Effects of Hot Boning and Soy Sauce on the Processing Properties of Semi-dried Beef Jerky

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of hot-boning and soy sauce as a curing agent on the processing properties of beef jerky. Beef jerky was prepared under the following four treatment conditions; Beef jerky with cold-boned beef and salt solution, beef jerky with cold-boned beef and soy sauce solution, beef jerky with hot-boned beef and salt solution, and beef jerky with hot-boned beef and soy sauce solution. Cured meat and jerky containing hot-boned beef had a significantly higher pH, water holding capacity (WHC), moisture content, Myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), processing yields, tenderness, and sensorial scores than samples containing cold-boned beef (p<0.05). Regardless of the raw materials, the jerky containing soy sauce had a significantly lower pH, WHC, moisture content, salt content, TBA, CIE <TEX>$L^*$</TEX> and <TEX>$b^*-$</TEX> values, and significantly higher MFI, mechanical tenderness, and sensorial scores (p<0.05). Based on these findings, we concluded that the use of hot-boned meat and soy sauce was the most effective boning method and curing agent during beef jerky processing.