Influence of commercial cut on proximate composition and fatty acid profile of Rasa Aragonesa light lamb

Abstract

The aim of this work was to assess the proximate and fatty acid (FA) composition of the edible portion, including fat and muscle, of different commercial cuts in lamb. Ten entire males belonging to the Protected Geographical Indication ‘Ternasco de Aragón’, weaned at about 50days old and intensively fed with concentrate and cereal straw ad libitum until reaching 80days old, were used. Seven commercial cuts were assessed: leg, shoulder, neck, shoulder-ribs, loin+rack, breast and flank. The leanest cut, considering the edible composition, was the leg, with a fat content of 11.5%, although not statistically different from the neck, shoulder and shoulder-ribs. The fattest cut was the breast (42%), although it contributed little to the total fat content of the animal representing only 4.5% of the whole carcass weight. Few differences were found in the percentages of FA and were mainly associated with the minor FA, although shoulder-ribs and loin+rack had the highest percentage of stearic acid. However large differences were found in the amount of FA among commercial cuts.