The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the physical carcass composition, meat quality and cholesterol content in the Longissimus dorsi muscle of 5/8 Nellore - 3/8 Charolais steers feedlot finished to reach slaughter weight (SW) of 425, 467 and 510 kg. At the beginning of feedlot, average age, weight and body condition were, respectively, 660 days, 361 kg and 2.9 points. The diet offered, with roughage:concentrate ratio of 60:40, contained 10.25% of crude protein, 72.18% of total digestible nutrients and 3.18 Mcal of digestible energy/kg of DM. The muscle (<IMG SRC="/img/revistas/rbz/v33n4/22092s1.gif" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=15 > or = 15.548+0.316SW), fat (<IMG SRC="/img/revistas/rbz/v33n4/22092s1.gif" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=15 > or = -75.971+0.290SW) and internal fat (<IMG SRC="/img/revistas/rbz/v33n4/22092s1.gif" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=15 > or = -61.955+0.178SW) of the carcass quantity increased linearly as SW increased. However, the muscle percentage declined (<IMG SRC="/img/revistas/rbz/v33n4/22092s1.gif" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=15 > or = 90.294-0.059PA), the fat percentage increased (<IMG SRC="/img/revistas/rbz/v33n4/22092s1.gif" WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=15 > or = -5.320+0.060PA) and bone percentage was not alterated (14.93%) by SW. The muscle:bone (4.28) and muscle+fat:bone ratio (5.80) was not influenced by SW. The meat color (4.28 points) and texture (3.28 points) were not influenced, however, marbling increased linearly (Ÿ = -8.403+0.035SW) as the SW increased. Slaughter weight did not influence meat thawing (11.13%) and cooking losses (23.94%). The tenderness was classified between "tender and very tender" (6.77 points), palatability between "flavorful and very flavorful " (6.77 points) and juiciness between "juicy and very juicy" (6.88 points), were not influenced by SW. The Longissimus dorsi muscle showed 1.63% of ether extract and 53.12 mg of cholesterol/100 g of muscle, remaining constant with SW increase. Positive correlation of ether extract percentage in the Longissimus dorsi muscle with subcutaneous fat thickness (0.42), with marbling score (0.46) and with cholesterol content (0.60) was observed.
crossbreeding; ether extract; fat; tenderness; marbling; meat color
