Mechanical Methods for Tenderization of Goat Meat

Abstract

Tenderness is an important criterion for satisfactory eating quality and repeated buying of goat meat. Goat meat available in markets is generally tough. Mechanical tenderization is an effective method widely used for tenderization. A prototype of blade tenderizer with sterile surgical blades was developed for tenderization of meat. Two mechanical methods viz., incision of goat meat with blade tenderizer and passing of meat between two knurled rollers were evaluated for their effectiveness as tenderization method. Meat chunks were cooked after the treatment and evaluated for different physico-chemical and sensory evaluation. Cooking yield and peak shear force decreased for samples subjected to incision of goat meat with blade tenderizer as well as by passing of meat between two knurled rollers. The treatments did not affect the pH value of meat samples. The extent of disintegration of muscle structure in case of 16 passes was more as compared to other treatments, and resulted in less juicy cooked meat with apparent tough mouth feel. Blade tenderization was found to yield the best result in terms of tenderness and other eating quality parameters.