Dry-aged beef has gained market share in Brazil over the last several years. Therefore, understanding the effects of the dry-aging process on beef quality, especially on the beef from Zebu cattle, is important because of the large volumes of production and availability of this cattle in that country.
As the market demand increases, a few opportunities exist to produce dry-aged beef regularly. One of them is a possibility of freezing the loins and storing them before aging. This procedure could be advantageous in reducing the seasonality of supplying high-quality beef to the marketplace and it would allow for a more competitive pricing. Another alternative is freezing the steaks after trimming and fabricating the dry aging, thus expanding the shelf life of the product while increasing its availability in the market place.