Abstract
Aim of study: The effects of hunting season (autumn vs. winter) on carcass characteristics and meat quality of Iberian wild red deer were assessed.Area of study: A total of 100 males of wild red deer of Iberian genetic line (Cervus elaphus) were hunted on Ciudad Real (south central Spain).Material and methods: Yields for shoulder (with bone), neck, backbone, loin, tenderloin, leg (with bone), short plate and flank were determined. In addition, samples of Longissimus thoracis et lumborum and Rectus abdominis muscles were collected. Then, pH48, colour measurements, chemical composition, cooking loss, Warner Bratzler shear blade, fatty acid and amino acid profiles and mineral content were analyzed.Main results: Deer hunted in autumn (n=50) had higher (p<0.01) yields of shoulder, backbone and short plate and higher contents of intramuscular fat (IMF), cholesterol and K, Fe and Mn but lower (p<0.001) pH48 and Na, Mg, Zn and Cu contents than deer hunted in winter (n=50). Shear force tended (p=0.05) to be lower for meat collected in autumn than for meat collected in winter. However, loin yield was 59.2% higher (p<0.001) for winter than for autumn carcasses. Deer hunted in winter had higher α-linoleic acid (p<0.05) and long chain n-3 polyunsaturated (p<0.001) percentages than deer hunted in autumn.Research highlights: Autumn hunting is recommended to obtain carcasses with higher yields of shoulder, backbone and short plate and meat with higher IMF. Conversely, winter hunting is advisable for higher loin yield and for a profile richer in polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Highlights
Main results: Deer hunted in autumn (n=50) had higher (p
Deer meat is characterized by its high nutrition and sensory quality and by its positive effects on human health resulting from the low contents of intramuscular fat (IMF) and cholesterol and the high contents of protein and minerals (Volpelli et al, 2003; Bureš et al, 2015; Daszkiewicz et al, 2015)
Wild deer are typically found in areas with marked seasonal variation in climate and feed supply (Suttie & Webster, 1998)
Summary
The search for healthier foods and the higher demands in terms of product quality has increased the consumption of meats from alternative animal species raised under natural conditions (Hoffman & Wiklund, 2006; Bureš et al, 2015; Daszkiewicz et al, 2015; Serrano et al, 2019a), such as red deer (Lorenzo et al, 2019; Serrano et al, 2019b). Deer meat is characterized by its high nutrition and sensory quality and by its positive effects on human health resulting from the low contents of intramuscular fat (IMF) and cholesterol and the high contents of protein and minerals (Volpelli et al, 2003; Bureš et al, 2015; Daszkiewicz et al, 2015). This may be one of the reasons why the world trade of game meat has steadily increased to a figure of around two million tonnes annually (Costa et al, 2016). The aim of this work was to study the effects of hunting period (autumn vs. winter) of wild red deer on carcass characteristics, physicochemical traits and nutrition value of meat
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