Comparison of meat quality, fatty acid composition and aroma volatiles of dry-aged beef from Hanwoo cows slaughtered at 60 or 80 months old

Objective The objective of this study was to compare the quality of dry-aged beef from cull Hanwoo cows slaughtered at 60 or 80 months old. Methods A total of eight cull Hanwoo carcasses with a quality grade of 3 (low-grade) were selected and divided into two age groups: 63.5±2.5 months old (n = 4) and 87.8±4.5 months old (n = 4). Whole longissimus thoracis et lumborum from the 11th rib to the last lumbar vertebrae, including the back fat, was removed from the carcass at 24 h postmortem and aged for 50 days in darkness at a temperature of 2°C±1°C, a relative humidity of 85% and an air flow of 2 m/s. The sampling was performed aseptically after 0, 20, 24, 40, and 50 days of aging. Results Regardless of the aging period, aging increased the lightness (p