RESUMO
This study evaluated the effects of freezing, prior to and after dry aging, on the microbiological and physical-chemical quality of beef. Strip loins (nâ¯=â¯24) from 12 carcasses were assigned to four treatments: non-frozen dry aging (Dry); dry aging, steak fabrication, freezing and slow thawing (Dryâ¯+â¯ST); freezing, fast thawing (FT; 20⯰C/15â¯h) and dry aging (FTâ¯+â¯Dry); freezing, slow thawing (ST; 4⯰C/48â¯h) and dry aging (STâ¯+â¯Dry). Freezing conditions wereâ¯-â¯20⯰C/28â¯days and dry aging conditions were 2⯰C/70% relative humidity, for 28â¯days. Freezing prior to dry aging did not affect the microbial counts compared to Dry. However, FTâ¯+â¯Dry and STâ¯+â¯Dry increased (16%) total process loss (Pâ¯<â¯.05) compared to Dry and Dry+ST. Moreover, freezing changed volatile compounds profile. Thus, freezing prior to dry aging was not a feasible process due to increased process loss, while freezing after dry aging was considered a viable alternative to preserve the steaks without compromising beef physical-chemical traits.