The advantages of radio frequency-assisted oven heating on thermal efficiency and meat quality of beef loin steak.

Radio frequency-assisted oven heating (RF-OV) exhibits deeper thermal penetration, more uniform heating, and lower energy consumption than conventional heating methods. Nonetheless, its application to large food materials, such as beef loin steak, remains limited. Therefore, the effects of RF-OV on thermal efficiency, physicochemical quality, and sensory attributes of beef loin steak were evaluated by comparison with other heating methods: conventional oven heating (OV), microwave-assisted oven heating (MW-OV), and sous-vide heating (SV). The heating rate of RF-OV was significantly higher than that of OV (3.11 °C/min vs 1.63 °C/min). RF-OV resulted in improved physicochemical properties, including lower cooking loss (19.46% vs 28.87%) and shear force (50.00 N vs 58.55 N), along with more uniform heat distribution compared to MW-OV. Additionally, RF-OV produced a low level of burnt aroma intensity similar to SV (p > 0.05). Overall, RF-OV was effective in cooking beef steak due to its thermal efficiency, uniformity and desirable meat quality.