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Use
of Marination by Injection to Improve the Palatability of Bison Top
Round
J.S.
Dhanda, R.B. Pegg and P.J. Shand
Saskatchewan Specialty Livestock Value-Added Program
Department of Applied Microbiology and Food Science
University of Saskatchewan
51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Sask. S7N 5A8
Further
processing is the key to improve bison meat acceptability.
Background
In
Canada, the demand for bison meat is increasing faster than its rate
of production. With
regard to bison meat, the main concern is inconsistency, in terms of
both the quantity and quality available in the market.
There is a general perception that bison meat is leaner but
less tender than beef. So,
further processing may be desirable to improve the sensory
characteristics and to make bison meat more acceptable, or at least
an attractive red meat alternative, to consumers.
This is particularly true for under-utilized or lesser-value
meat cuts (e.g., chuck and round). Injection of various salt and phosphate formulations into
primal meat cuts is now routinely practiced to enhance the
tenderness and juiciness of fresh meat products.
The
present study was conducted to investigate the effects of sodium
chloride and sodium tripolyphosphate injection on the palatability
of bison top round.
Methodology
Twenty
paired top round (semimembranosus
muscle only) were obtained from 10 intact male bison between 24 to
30 months of age and having carcass grades from A1 to D1.
Each semimembranosus
muscle was divided into two sections.
Using a multi-needle injector, one section was injected with
a chilled brine solution to 110% of its original weight to contain
0.5% sodium chloride and 0.3% sodium tripolyphosphate, while the
other was kept as a non-injected control.
Muscle samples were sliced to obtain four 1.5″ thick
steaks, two 0.5″ thick steaks, and two roasts from the
remaining edges. The
0.5″ steaks were stored in a retail display case at 3.0±1oC
under 24 hour fluorescent lighting (975 lx).
HunterLab colour values (L* - lightness, a* - redness and b*
- yellowness) of meat samples were read daily for 5 days.
Steaks
(1.5″ thick) were broiled in a conventional oven at 260oC,
while the roasts were cooked in a vacuum-sealed cook-and-ship bag in
a water bath to two endpoint temperatures i.e., 71oC
and 77oC.
Warner-Bratzler shear force values were determined to assess
the tenderness of these samples. An 80-member consumer panel evaluated the steaks, which were
grilled to 71oC
or 77oC.
Steaks were scored for tenderness, flavour, juiciness, and
overall acceptability using a 6-point hedonic scale, where 1 =
dislike very much and 6 = like very much.
Results
As
expected, the bison meat was very lean.
The proximate chemical composition of control non-injected
trimmed bison semimembranosus
muscle was: 74.5% moisture, 22.0% protein, 0.77% fat and 2.1% ash.
Injected
steaks were slightly darker in colour (lower L* values) than control
steaks but did not differ in Hunter a* and b* values.
In total, the change in colour was monitored for 5 days (Fig.
1). Both control and
marinated bison steaks held a bright red colour for 2 days, but
after that discolouration became evident and by day 5 all steaks
were grossly discoloured. Thus,
colour stability of bison meat was very short.
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Fig.
1. Effects of storage in a retail display case on Hunter values of
bison top round steaks
The
cooking yield for the steaks and roasts obtained from the injected
muscle sections was significantly higher compared to the steaks from
control non-injected sections when cooked to an internal temperature
of either 71oC
or 77oC
(Fig. 2). This may be
due to the slightly higher pH of injected steaks achieved with
marination.
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Fig. 2. Effects of injection treatment, cooking method and cooking
temperature on cook yield of bison top round steaks/roasts
Control
samples from bison semimembranosus muscle were not very tender and there was a high
variability in shear values between animals.
Marination by injection was able to markedly improve the
tenderness of semimembranosus
muscle (Fig. 3); injected steaks and roasts had significantly lower
shear force values (64 ± 14 N) compared to controls (102 ± 21 N).
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Fig. 3. Effects of injection treatment, cooking method and cooking
temperature on shear force values of bison top round steaks/roasts
Furthermore
as shown by the lower standard deviation, the range in shear values
of control samples was reduced by almost 35% with injection.
As bison meat is very lean, cooking steaks and roasts to a
medium level of doneness (71oC)
is more suitable than cooking to an internal temperature of 77oC.
When steaks and roasts were cooked to 77oC,
they appeared very dry/grainy and had higher shear force values
compared to those cooked to 71oC.
Consumer
acceptance scores (i.e., tenderness, juiciness, flavour and overall
acceptability) for injected steaks were higher compared to control
steaks (Fig. 4). It was
interesting to note that consumers preferred injected steaks cooked
to 77oC
endpoint over other combinations.
The acceptability scores for non-injected and injected steaks
cooked to 71oC
were almost similar, whereas non-injected steaks cooked to 77oC
had the lowest acceptability. Hence,
injection seems to be protecting against moisture loss at high
end-point cooking temperatures.
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Fig. 4. Effects of injection treatment and cooking temperature on
consumer acceptability (TEND, Tenderness; JUIC, Juiciness; FLAV,
Flavour; OA, Overall acceptability)
Conclusions
The
findings of the present study suggest that bison semimembranosus
muscle is very lean and high in protein but not very tender.
There was also high variability in shear values of semimembranosus muscle between animals. Marination by injection had a significant effect in
addressing these issues by improving the tenderness and by
decreasing the variability in tenderness found amongst bison top
round obtained from different animals.
In
the present study, only salt and phosphate were used for marination
in order to prevent masking/overlapping of the distinct flavour of
bison; however, the opportunities can be further widened by using
combinations of different herbs, spices and flavours.
Processors could successfully use this technology to produce
value-added meat products from lesser-value cuts of bison.
Acknowledgement
Financial
support for this research project by the Saskatchewan Agri-Food
Innovation Fund is gratefully acknowledged.
For
more information on the Saskatchewan Specialty Livestock Value-Added
program visit their website at www.ag.usask.ca/sfpip
or contact:
J.S.
Dhanda, Ph.D.
Saskatchewan Specialty Livestock Value-Added Program
Department of Applied Microbiology and Food Science
University of Saskatchewan
51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK
S7N 5A8
Phone: (306) 966-5030; Fax:(306) 966-8898
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