferred higher degrees of doneness (Table 5) Consumer tenderness ratings Five interactions were found for TEND ratings: cooking methodcity, cooking methodbreed-type, cooking methodquality grade, cooking methoddegree of doneness, and degree of donenesscity. Dallas consumers preferred steaks cooked on indoor grills, and they rated broiled steaks the lowest. Other cooking methods were preferred by San Antonio consumers (Table 2). Steaks from Brahman Cross cattle that were cooked using other methods were rated the highest, and Continental European Cross steaks that were broiled received the lowest ratings (Table 3). Low Choice steaks that were pan-fried or pan-broiled and High Select steaks cooked via other methods were rated the highest and pan-fried Low Select steaks received the lowest ratings from consumers (Table 6). Pan-fried and simmered/stewed steaks, cooked to a medium well degree of doneness had the lowest ratings (Table 4). Both cities had the lowest ratings for steaks cooked to a medium well degree of doneness.

5 D.R. McKenna et al. / Meat Science 66 (2004) Table 2 Least squares means for citycooking method interaction on consumer responses a City San Antonio Dallas Outdoor grill 17.2de 18.1c Broil 18.4bc 16.5e Indoor grill 17.3cde 20.0a Pan-broil 18.5bc 17.9cd Pan-fry 16.9de 17.9cd Simmer/stew 17.7cde 16.8de Other b 19.3ab 18.5bc Outdoor grill 16.8def 17.5cde Broil 18.4abc 15.4f Indoor grill 17.0def 19.0ab Pan-broil 17.9abcd 17.6bcde Pan-fry 16.6ef 17.8abcde Simmer/stew 17.7abcde 15.7ef Other b 19.1a 18.0abcd Juiciness Outdoor grill 15.6def 16.8bcde Broil 17.6ab 14.9f Indoor grill 15.8cdef 18.4a Pan-broil 17.6ab 16.4bcdef Pan-fry 15.8cdef 16.4bcdef Simmer/stew 17.1abcd 15.3ef Other b 17.8ab 17.2abc Outdoor grill 16.9def 17.6bcd Broil 18.2abc 15.5f Indoor grill 16.6def 19.3a Pan-broil 17.5bcd 17.2bcdef Pan-fry 16.3ef 16.9cdef Simmer/stew 17.2bcdef 15.7ef Other b 18.4ab 17.5bcde Means within a consumer trait lacking a common letter differ tender, very juicy, and very satisfied; 1=very dissatisfied, not at all tender, not at all juicy, very dissatisfied. b Other cooking methods included: oven-roasted uncovered, stirfry, braise, and deep-fry. Table 3 Least squares means for breed typecooking method interaction on consumers responses a Breed-type English Continental European Cross Brahman Cross Outdoor grill 17.8cde 17.8cde 17.4de Broil 18.4bc 16.5e 17.6cde Indoor grill 19.6ab 18.4bcd 18.1cd Pan-broil 17.7cde 18.0cde 18.8abc Pan-fry 17.5cde 17.3de 17.5cde Simmer/stew 17.9cde 17.4de 16.4e Other b 18.6bc 18.4bcd 19.7a Outdoor grill 17.5bcd 17.0cd 17.0cd Broil 18.0bc 15.9d 16.9cd Indoor grill 18.7ab 17.3bcd 18.1bc Pan-broil 16.9cd 17.7bcd 18.6ab Pan-fry 17.7bc 16.7cd 17.2bcd Simmer/stew 17.7bcd 16.4cd 16.1cd Other b 17.6bcd 18.3b 19.8a Juiciness Outdoor grill 16.5bcde 16.0cde 16.0cde Broil 17.0bcd 15.1e 16.6bcde Indoor grill 18.0ab 16.5bcde 16.8bcde Pan-broil 16.1bcde 16.9bcde 17.9ab Pan-fry 16.8bcde 15.3cde 16.1bcde Simmer/stew 17.4abc 15.8cde 15.3de Other b 16.6bcde 17.1bcd 18.9a Outdoor grill 17.6ab 17.1bcd 17.1bcd Broil 18.3a 15.6d 16.6bcd Indoor grill 18.8a 17.6abc 17.4abc Pan-broil 16.3cd 17.3abc 18.4a Pan-fry 16.6bcd 16.4cd 16.8bcd Simmer/stew 17.1abcd 15.8cd 16.6bcd Other b 17.3abc 18.0ab 18.6a Means within a consumer trait lacking a common letter differ (P <0.05). tender, very juicy, and very satisfied; 1=very dissatisfied, not at all tender, not at all juicy, very dissatisfied. b Other cooking methods included: oven-roasted uncovered, stirfry, braise, and deep-fry. Dallas consumers preferred lower degrees of doneness, whereas San Antonio consumers preferred higher degrees of doneness. Objective assessments of tenderness (e.g. WBS values) are shown in Table 7. Steaks from Continental European Cross cattle had the lowest WBS values amongst the breed-types investigated. Low Choice steaks had the lowest WBS values and Low Select had the highest Consumer ratings for juiciness There were four interactions for JUIC ratings: cooking methodcity, cooking methodbreed-type, cooking methodquality grade, and cooking methoddegree of doneness. Dallas consumers had the highest ratings for indoor grilled steaks and the lowest ratings for broiled steaks. San Antonio consumers preferred steaks that were broiled, pan-broiled, or cooked by other methods (Table 2). Steaks from Continental European Cross cattle that were broiled received the lowest ratings and steaks from Brahman Cross cattle received the highest ratings (Table 3). Pan-broiled, Low Choice steaks were rated the highest and pan-fried, Low Select steaks were rated the lowest (Table 6). Steaks cooked to a medium degree of doneness using other cooking methods received the highest ratings. Pan-broiled steaks cooked to a medium well degree of doneness were rated the lowest by consumers (Table 4).

6 404 D.R. McKenna et al. / Meat Science 66 (2004) Table 4 Least squares means for degree of donenesscooking method interaction on consumers responses a Degree of doneness Table 5 Least squares means for degree of donenesscity interaction on consumers responses a Degree of doneness rare or less well Well done or more rare or less well Well done or more Outdoor grill 18.1cdef 17.4def 17.1ef 18.1cdef Broil 17.2def 17.5cdef 17.4cdef 17.9cdef Indoor grill 18.0cdef 19.3abc 19.4abc 18.0cdef Pan-broil 18.8abcd 18.1cdef 16.9ef 18.8abc Pan-fry 18.4bcde 17.8cdef 15.3f 18.0cdef Simmer/stew 16.0ef 18.3bcdef 15.8ef 18.6bcd Other b 19.8ab 20.0a 17.6cdef 18.1bcdef Outdoor grill 17.9bcd 16.9de 16.6de 17.3cd Broil 16.8de 17.3cd 16.6de 17.2cd Indoor grill 17.3cd 18.1abcd 18.8abc 17.9abcd Pan-broil 18.2abcd 18.1abcd 16.6de 18.0bcd Pan-fry 18.6abc 18.0bcd 14.3e 17.7cd Simmer/stew 15.2de 18.4abcd 15.1de 18.1bcd Other b 19.7ab 19.7a 16.9cd 17.7cd Juiciness Outdoor grill 17.8ab 16.1cde 15.3de 15.5de Broil 16.8bcde 16.5bcde 15.7cde 16.0cde Indoor grill 16.8bcde 17.1bcde 18.2ab 16.3bcde Pan-broil 17.2bcde 17.7abc 16.0cde 17.1bcde Pan-fry 17.9ab 16.9bcde 13.6e 15.9cde Simmer/stew 14.9de 17.5abc 14.9de 17.4bc Other b 18.4ab 19.5a 16.1bcde 16.1cde Outdoor grill 18.0abcd 17.0cdef 16.7def 17.4bcde Broil 16.6def 17.0bcdef 16.5def 17.3bcde Indoor grill 17.2bcdef 18.7ab 18.9ab 17.1bcdef Pan-broil 17.3bcde 18.1abcd 16.5def 17.4bcde Pan-fry 17.5abcde 17.4bcde 14.5f 16.9cdef Simmer/stew 17.2bcdef 16.0def 14.9ef 17.8abcd Other b 18.5abc 19.2a 16.8cdef 17.3bcde Means within the same consumer trait lacking a common letter differ tender, very juicy, and very satisfied; 1=very dissatisfied, not at all tender, not at all juicy, very dissatisfied. b Other cooking methods included: oven roast uncovered, stir-fry, braise, and deep-fry Consumer flavor ratings Six interactions were observed for FLAV: quality gradecity, cooking methodscity, cooking method breed-type, cooking methodquality grade, cooking methoddegree of doneness, and degree of doneness city. San Antonio consumers rated Low Choice steaks the highest, whereas Dallas consumers preferred Select steaks (Table 1). Steaks cooked on indoor grills by Dallas consumers received the highest ratings and those cooked on broilers received the lowest ratings. For San Antonio consumers, steaks cooked by other methods and broiled were rated the highest (Table 2). Steaks San Antonio 17.5bc 18.6a 17.1c 18.5a Dallas 18.6a 18.2ab 17.1c 18.0ab San Antonio 17.4bcd 18.5a 16.6cd 18.1ab Dallas 18.0ab 17.6abc 16.3d 17.3bcd San Antonio 17.0ab 17.9a 16.8ab 17.6a Dallas 17.9a 17.4a 16.1b 17.0a Means within the same consumer trait lacking a common letter differ tender and very satisfied; 1=very dissatisfied, not at all tender, and very dissatisfied. Table 6 Least squares means for quality gradecooking method interaction on consumers responses a USDA quality grade Low Choice High Select Low Select Outdoor grill 17.2cde 16.9cde 17.5cd Broil 17.0cde 17.6bcd 16.4de Indoor grill 17.6abcd 18.3abc 18.2abc Pan-broil 18.7ab 17.3cde 17.1cde Pan-fry 18.7ab 17.1cde 15.7e Simmer/stew 16.9cde 16.2de 17.2cde Other b 18.3abc 19.2a 18.2abc Juiciness Outdoor grill 16.3cdef 16.0def 16.2cdef Broil 16.6bcdef 16.9abcde 15.3ef Indoor grill 17.8abc 16.4bcdef 17.1abcde Pan-broil 18.4a 16.9abcde 15.7def Pan-fry 17.6abc 16.0def 14.8f Simmer/stew 16.7abcde 15.5def 16.3bcdef Other b 17.2abcd 18.0ab 17.4abc Outdoor grill 17.2abc 17.1bc 17.4abc Broil 16.7bcd 17.5abc 16.4cd Indoor grill 18.2ab 17.5abc 18.2ab Pan-broil 18.2a 17.9abc 15.9cd Pan-fry 18.0ab 16.5cd 15.2d Simmer/stew 16.9bcd 16.9bcd 15.7cd Other b 17.4abc 18.3a 18.2a Means within a consumer trait lacking a common letter differ a Responses based on a 23-point scale with 23=very tender, very juicy, and very satisfied; 1=not at all tender, not at all juicy, very dissatisfied. b Other cooking methods included: oven-roasted uncovered, stirfry, braise, and deep-fry.

7 D.R. McKenna et al. / Meat Science 66 (2004) Table 7 Least squares means for breed-type, USDA quality grade, and city on consumer overall like, tenderness, juiciness, and flavor ratings a and Warner Bratzler shear (WBS) force values Effect from English carcasses cooked on indoor grills or broilers, and steaks from Brahman Cross carcasses that were pan-broiled or cooked by other methods had the highest ratings. Steaks from Continental European Cross carcasses that were broiled received the lowest ratings (Table 3). Low Choice steaks that were panbroiled, indoor grilled, or pan-fried received the highest ratings. Low Select steaks that were pan-fried were rated the lowest (Table 6). No consistent trends were observed for the degree of donenesscooking method interaction (Table 4). Both cities rated steaks cooked to a medium well degree of doneness the lowest. Dallas consumers rated steaks cooked to a medium rare or less degree of doneness the highest, whereas San Antonio consumers rated steaks cooked to a medium degree of doneness the highest (Table 5). 4. Discussion 4.1. USDA quality grade Overall Juiciness WBS satisfaction (kg) Breed-type English a Continental b European Cross Brahman Cross a USDA quality grade Low Choice b High Select ab Low Select a City San Antonio Dallas Means within a main effect and column lacking a common letter differ tender, very juicy, and very satisfied; 1=very dissatisfied, not at all tender, not at all juicy, very dissatisfied. Consumer ratings for top loin steaks were not affected by USDA quality grade. This is in contrast to Lorenzen et al. (1999) who reported that consumer ratings for top loin steaks were higher when they contained higher degrees of marbling. We did not include a Top Choice (Moderate and Modest degrees of marbling) category in this study as was included in their study. Berry and Leddy (1990) reported that steaks from Moderate and Modest marbling groups received higher sensory ratings than steaks from Small and Slight marbling groups. A study conducted by Branson et al. (1986) that utilized consumers from Houston, Texas reported that participants gave similar ratings for top loin steaks ranging from USDA High Standard to USDA Average Choice. With marbling scores that are adjacent (i.e. Slight and Small), it should be expected that palatability differences would be minimal. Although consumer ratings indicated no differences in tenderness, WBS values showed that tenderness improved with increasing marbling group. Lorenzen et al. (2003) reported that the relationship between consumer palatability data and objective measures of tenderness can be low, which could lead to significant differences in one trait but not the other City Generally, consumers in Dallas and San Antonio gave ratings that were very similar for all palatability attributes. However, consumers from Dallas generally rated Select steaks higher for palatability attributes whereas San Antonio consumers rated Choice steaks higher. Research has shown that it is common for cities to have a grade preference for beef (Savell et al., 1987, 1989; Neely et al., 1998). This finding confirms that different grade preferences for beef exist within geographical regions Breed-type Consumer palatability ratings were not affected by breed-type, however, WBS values indicated differences in tenderness. One interesting finding was that broiled steaks from Continental European Cross carcasses consistently received the lowest ratings, including tenderness, for consumer palatability characteristics. Protocol for conducting WBS evaluations involved cooking steaks on broilers to a constant end-point temperature. WBS data indicated that broiled steaks from the Continental European Cross group were the most tender, however, consumer ratings indicated that broiled steaks from Continental European Cross group were the least tender. We are not sure how to explain this contradictory finding Degree of doneness Generally, steaks cooked to a medium well degree of doneness were rated lowest for consumer palatability attributes and steaks cooked to a medium and well done degrees of doneness received ratings that were more closely related. Lorenzen et al. (1999) made a similar observation noting that medium-well top loin steaks received the lowest consumer ratings and that ratings for steaks cooked to medium and well done degrees of doneness were more closely related. They speculated that flavor may be more important than tenderness at higher degrees of doneness. Our findings

8 406 D.R. McKenna et al. / Meat Science 66 (2004) showed that a medium-well degree of doneness was detrimental to both FLAV and TEND ratings. Dallas consumers gave higher palatability ratings for steaks cooked to lesser degrees of doneness whereas San Antonio consumers gave higher ratings for steaks cooked to greater degrees of doneness. Interestingly, Dallas consumers more frequently cooked their steaks to higher degrees of doneness even though they assigned higher palatability ratings for steaks cooked to lesser degrees of doneness. San Antonio consumers had the same paradox, with a greater frequency of consumers cooking to lesser degrees of doneness but higher palatability ratings assigned at higher degrees of doneness Cooking method Lorenzen et al. (1999) described the interaction between cooking method and palatability, especially among and within city, as being an important relationship that needed to be addressed. Our findings reiterate the complexity of this relationship. We noted the greatest disparity in consumer palatability responses among and within cities in dry-heat cooking methods (i.e. outdoor grill, broiler, and indoor grill). Consumers in San Antonio gave consistently high responses for broiled steaks and slightly lower responses for steaks cooked on outdoor or indoor grills. Generally, Dallas consumers gave some of the lowest palatability ratings for steaks cooked on broilers and some of the highest ratings for steaks cooked on indoor or outdoor grills. Lorenzen et al. (1999) reported that Houston consumers generally gave high ratings for pan-fried steaks and low ratings for steaks cooked on indoor grills. It is unclear why certain cooking methods elicit high consumer palatability responses in one city but not in another. 5. Conclusions The differences in consumer preparation of beef top loin steaks present very unique challenges for the beef industry. Consumer information programs may serve a valuable role in connecting consumer perceptions with the preparation techniques needed to consistently achieve satisfaction. On a superficial level differences in consumer palatability between cities within a region may appear to be subtle. Marketing beef towards subtle preferences within a city may be cumbersome. However, in today s consumer driven market, such a strategy may give beef a competitive advantage over other protein options in the retail case. References Berry, B. W., & Leddy, K. F. (1990). Influence of steak temperature at the beginning of broiling on palatability, shear and cooking properties of beef loin steaks differing in marbling. Journal of Foodservice Systems, 5, Branson, R. E., Cross, H. R., Savell, J. W., Smith, G. C., & Edwards, R. A. (1986). Marketing implications from the National Consumer Beef Study. Western Journal of Agricultural Economics, 11, Lenter, M., & Bishop, T. (1993). 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