Palatability characteristics of crossbred lambs as related to individual southdown sires, slaughter age, and carcass fatness

Abstract

The influence of sire and age on the palatability characteristics of rib-loins from Southdown X Romney lambs was studied. Twelve lambs were selected from each of six Southdown sire groups, and one-third of these lambs were slaughtered at 17, 22, and 27 weeks of age respectively. Neither taste panel nor tenderometer detected any over-all effect due to sire on tenderness, and panel scores for texture, juiciness, and flavour of cooked meat did not vary significantly between sires. Both the taste panel scores and the tenderometer values showed that older lambs were less tender than younger lambs. The results indicated that the fatness of the lamb carcass had no influence on the tenderness of the meat.

Carcass and meat quality in light lambs from different fat classes in the EU carcass classification system

“…Nevertheless, fat eects on palatability traits remain controversial in lamb (Jeremiah, 1998) and some authors did not ®nd tenderness dierences in carcasses with signi®cant dierences in fatness (Crouse et al, 1982;Drans®eld et al 1990;Jeremiah et al, 1972;Woodhams et al, 1965). Juiciness dierences were not signi®cant, contrary to the general opinion that this taste trait increases with fatness (Jeremiah, 1996;Kemp et al 1972;Woodhams et al, 1965). This could be explained by the juiciness interpretation made by our panel.…”

“…Greater amounts of fat (or high energy diets) are associated with lower shear force values in ruminant meat (Jeremiah et al, 1972;Smith et al, 1976;Babiker et al, 1990;Devine, Grafhuis, Muir & Chrystall, 1993). However, some studies in fatter animals have shown that marbling is not closely related to instrumental measurements of tenderness (Woodhams, Kirton & Jury, 1965), especially in animals with similar growth rates (Dubeski et al, 1997). Light carcasses with generally low subcutaneous fat thickness would have much less marbling than in many other published studies.…”

Some sources of variation in tenderness and cooking losses in lamb and mutton

“…Absence of sire effects on tenderness as found in Experiments 2, 4, 5, and 6 is, however, not uncommon (King and Bland 1960;Broadbent and Bowman 1964;Fox, Eller, Sather, and McArthur 1964;Woodhams et al 1966) and appears to be due mainly to the large variation between individuals within sire groups. Ray and Mandigo (1966) found that tenderness of lambs differed according to the breeding of the dams.…”

“…Bell, and Hamalainen (1944) ;Batcher, Dawson, Pointer, and Gilpin (1962) ;Carpenter, King, Orts, and Cunningham (1964); Carpenter and King (1965);Woodhams et al (1966) have each concluded that the effect of fat content on tenderness in lamb is negligible or nonexistent. However, Riley and Field (1967) in their study involving 299 white-faced lambs found that marbling was significantly correlated with Warner-Bratzler shear values.…”

“…The preparation and cooking of the loin and the objective assessment of its tenderness followed the procedures of Woodhams, Kirton, and Jury (1966). The following outlines the techniques employed.…”