Impact of Different Grilling Temperatures on the Volatile Profile of Beef

The volatile profiles of beef steaks (Longissimus lumborum) were analysed both raw and grilled to five different internal temperatures, 55 °C, 60 °C, 71 °C, 77 °C, and 85 °C, representing very-rare, rare, medium rare, well-done, and very well-done, respectively. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were extracted using direct immersion high-capacity sorptive extraction (DI-HiSorb) and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of ninety-one VOCs were detected with forty-two significantly impacted by the degree of doneness, thirty of which had Variable in Projection score > 1. Principal Component Analysis produced three distinct clusters, (i) raw, (ii) very-rare, rare, and medium-rare, (iii) and well-done and very well-done. Direct immersion high-capacity sorptive extraction (DI-HiSorb) provided a comprehensive volatile profile of grilled beef steak across different degrees of doneness and revealed that the abundance of methyl esters. The main findings were that in relation to the degree of doneness methyl esters were significantly reduced, with both aldehydes and pyrazines increasing due to thermal lipid oxidation, Strecker degradation, and Maillard reaction, highlighting the significance of internal temperature on the volatile profile of steak during grilling.