Sous-Vide Processing as a Method for Standardising the Quality of Beef from Holstein-Friesian Bulls: The Effect of Time on Tenderness

Beef from dairy breeds such as Holstein–Friesian (HO) often shows high variability in tenderness, particularly in locomotive muscles such as semimembranosus (SM). This study evaluated whether sous-vide (SV) cooking at 60 °C for different times could standardise eating quality across raw material of divergent initial tenderness. SM muscles (2.5–3.0 kg) from HO bulls (n = 22) were vacuum-packed and cooked for 3, 4 or 6 h. Proximate composition, pH, water-holding capacity, colour, Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and sensory attributes were determined. Raw meat showed uniform chemical composition; however, there were considerable differences in WBSF values (from 30 N to 80 N) in meat cooked using the conventional water-bath cooking method. SV significantly improved tenderness, with cooking losses increasing moderately with time. In line with our hypothesis, sous-vide processing unified the heterogeneous SM muscles in terms of tenderness, with all samples reaching WBSF values below the 42.87 N threshold, and the time of 4 h proved to be the optimal duration. Extending cooking to 6 h provided no additional sensory benefits and increased cooking loss. Colour changes reflected myoglobin oxidation (lower a* and C*, higher h°), whereas juiciness remained stable. These findings indicate that SV for 4 h at 60 °C is the optimal combination, delivering consistent tenderness in SM from HO bulls which can serve as a practical strategy for improving the culinary value of beef from dairy breeds.