Effect of Changes in Intermuscular and Subcutaneous Fat Levels on Cholesterol Content of Raw and Cooked Beef Steaks

Muscle, intermuscular (seam) fat and subcutaneous fat dissected from boneless rib steaks (U.S. Choice quality grade; USDA yield grade 1 to 5) were analyzed for cholesterol content. For raw steaks, the cholesterol content (wet basis) in the fat fractions was greater than 150% of that in the muscle fraction; the difference diminished greatly when steaks were cooked to an internal temperature of 70°C. On an average of all yield grades, cooked intermuscular fat and subcutaneous fat contained about 108 and 122%, respectively, of the cholesterol content in cooked muscle. The percentage of total cholesterol in raw and cooked steaks that was contributed by the combined fat fractions increased significantly with numerical increases in the USDA yield grade. However, the amount of cholesterol per gram of the whole steak was not significantly different among the five yield grades.