Quality of cooked sausages with added beef or pork heart surimi

Abstract

Beef heart surimi (BHS) and pork heart surimi (PHS) with or without 0.02% BHA (butylated hidroxyanisole) were evaluated in cooked sausages at concentrations of 20, 40, and 60% by weight replacing lean meat. The sausages’ physicochemical, textural, and sensory properties were evaluated. Neither pH, water holding capacity, cooking yield, nor shear force were affected (p > .05) by the addition of BHS and PHS in both sausage types. The addition of BHS or PHS increased protein content (p < .05), while the addition of 20% BHS or PHS increased luminosity and decreased lipid oxidation in both sausage types. In beef sausages, all treatments treated with BHS without BHA scored similarly to the control (p > .05) in terms of odor. Additionally, in pork sausages with 20% PHS rated highest for appearance, color, and odor similarly to the control. BHS or PHS can be used as a substitute for meat in cooked sausages. Practical applications Demand for high-quality proteins is increasing due to a growing world population. The meat industry generates large volumes of by-products which are expensive to treat and dispose of ecologically. Some by-products with high nutritional value, such as the heart, constitute part of the diet and culinary recipes in many countries. In this investigation, the application of surimi technology was used to obtain a high myofibrillar protein content from beef and pork heart. Beef or pork heart surimi incorporated into cooked sausages at concentrations above 20% increased protein content and had good sensory acceptability. Therefore, the application of the production of surimi-like material from beef and pork hearts could provide a new approach toward increasing the value of hearts and their use in the functional foods market. Moreover, processors can also benefit from the development of an efficient and economical technology for processing undervalued meat into value added meat products.