Methods of drying beef and buffalo meat on meat quality

Effects of method of drying beef and buffalo meat and storage time on quality were investigated. Six treatments were applied: drying beef with salt (B1), drying beef without salt (B2), drying beef with salt and spices (B3), drying buffalo meat with salt (B4), without salt (B5) and with salt and spices (B6). Taste and smell of all samples were acceptable up to 120 days of storage. The dry matter (DM), protein, ether extract (EE) and ash content decreased with storage time. The initial DM, crude protein (CP), EE and ash content of the samples were 92.1-95.2%, 77.0-78.6%, 5.0-6.5%, 8.0-12.8%, respectively. After 120 days of storage DM, CP, EE and ash content of the samples ranged from 87.8-89.1%, 72.9-74.0%, 5.0-5.9%, 7.4-9.7%, respectively. CP and EE percentage in beef was higher than buffalo meat, but beef contained less DM and ash. At the end of storage beef dried with salt contained highest protein (74.0%) and buffalo meat dried without salt contained lowest protein (73.0%). There was a significant (p<0.05 to 0.01) effect of drying method, salt and spices in beef and buffalo meat. With the elapse of storage time quality of meat degraded significantly (p<0.05 to 0.01). The degradation was lower in beef dried with salt than in beef dried without salt beef or beef dried with salt and spices, and buffalo meat. It is suggested that salt drying may be a useful method of meat preservation. (Bangl. vet. 2009. Vol. 26, No. 1, 31-38) Introduction Beef and buffalo meat are regarded as good sources of protein, vitamins and minerals, especially iron. There is a high demand of beef and buffalo meat in Bangladesh due to its palatability and good flavours (Islam, 2008). Meat production and consumption in Bangladesh are poor. The per capita requirement and availability of meat are 12.0 and 12.6 g/ day, respectively, which implies an 89.5% deficit (Alam, 1993). The annual meat production in Bangladesh is about 0.744 million MT where beef contributes 0.183 million MT of the total meat production (FAO, 1997). The annual production of meat was increases day by day. The annual meat production in 2004 was 1020.2 thousand tonnes (BBS, 2005), equivalent to 7.4 kg meat/year/person, 60.6% from cattle, 1.3% from buffalo, 8.1% from goat, 0.9% from sheep and 29.1% from chicken and duck (BBS, 2005). Livestock in Bangladesh comprises 23.2 million cattle, 0.8 million buffaloes, 29.8 million goats, 1.0 million sheep, 11.5 million chickens and 13.5 million ducks (Alam et al., 2001). 1 Program Supervisor, Food Security Program, Action Against Hunger (France), Borguna Base Office, Borguna, Bangladesh * Correspondence: E-mail:[email protected] 32 Drying beef and buffalo meat About 23% of cattle are slaughtered every year about 7% at Eid-Ul-Azha, the largest Muslim festival (Alam, 1995). It is essential to preserve the meat when it is not consumed immediately. Stakeholders and meat sellers use the drying method only for household consumption for short time. During the monsoon, it is difficult to dry the meat. A major problem associated with drying of meat is fly infestation, which deteriorates the product. Drying of meat reduces the water content so that microbes are unable to survive (Shawkat, 2008). Drying is easier than freezing and other preserving methods. There are no reports on the physical and nutritional features of drying meat. A systematic study is needed to determine the relationship between storage time and different parameters of dried beef and buffalo meat. The present study was undertaken to find the effect of drying on the quality of beef and buffalo meat. Materials and Methods Sample collection and preparation Fresh boneless beef was collected from butcher shop in “K. R. Market”, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh at 9.00 am. Fresh boneless buffalo meat was collected from “Krishi Market” Mohammadpur, Dhaka city at 6.00 am and carried in polythene bags to the laboratory. All visible fat and connective tissue were trimmed off as far as possible. The muscle was cut into small pieces, rinsed and washed with clean water to remove blood. Then 100 gm meat samples were kept individually in plates. All of the meat pieces were mixed properly by hand. Beef samples were dried with salt (B1), without salt (B2), or with salt and spices (B3); and buffalo meat was dried with salt (B4), without salt (B5) and with salt and spices (B6). Physical appearance The fresh beef was reddish and bright, soft, fine, firm and elastic. Natural odour and intramuscular marbling was present. The raw buffalo meat was dark reddish and less bright, moderately soft, fine, firm and elastic. Natural meaty odour was present in raw buffalo meat. Drying agents and duration For drying with salt, 8% salt and 0.13% potassium nitrate were added, and for drying with spices 8% salt, 5 ml turmeric powder and 0.13% potassium nitrate were added. All the samples were dried properly. Samples were examined 0, 30, 60 and 120 days after storage. Drying with salt, without salt and with salt and spices For drying with salt, drying without salt, drying with salt and spices; salt, KNO3, beef and buffalo meat were mixed thoroughly in different plates. After proper mixing beef and buffalo meat were taken into six separate petridishes and kept in the oven at