Chemical basis for beef charqui meat texture

Abstract

This work evaluated the relationship of charqui meat (CHM) chemical composition with the tenderness throughout its production. CHM was prepared from beef

Effect of carrageenan addition on the yield and functional properties of charqui (Jerked Beef)

“…For the latter samples, the result was 113 (±2) N for the control, whereas the JB-CAR (92±2N) was approximately 20% more tender and, in fact, it was the most tender among all the samples tested in this study. These results confirmed the previous study by Youssef et al (2007) that showed that the texture in intermediate moisture meat products was mostly influenced by the moisture and myofibrils proteins contents in comparison to the collagen concentration and its crosslinks.…”

“…Similar results were observed previously for the JB without CAR (Youssef et al 2007;Torres et al 1994). In charqui meat, the consequence of equilibrium established among the three components, salt:protein:water, was the final constant value of a w of approximately 0.75, regardless of whether more salting or processing time was added (Shimokomaki et al 1998).…”

“…Then the meat pieces were packed in the propylene bags under the vacuum and subsequently cooked in a water bath until the internal temperature reached 75ºC, as measured by a Hanna thermocouple, model HI 8313 (USA). The samples were cooled down to room temperature and the meat surface was dried with absorbent paper (Youssef et al 2007). Meat texture was measured by Warner-Bratzler shear force, using a SMS Texture Analyzer, TAXT2i model (England), linked to a microcomputer (Youssef et al 2007).…”

“…The samples were cooled down to room temperature and the meat surface was dried with absorbent paper (Youssef et al 2007). Meat texture was measured by Warner-Bratzler shear force, using a SMS Texture Analyzer, TAXT2i model (England), linked to a microcomputer (Youssef et al 2007). All the measurements were carried out on 10 samples in triplicate.…”

“…Charqui meat texture is affected by a multitude of factors, in particular by the dynamic process of myofibril proteins promoting the biochemical events such as the binding of water molecules. The amount of bound water ultimately or rather the higher concentration of myofibrils proteins, dictates the final charqui meat texture (Youssef et al 2007). Hydrocolloids such as carrageenan (CAR) are primarily used to enhance the functional properties of foods.…”