Abstract:

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of thermal treatment mode and internal core temperature on the meat quality of beef Semitendinosus muscle. Muscle samples were heated to an internal core temperature of 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 ℃ or 90 ℃ in a water bath and in a microwave oven respectively. The changes of meat quality properties with internal core temperature were examined. The results indicated that water bath heated muscle samples always exhibited a substantial increase in Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) with increasing internal core temperature, but microwave heated muscle samples presented an irregular change in WBSF. WBSF manifested a significant difference (P＜0.05) at a core temperature of 50 ℃ or 90 ℃ between water bath and microwave treated samples. As heating temperature increased, the muscle microstructure was changed significantly as exhibited by the denaturation and shrinkage of connective tissue and collagen and the reduction of fiber diameter caused by the shrinkage of muscle fibers. Therefore, thermal treatment mode and temperature had significant effects on the meat quality of beef Semitendinosus muscle.

Key words: beef Semitendinosus muscle, meat quality, thermal treatment, mode, temperature