L21 - Postharvest Meat Processing Flashcards
Post-Harvest Meat Processing Techniques
- Electrical stimulation
- Hot-boning
- Stretching
- Aging
- Tumbling
Earliest report of electrical stimuation
Benjamin Franklin in 1749 said that electrocuted turkeys were “uncommonly tender”
How does ES work?
Pass an electric current through the carcass of freshly slaughtered animals
Causes the muscles to contract, increasing the rate of glycolysis resulting in a fall in pH (accelerates rigor)
ES impact on meat tenderness
- Prevents cold-shortening by depleting ATP
- Physically disrupts the myofibrillar complex
- Activates Ca dependent proteases (calpain) by increasing Ca concentration in intracellular spaces
ES impact on appearance
ES makes meat
1. brighter colored
2. firmer
3. finer textured
4. more visible marbling
What is hot boning?
the process of boning the carcass prior to attainment of rigor mortis in most muscles
Pros and cons of hot boning
Pros: save packers 50% in refrigeration energy and 80% cooler space
Cons: excised muscles have extra shortening due to the rapid chilling
What can hot boning be combined with?
Pre-rigor meat stretching by SmartShape (4S) to minimize rigor-shortening and present a more uniform shape
Texas Tender Stretch
pelvic suspension of carcasses using an S-shaped hook in a orbutator foramen or the eye of the H-bone
allows the hindquarter muscles to fall into a natural 90 angle, restricting some muscles from contracting during rigor
Achilles Tendon Stretch
carcass suspension by the achilles tendon
can be combined with the Tendercut to stretch major loin, sirloin, and round muscles
Positions of the tendercuts
- Between the 12/13 thoracic vertebrae to separate the fore and hindquarter
- Between the 4/5 sacral vertebrae to separate the sirloin and the round
Partial Hot Boning
prevents protein denaturation in the interior of SM
Types of aging
- Wet-aging: pack in vacuum bags at 0-3C
- Dry-aging: store in cooler at 0-3C for 10-28 days (most preferred)
Common tenderization methods and disadvantages
- Postmortem aging (time)
- Carcass/primal stretch (penetrates meat, bacteria)
- Blade tenderization (penetrates meat, bacteria)
- Brine injection (unnatural ingredients)
Tumbling
circulation of meat in a large metal drum that disrupts metal fibers
