Evaluation of the changes in composition of pork chops during cooking

Abstract

The objective was to determine the change in extractable lipid concentration during cooking of boneless pork chops to different endpoint temperatures. Pork loins (152 total) were used and three consecutive chops were cut from each loin. Chop 1 was evaluated raw (not cooked) for intramuscular fat (IMF) percentage. Raw IMF percentages were used to categorize the remaining 2 chops, from each loin, into low, average, and high marbling bins. The low bin included ≤ 3% IMF, the average bin included 3 to 4% IMF, and the high bin included ≥ 4% IMF. Chop 2 was cooked to 63°C and chop 3 was cooked to 71°C to evaluate cook loss, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and IMF percentage. When cooked to either 63°C or 71°C, high IMF chops maintained greater (P < 0.001) IMF percentage than average and low IMF chops. Additionally, average IMF chops maintained greater (P < 0.001) IMF percentage than low chops, regardless of endpoint cooking temperature. The three marbling categories did not differ in cook loss (P = 0.28) or WBSF (P = 0.23) when chops were cooked to either 63°C or 71°C. However, both WBSF (2.76 kg) and cook loss (18.72%) were decreased (P < 0.001) in chops cooked to 63°C compared with chops cooked to 71°C (3.08 kg, 23.45%). Overall, differences in IMF percentages persisted even after cooking. Furthermore, IMF percentage of pork chops did not affect tenderness.

Relationship between Inherent Cooking Rate and Warner-Bratzler Shear Force of Pork Chops Cooked to Two Degrees of Doneness

“…Therefore, crust formation with different cooking methods that result in differences in cooking losses may warrant further investigation. Because of the previously documented relationships among cooking rate, WBSF, and cook loss [ 13 , 28 , 30 ], the relationship between cooking loss and WBSF was also assessed. As expected, there was an inverse relationship between cooking loss and WBSF.…”

“…Visual marbling scores, a proxy for lipid content, of pork chops in the U.S retail market range from 1 to 6% [ 12 ]. Further, the lipid content of cooked pork chops can differ by as much as 6 percentage units, ranging from 1% to 7% in a recent study [ 13 ]. Given this variability, thermal conductivity, and therefore, inherent cooking rate, would be expected to differ among pork loin chops.…”