A total of 54 crossbred steers of similar genotype were randomly allocated to a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments including 2 diets (corn vs. barley) and 3 enzyme treatments (control, enzyme 1, and enzyme 2). Diets consisted of 95% concentrate and 5% silage for 105 to 147 d, following a 14-d step-up period from a 30% concentrate, 70% silage diet (dry matter basis). All animals were slaughtered using simulated commercial conditions after attaining a mean weight of 567.5 kg. The longissimus thoracis (LT) muscles were excised between the 9th and 12th ribs at 24 h postmortem. They were then vacuum packaged and aged for 14 d at 2 °C, before being frozen at −30 °C for subsequent evaluation by an experienced semi-trained laboratory panel and a highly trained flavor/texture profile panel. Source of dietary grain and dietary enzyme treatment generally failed to produce any important effects on the cooking properties or palatability attributes of beef. Beef from animals fed barley-based diets was slightly inferior to beef from animals fed corn in certain flavor attributes. Addition of dietary enzymes to the feed, irrespective of the source of dietary grain, appeared to produce a slightly beneficial effect on beef flavor. The magnitude of these effects, however, makes them of little or no practical importance. Key words: Beef, palatability, cooking properties, corn, barley, dietary enzymes