The aims of the present study were to compare the quality of grain-fed and pasture-fed beef and to assess the effects of two feeding periods on grain for finishing steers. A group of 75 steers were fed one of 5 finishing diets (n = 15 per diet): pasture for 90 d (P), oat grain plus pasture silage for 35 d (SO), oat grain plus pasture silage for 75 d (LO), wheat grain plus pasture silage for 35 d (SW), and wheat grain plus pasture silage for 75 d (LW). The physicochemical and sensory attributes and the fatty acid composition of the longissimus lumborum muscle were determined. The beef from pasture-fed animals tended to be tenderer, darker, less red, and with yellower fat than the beef from grain-fed steers. The beef from steers fed wheat plus silage for 75... |