Composition of beef carcasses:I. Material, measurements, jointing and tissue separation

SUMMARY One side of the carcasses from 145 beef animals was weighed, measured and quartered. Measurements were made in the exposed eye muscle region which was then photographed. Measurements were made from the photographs and the quarters were jointed. Each joint was separated into lean, bone, intermuscular fat, subcutaneous fat and ‘other tissues’. The material is described in terms of breed, sex and side weight. Details of the measurements made are given and the methods of jointing and tissue separation are described. The latter was different in three groups of 30, 72 and 43 animals. The overall carcass composition in terms of lean, bone, intermuscular fat plus ‘other tissues’, and subcutaneous fat for the three groups is summarized and the reasons for including ‘other tissues’ with intermuscular fat are given.