Investigations of a Rapid Method for Meat Tenderness Evaluation Using Microwave Cookery

In an effort to reduce the time spent in making objective measurements of meat tenderness, 1.2 × 1.2 × >2.0 cm long strips of longissimus and semimembranosus muscle were cooked in a microwave oven and sheared with a Warner‐Bratzler shear device without further preparation. Shear force values thus obtained correlated significantly with shear force and sensory panel scores obtained on broiled steaks from the same muscles. The mean shear force values were higher for the microwave strips than for the broiled steaks but the standard deviations for shear force were similar for both methods of preparation. These results indicate the feasibility of using microwave cooking to reduce the time required for meat tenderness evaluations.