Tenderness of a beef cut isn't the be-all end-all of satisfying consumer desires for quality beef, a carefully chosen panel of 120 consumers says.

Given only certified tender strip steaks that varied in marbling and juiciness, the consumers said flavor is where it's at.

Sensory evaluation research, as part of a joint project among Texas Tech, Utah State and Mississippi State universities, scored the strip-loin steaks to get at the role of “taste fat” in consumer appeal.

Mark Miller, the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo distinguished chair in meat science at Texas Tech, helped conduct the recent study published in Meat Science last fall titled, "Sensory evaluation of tender beef strip loin steaks of varying marbling levels and quality treatments.”

To read more results from the survey, click here.

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