Electrical stimulation and ageing of carcasses from red, fallow and New Zealand wapiti‐type male deer

Abstract

A B S T R A C TFarmed male red deer (15 and 26 months), fallow deer (16 months) and New Zealand wapiti-type deer (26 months) slaughtered in an experimental abattoir were used to determine the influence of processing practices on tenderness and p H . Carcasses were electrically stimulated (low voltage) through the leg or anus immediately after bleeding and compared with non-stimulated carcasses.Portions of loin and leg from all carcasses were subjected to a range of conditioning and ageing treatments before tenderness assessment was done with a Warner-Bratzler shear press. Tenderness was measured in some samples after a freeze and slow thaw cycle.Electrical stimulation in all deer types had a highly significant effect in improving tenderness and the effects were most dramatic when carcasses were placed in a chiller 2 h after slaughter. Conditioning and ageing regimes (maximum 96 h post-slaughter) further improved tenderness, particularly in non-stimulated carcasses. Processing effects were more marked in loin pieces; these cooled more rapidly than leg.The process of freezing and slow thawing (20 h at 4°C in loins and 24-96 h at 0°C for legs) improved tenderness by 10-40% when compared with unfrozen pieces. Britain 246 K R Drew, S F Crosbie, D A Forss, T R Manley, A J Pearse measurement f r o m anally stimulated wapiti stags which appeared higher than their leg-stimulated counterparts.Where data were collected f r o m both sides of leg-stimulated carcasses, p H values were around 0.13 units lower for the stimulated shackled leg than for the free leg.Leg temperatures rose to over 40°C at 0.5 h post-slaughter in all deer. Temperatures were generally similar between stimulated and non-stimulated carcasses f o r both loin and leg data.

Application of principal component analysis method for characterization chemical, technological, and textural parameters of farmed and pastured red deer

“…Drew et al [22] recorded pH 6 in fallow deer muscle longissimus thoracis et. lumborum 8 h after slaughter, which is higher than pH measured after 9 h in both groups in our study.…”

Game and venison – meat for the modern consumer

“…Studies have also focused on some of the interactions between muscle glycogen and technological meat quality attributes (Wiklund, Manley, & Littlejohn, 2004). Some of the post-mortem interventions that have been utilised to improve quality attributes (mainly meat tenderness) include electrical stimulation (Chrystal & Devine, 1983;Wiklund, Stevenson-Barry, Duncan, & Littlejohn, 2001b) combined with ageing (Drew, Crosbie, Forss, Manley, & Pearse, 1988). The technique of pelvic suspension (''tenderstreching'') of the carcass resulting in positive effects on tenderness in several valuable cuts from fallow deer carcasses have been reported (Sims, Wiklund, Hutchison, Mulley, & Littlejohn, 2004).…”