At about 48 h post-slaughter, M. semimembranosus (n = 2) and M. biceps femoris (n = 4) were obtained from six individual beef car- cases. Two muscles were collected on each occasion and taken to the laboratory where they were each cut into 13 uniform steak-sized portions, having a weight of about 80–100 g and a thickness of
25 mm. Muscles were sliced so that the muscle fibre direction was
perpendicular with the cut surface of the steak. All treatments were randomly allocated within a muscle, with 6 replicates per treatment. Prior to treatment, each steak was weighed, the pH and colour recorded and then sealed in a vacuum bag. The treatments were: