Eating quality evaluation of meat from the crossbred lamb progeny of three terminal sire breeds

Abstract

Consumer acceptability of lamb is ultimately determined by the eating quality of the meat. This paper reports on the eating quality evaluation of lean samples obtained from carcasses of crossbred lambs sired by Suffolk, Texel and Charollais rams.The lambs used in this study were part of a larger experiment to compare the growth performance and carcass quality of lambs sired by rams of the Suffolk, Texel and Charollais breeds (Merrell, Webster and Ellis, 1990: BSAP Occasional Publication No. 14, pp. 169-172).An upland flock of approximately 350 Mule (Bluefaced Leicester ♂ x Scottish Blackface ♀) was used to produce the lambs. Eight unrelated rams of each of the three sire breeds were mated to the ewes over two years (4 rams per breed per year). Their crossbred progeny were selected for slaughter when it was estimated that they would produce carcasses of Meat and Livestock Commission fat class 2 to 3L. All lambs had been multiple-born and reared as twins.