Effects of Aging Method and Time on Meat Quality of High-grade Fattening Angus Beef

This study was conducted to explore the aging technology of high-grade beef, a total of 12 high-grade fattening Angus longissimus dorsi were selected and aged in dry or wet environment for 3 d, 5 d and 7 d, and the meat basic physicochemical indexes, free amino acids and volatile flavor compounds were compared and analyzed. The results showed that the pH of beef with dry-aging for 3 and 5 days was significantly lower than that with wet-aging, the pH of beef with dry-aging for 7 d was significantly higher than that with wet-aging (P<0.05). The share force of beef with dry-aging for 3 d was significantly lower than that with wet-aging (P<0.05). The contents of serine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, tyrosine, leucine, phenylalanine, arginine, lysine, total sweet free amino acid, total bitter free amino acid and total free amino acids of beef with both dry-aging and wet-aging for 7 d were significantly higher than those for 3 and 5 days (P<0.05). The contents of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, alanine and total umami free amino acids of beef with dry-aging for 7 d were significantly higher than those with wet-aging (P<0.05). The nonanal, octanal and octenol were key volatile flavor compounds in both dry-aging and wet-aging beef according to the relative odor activity value, and heptanal was the volatile flavor compounds only existed in beef with wet-aging, the octanal, phenylethanal, undecanal, tetradecyl aldehyde and limonene of beef with dry-aging for 7 d was significantly higher than those with wet-aging (P<0.05). In conclusion, beef with aging for 7 d is beneficial to enhance flavor richness of Angus beef, and dry-aging is better than wet-aging to improve the flavor of high-grade Angus beef.