Lamb Carcass Quality. 1. Palatability of Leg Roasts

Abstract

Organoleptic studies of 240 ovine leg roasts indicated that individual or combined U.S.D.A. scores for carcass quality (feathering, flank streaking, firmness and maturity) were associated with less than 15% of the variation in ratings for overall satisfaction of leg roasts. Classification according to physiological maturity provided a reasonably consistent indication of ultimate palatability. Leg roasts from carcasses of A maturity exhibited higher ratings for tenderness (P<.05) and overall satisfaction (P<.05) than roasts from carcasses of Y maturity. The contribution of increased fatness to palatability is most accurately reflected by scores for flank streaking. Neither feathering nor flank firmness were significantly related in a positive fashion to the palatability ratings in the present study. Segmentation into U.S.D.A. quality grades indicated that roasts from Prime carcasses sustained the lowest cooking losses; possessed the highest percentage of desirable ratings for juiciness, tenderness, and overall satisfaction and had the lowest percentage of undesirable scores for all of the organoleptic ratings. Small and inconsistent differences appeared between roasts from carcasses in the Choice and Good grades, but leg roasts from Utility carcasses were decidedly inferior in palatability to those from the higher U.S.D.A. grades.