With the objective to study the carcass and the meat qualitative characteristics of young bulls or castrated males, slaughtered at fourteen months of age, fifteen Hereford males were used, eight castrated at seven months and seven kept entire. From birth to weaning animals were raised on improved native pasture, and after weaning, at seven months, they were confined. Meat measurements were taken from the longissimus muscle, and to determine carcass composition the method of manual dissection of muscle, fat and bone, was used. Castrated males showed carcasses with higher fat percentage (24.89 vs. 19.89%) and better meat color (4.37 vs. 2.85 points). The young bulls showed carcasses with higher muscle percentage (65.38 vs. 60.48%), and meat with smaller thawing losses (3.29 vs. 7.48%), higher tenderness when measured by the taste panel (7.93 vs. 6.60 points), and of better flavor (6.40 vs. 5.52 points) as compared to the castrated males. Correlation analysis within the young bulls showed that the highest meat tenderness of the young bulls might have been a result of "DFD" (dark, firm and dry) condition, since the correlation between tenderness and meat color was --.93, and tenderness and thawing losses was -.88. The results show that, in young age, bulls can be used to produce meat without reducing its quality.
bos taurus; castration; meat color; marbling; tenderness
