Abstract: This study investigated the quality evolution of peanut-added beef jerky during key processing stages, including raw meat, chopped, dried, and roasted samples, with a focus on physicochemical properties, free amino acids, and volatile flavor compounds. The results showed that as processing progressed, the L* and a* values decreased significantly (P < 0.05), the moisture content declined markedly from 74.78 to 20.11 g/100 g, while the peroxide value increased significantly. Texture profile analysis (TPA) revealed that hardness and chewiness decreased significantly after chopping, but increased markedly following drying and roasting (P < 0.05). The total content of free amino acids increased significantly during processing, reaching 123.18 mg/100 g after roasting, with notable increases in the proportions of umami and sweet amino acids. A total of 65 volatile flavor compounds were identified. The levels of aldehydes, ketones, and pyrazines increased significantly during the drying and roasting stages, among which hexanal, nonanal, 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, and 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine were identified as key contributors to the overall flavor of peanut-added beef jerky.

Key words: peanut; beef jerky; physicochemical properties; flavor evolution