The test procedure involved evaluation of steaks from nine carcasses for five key attributes (except surface discoloration). Two sets of six muscles (3 carcasses 6 muscles = 18 treatments) were randomly presented to each assessor in two sessions for the quantitative descriptive analysis. Each panelist evaluated two muscles per day for each attribute with 15 min between sessions. The 54 treatments (9 carcasses 6 muscles) were evaluated on 3 days. This was to achieve variables of interest (muscle effects on sensory attribute) within a block (USDA quality grade). For surface discoloration, six muscles from 15 carcasses (Exp. I + II) were used. The nine judges were asked to evaluate discoloration on day 6 relative to the color of the muscle on day 1.