Quiz Bowl-- Processed Meats
Overview
• Meat Processing: The application of mechanical, chemical, or enzymatic treatments to modify
meat’s structure, composition, or preservation properties
• Purpose of Meat Processing:
o Improved product quality
▪ Palatability
▪ Appearance
▪ Composition control (moisture, protein, fat content)
▪ Nutrition
▪ Protein functionality
o Improved product safety
o Extend product shelf-life
o Add product value
o Increase efficiency of production
o Help assure consumer acceptance
Fresh Meat Technologies
• Aging
o Improves tenderness via myofibrillar degradation
o Dry Aging vs. Wet Aging
o More effective on low connective tissue muscles
• Blade Tenderization
o Improves tenderness by cutting BOTH muscle fibers and connective tissue
o Quite reliable but some cuts may need multiple passes through the machine
• Advanced Meat Recovery Systems
o Saves labor
o Salvages tons of edible protein
o Less expensive raw material
o Can desinew
o Raw material is very perishable
• Enzyme Enhancement
o Add enzymes to supplement the natural enzymes in meat to improve tenderness
o Tenderizes by degrading BOTH muscle fibers and connective tissue
o Must be controlled or texture and flavor may decrease
▪ Ficin – from figs
▪ Papain – from papaya
▪ Bromelain – from pineapple
▪ Actinidin – from kiwi
• Enhancement
o The injection of selected ingredients
▪ Salt, phosphate, lactate, rosemary, flavoring, etc.
o Improves yields
o Improves tenderness and juiciness
o Unique flavoring
• Irradiation
o Can pasteurize or sterilize
o Can kill trichina in pork
o Regulated as a food additive
o Must be labeled with a “Radura” symbol
o Not common in the United States
▪ Facilities are expensive to build and operate
▪ Lack of public education/misinformation on safety of irradiated meat
Fresh Meat Packaging Technologies
• Functions of Meat Packaging
o Prevent weight loss
o Improve appearance
o Aids in marketing
• Aerobic Packaging
o Oxygen permeable film (PVC)
o Bright red color
• Vacuum Packaging
o Oxygen impermeable film
o Purple red color
o Oxygen barrier bag should have low OTR, film resistant to punctures and seal that
maintains vacuum
o Advantages of Vacuum Packaging:
▪ Decrease cut shrink (weight loss)
▪ Increases shelf-life
o Disadvantages of Vacuum Packaging:
▪ Purge may accumulate in the bag
▪ Leaker problems with seals and bone punctures
▪ Vacuum package odor that develops but disappears after opening
▪ Consumers may not like purple-red color
▪ Spoilage is harder to detect visually
• Modified Atmosphere Packaging
o Vacuum → back flush with known atmosphere → seal
o High-oxygen MAP: 80% O2 and 20% CO2 = bright red
o No-oxygen MAP: 80% N2 and 20% CO2 = purple red
Types of Processed Meat Products
• Whole Muscle
o Prepared from large pieces of meat or whole, intact cuts
▪ Bacon, ham, Canadian-style bacon, smoked turkey
▪ Usually cured, seasoned, heat processed, and smoked
o Enhanced/deep basted products are also available whole muscle products available on
the market
▪ Injected pork loins, beef cuts, chicken, and marinated turkey breasts
• Sausage
o Comminuted, seasoned meat products
▪ Can be cured, smoked, shaped, and heat processed
o Commonly classified based on type of meat ingredients and processing methods used in
their manufacturing
o Classifications of Sausage:
▪ Fresh: Fresh pork sausage
▪ Cooked, Smoked: frankfurter, bologna, knackwurst
▪ Cooked, Not Smoked: liver sausage, braunschweiger, beer salami
▪ Dry, Semi-dry, Fermented: Summer sausage, cervelat, capicola, pepperoni
▪ Cooked Meat Specialties: Luncheon meats, loaves, jellied products
• Non-Sausage Processed Meats
o Hamburger, ground beef, portioned steaks, chicken nuggets
o Canned meat products
o Precooked meats
▪ Boneless cuts or frozen entrees
o Restructured meats
Processing Technologies
Curing
• Two main ingredients used in order to cure meat are salt and nitrite
• Nitrite and nitrate are allowed in in cured meat products in the form of their sodium and
potassium salts
Cure Ingredients Functions
Salt Preservation, flavor, helps transport cure ingredients through osmosis, only ingredient that can be
used by itself
Sugar Counteracts the harshness of slat, flavor, energy source for bacterial growth
Nitrite Inhibits Clostridium botulinum, prevents WOF, delays rancidity, stabilizes cured color
Nitrate Same as above, except only used in long cured products
Ascorbates/Erythorbates Helps inhibit nitrosamine formation, accelerates the cure color reaction, helps prevent light fading
Phosphates Increases WHC, increase pH, chelates metal ions
Potassium Chloride Replaces salt up to 50% to help reduce hypertension
Glucono Delta Lactone Acidulant that lowers pH and speeds up curing process
Potassium Sorbate Used as a mold inhibitor in dry cured sausages
Incorporation of Cure Ingredients
• Sausage products
o Added in dry form or as a concentrated solution during mixing or comminution
• Smoked meat products
o Immersion curing
o Artery pumping
o Stitch pumping
o Multiple stitch injection
o Dry Cure
▪ Curing agents are rubbed in dry form over the meat surfaces
▪ Must be applied for than once during curing period
▪ Slow, requires large amounts of hand labor
▪ Used only on specialty items
• Country-cured hams and bacons
Improving Cure Distribution
• Tumbling or massaging subjects’ products to agitation which help disrupt tissue structure and
hasten distribution of cure ingredients
• Bringing salt into contact with salt-soluble proteins results in greater water binding and protein
solubilization
• Tumbling/massaging improves smoked meat yields and tenderness
• Tenderization and cure distribution in boneless smoked meat products may also be improved by
maceration before or after brine injection
o Cuts are made about 1 cm apart and may penetrate nearly through the whole muscle
Fermentation and Dehydration
• In modern day, fermented meats are generally produced using microbial starters
• Lactic acid bacteria are most used in fermented meat products
• Starter cultures are carefully developed based on the typical cultures grown in traditional
fermentation
o Must tolerate high salt content, acidic pH, and low water activity
o Grow well at fermentation temperatures (18 – 25C in Europe or 35 – 40C in the U.S.)
▪ Fermentation at lower temperatures takes longer to lower pH, leading to a more
complex flavor profile
• Carbohydrates are converted into lactic acid by LAB
o Meat contains very little carbohydrate naturally so added carbohydrate is required for
fermentation
o Dextrose is the preferred carbohydrate source for fermentation due to it being an easily
fermented monosaccharide
• The combination of lowered pH and dehydration causes extensive protein denaturation, which
resembles the changes caused by heating
• Many fermented meat products are not cooked, having processing endpoints be pH, moisture
content, and/or water activity
• Dehydration of meat products is a basic processing step; however, few meat products are
dehydrated is a separate process
o Jerky and dried beef
• Dehydration usually occurs simultaneously with curing, fermentation, and aging
• Dehydration and aging may begin during the fermentation process and continue for varying
periods under controlled temperature and humidity
• Objectives that are achieved during dehydration and aging:
o Flavor development
o Textural changes
o Completion of the various curing reaction s
o Dry and hardening of the product
• Essential for curing and dehydration to occur initially at refrigerator temperatures until pH or
water activity drop to a point that spores will not germinate
Smoke
• Originated simply as a result of meat being dried over wood fires
o Development of specific flavors and improvement of appearance are the main reasons for
smoking meat today
• Different types of smoking may be applied to different meat products:
o Cold smoking, operating at 12 - 25C applied from few hours to several days, is typically
used for dry fermented sausages and pork belly
o Warm smoking, operating at 25 - 45C for a few hours, is typically used in the
manufacture of baked or scalded sausages, pork back fat, and hams
o Hot smoking, operating at 45 - 90C for up to 12 h, is used in the manufacture of some
assortments
• Smoke contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), but modern techniques like liquid
smoke application reduce carcinogenic risk
Component Functional Contributions
Phenols Flavor, Aroma, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial
Carbonyls Color, Protein Crosslinking, Flavor, Carrier of volatile components
Organic Acids Skin formation, Antimicrobial, Lowers pH
Hydrocarbons Carcinogenic, undesirable, removed in liquid smoke
Smoke = 90% Particulate Phase, 10% Gaseous
• More surface moisture → more smoke absorption
• More drying before smoking → lighter color
• More drying after smoking → sets smoke color
Sausage Type Sausages
Fresh Bratwurst, Fresh Pork, Whole Hog, Chorizo
Cooked and Smoked Frankfurter, Bologna, Knackwurst
Uncooked and Smoked Fresh Smoked Pork Sausage, Kielbasa, Andouille
Cooked Liver Sausage, Beer Salami, Braunschweiger, Liver Cheese
Dry and Semi-dry Dry: Summer Sausage, Pepperoni, Salami
Semi-dry: Cervelat, Thuringer
Luncheon Meats Olive Loaf, Head Cheese, Scrapple
Cookery Type Heat
Cookery Types of Meat Recommended Description
Roasting Dry Large cuts
Shallow roasting pan, without covering the meat
in over. Lower temp. up to 4 hours. Remove 5 -
10F below desired temp to allow rise of temp
Broiling Dry Tender steaks and chops at least ¾ - 1
inch thick
Heat source (gas flames or electric coils) comes
from the top
Convection Oven
Cooking Dry Tender cuts of beef, pork, and lamb Heated air circulated around the meat by a fan.
Cooks evenly in less time than roasting
Deep Fat Frying Dry NA Immerse meat completely in hot fat between
350 - 400F
Pan Broiling Dry Ground meat patties, steaks, and
chops less than 1 inch thick
Heat source below the pan place meat in a
heavy, pre-heated nonstick skillet and cook
uncovered, turn only once
Panfrying Dry Thinner sliced meats Meat is cooked in a small amount of fat at
moderate temperature
Grilling Dry Steaks, chops, and ground meat
patties
Hot coals, gas, or infrared flames, similar to
broiling (heat source is from 1 direction)
Smoking Dry NA
Smoker/covered grill and fragrant woods.
Accomplished at lower temperatures (225 -
350F)
Use 2 thermometers: temperature of smoker &
internal meat
Stir Frying Dry Thinly sliced meats Small amount of fat in a very hot skillet, meat
with veggies, stirred constantly
Microwave
Cooking Dry
Fresh, whole muscle, or ground cuts of
beef, lamb, and pork, & processed
meats
Quick and easy, different textures can arise.
Browning can be increased by brushing a
browning sauce on surface
Braising Moist Less tender cuts high in connective
tissue
Pot roasting, small amount of liquid and
covering the container. Cook until “fork tender”
Stewing Moist Smaller less tender cuts Completely covering the meat with liquid and
cooking extensively, usually add veggies
Simmering Moist N/A Boiling but the bubbles to not break the surface
Species Dressing Percentage
Turkey 77-79%
Goose 75%
Pork 72%
Chicken 72%
Fish 67%
Duck 66%
Beef 62%
Catfish 60%
Veal 60%
Lamb 52%
Shrimp 48%
Lobster 40%
Scallops 20%
Oysters 12%
Crab 10%
Min. PFF% Product Name and
Qualifying Statements
20.5 Ham
18.5 Ham with Natural Juices
17.0 Ham Water Added
<17.0 Ham and Water Product
Product MPR Product MPR
Jerky 0.75:1 Farmer Summer Sausage 1.9:1
Pepperoni 1.6:1 Kippered Beef 2.03:1
Dry Sausage 1.9:1 Dried Meat 2.04:1
Dry Salami 1.9:1 Genoa Salami 2.3:1
Italian Salami 1.9:1 Sicilian Salami 2.3:1
Types of Ground Beef Products:
X = Ingredients allowed in these products that are not required to be listed on the label
= Ingredients allowed in these products that must be listed on the label
Category
Skeletal Muscle
Skeletal Trimmings
Head Meat Trimmings
Cheek Meat
(limited to 25%)
Added Beef Fat
PDCB
Partially Defatted Chopped Beef
PBDT
Partially Defatted Beef Fatty Tissue
Edible Lean Organ Meats
Water, Binders, Fillers, Extenders
Ground Chuck,
Ground Round, or
Chopped Sirloin
X
(from
identified
muscle primal)
X
(from
identified
muscle primal)
Ground Beef X X X 1
Hamburger X X X 1 X
Pure Beef Patties X X X 1 X
Pure Beef Patty
Mix X X X 1
Beef Patties X X X 1 X
Beef Patty Mix X X X 1
1If exceeds 2%
Term Definition
3,4-Benzopyrene PAH compound found in smoked and charred food, known for its carcinogenic properties
Advanced Meat Recovery Systems A technology that separates meat by scraping, shaving or pressing the muscle and edible tissue away from the bone
Artery Pumping Curing brine injected directly into the vascular system of the meat to ensure even distribution
Brine A liquid solution containing water, salt, nitrite/nitrate, sugar, phosphates, and sometimes flavoring agents used in meat curing
Chunking Large pieces or chunks of meat are cut for restructured meat products
Comminuted Meat that has been finely chopped, ground, or pureed
Curing The process of preserving meat by adding curing agents which enhance flavor, color, and shelf life while inhibiting microbial growth
Deep Basted A method of enhancing meat where a brine solution is injected into the muscle to improve juiciness and flavor
Dehydration Controlled drying of a meat product to remove moisture, reducing microbial growth and extending shelf life
Dry Aging Process in which whole muscle cuts are stored under controlled temperature and humidity conditions without packaging
Efficiency A measure of how effectively raw materials are utilized during processing, impacting yield, cost-effectiveness, and resource use
Enhanced Meat that has been injected or marinated with a solution containing water, salt, phosphates, and/or flavoring agents to improve juiciness, tenderness, and flavor
Fermented A processed meat product in which lactic acid bacteria (LAB) ferment added carbohydrates, lowering pH and contributing to flavor, texture, and preservation
Flaking Meat is cut into thin, small pieces using specialized equipment, often used in the production of restructured or formed meat products
Immersion Curing A curing method where meat is submerged in a curing brine for an extended period, allowing absorption of curing agents
Irradiation A process that uses ionizing radiation (gamma rays, electron beams, or X-rays) to reduce pathogens, extend shelf life, and prevent spoilage in meat products
Lactic Acid Bacteria Beneficial bacteria used in fermented meat processing to convert carbohydrates into lactic acid, lowering pH and inhibiting harmful bacteria
Liquid Smoke A purified, concentrated form of wood smoke that is applied to meat via spraying, dipping, or injection to provide smoky flavor without direct exposure to smoke
Maceration A process where meat is softened by soaking in a liquid solution, often to enhance tenderness and flavor penetration
Massaging A process similar to tumbling but performed at lower speeds, gently working meat to improve cure distribution and protein extraction
Multiple Stitch Injection A refinement of stitch pumping where many needles simultaneously inject curing brine into meat, improving distribution and efficiency
Nitrosamines Potentially carcinogenic compounds formed by the reaction of nitrites with certain amines during cooking
Oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR) A measure of how much oxygen passes through a packaging material over a given time
Pickle Another term for curing brine, used to preserve and flavor meat products through soaking or injection
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) A group of chemical compounds formed when organic materials are burned. Some are considered carcinogenic and are monitored in smoked meat products
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) A type of plastic film used in meat packaging, particularly for aerobic packaging, as it allows oxygen permeability, preserving the bright red color of fresh meat
Restructured Meat Meat products made from smaller cuts or trimmings that are bonded together using non-meat proteins, salts, or transglutaminase to create a uniform product
Smoked Meat A meat product that has been exposed to smoke from burning wood or liquid smoke to enhance flavor, appearance, and shelf life
Stitch Pumping A method where multiple needles inject curing brine directly into meat at various points to distribute curing agents more uniformly
Sweet Pickle A curing brine that contains added sugar to balance saltiness and enhance flavor
Tumbling A mechanical process where meat is placed in a rotating drum under vacuum to distribute cure ingredients, improve water retention, and enhance tenderness
Wet Aging A process where meat is vacuum-sealed in oxygen-impermeable packaging and stored under refrigeration
Whole Muscle Made from large, intact cuts of meat rather than ground or comminuted pieces