Industry News - AM

Freezing may improve tenderness of some meat cuts: research


By Lisa M. Keefe on 2/18/2016

Some companies and restaurants make a big deal out of their never-ever frozen proteins, but new research from Kansas State University indicates that may not be the selling point it seems to be.

Kansas State meat scientists say the impact of freezing strip loin and inside round steaks can improve their tenderness by as much as 10 percent, compared with tenderness before the cuts were frozen, according to a news release distributed by the university.

The researchers tested six major muscles from the hind quarter and found that those two cuts benefitted from freezing. John Unruh, professor of animal science and industry, and a team of graduate students evaluated 125 paired strip loin steaks available in a retail setting. The steaks were frozen, thawed and evaluated for tenderness using the Warner-Bratzler Shear Force test.

"So the question we had was why did these two cuts react while the other four did not," Unruh said. Part of the answer, he noted, is moisture loss. "These two muscles, for some reason, did not lose as much moisture during freezing as the other four," Unruh said.


 
Loading Comments