Restructuring Veal Steaks with Salt/Phosphate and Sodium Alginate/Calcium Lactate S. RAHARJO, D.R. DEXTER, R.C. WORFEL, J.N. SOFOS, M.B. SOLOMON, G.W. SHULTS, and G.R. SCHMIDT ABSTRACT Quality characteristics of restructured steaks formulated with veal trim- mings or veal leg meat and Na-alginate/Ca-lactate or salt (NaCl)/phos- phate were evaluated.Trimmings restructuredwith salt/phosphate had higher (PCO.05) bind scores(measured instrumentally and by sensory) than veal trimmings restructured with Na-alginate/Ca-lactate. Salt/ phosphate(0.3-0.5%) reduced (PCO.05) purge and increasedbinding force and sensoryscore of bind in restructured veal trimmings and leg meat compared to control and Na- alginate/Ca-lactate treatments.The use of Na-alginate/Ca-lactate as a binder for veal leg meat increased (PCO.05) binding force and sensory score of bind and decreased cook loss when used at 0.4%. Key Words: restructured steaks, veal, NaCl, phosphate,Na-alginate, Ca-lactate INTRODUCTION MEAT RESTRUCTURING TECHNOLOGYenables control of prod- uct characteristics such as shape, color, texture, fat and mois- ture content, cook yield, bind strength, juiciness and flavor. Restructured meat products have commonly been prepared by flaked/formed or chunked/formed techniques along with use of salt and phosphate to facilitate binding between particles. The use of salt (NaCl) and phosphate in restructured meat products enhances cohesiveness, cook yield and flavor quality (Clarke et al., 1987; Mann et al., 1990; Wheeler et al., 1990; Craig et al., 1991). The addition of phosphate (up to 0.5%) also protects against lipid oxidation (Huffman et al., 1987; Arganosa et al., 1991; Stoick et al., 1991; Liu et al., 1992). The use of salt (OS-lS%), however, has been associated with discoloration (Chu et al., 1987) and rancidity development (Wheeler et al., 1990; Andersen and Skibsted, 1991) in raw restructured beef steaks. Consumers concern about salt consumption (Kolari, 1980) has led to partial or complete replacement of salt with other components. Those such as alginate/calcium gel, are possible means of maintaining or improving quality of restructured meat products (Means and Schmidt, 1986; Means et al., 1987; Clarke et al., 1988; Ernst et al., 1989; Ensor et al., 1989, 1990; Trout et al., 1990). Alginate restructuring provides adequate binding of meat chunks in both raw and cooked states and does not significantly affect aroma and flavor of the cooked product (Ensor et al., 1989). Levels of sodium alginate and calcium lactate or NaCl and phosphate may be adjusted to correspond to the relative properties of the meat block. Thus, in our study veal trimmings (relatively low binding ability) were restructured with 0.5% NaCl and 0.5% phosphate or 0.5% Na-alginate and 0.5% Ca-lactate, while veal leg meat Authors Raharjo, Dexter, Worfel, Sofos, and Schmidt are with the Dept. of Animal Sciences, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO 80523. Author Solomon is with the Meat Science Research Laboratory, USDA-A% PODl, Bldg. 201, BARC-EAST, 10300 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705-2350. Author Shults is with the Product Development & Engineering Branch, Food Engi- neering Directorate, U.S. Army Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center, Natick, MA 01760. Address inquiries to Dr. D.R. Dexter. (relatively high binding ability) was restructured with the same components at 0.4% and 0.3% levels. A demand exists for technology to use beef, pork, lamb, veal and poultry at relatively low cost in schools, hospitals and military feeding applications. Our objective was to evaluate use of Na-alginate/Ca-lactate, salt/phosphate and low value types of veal cuts (veal trimmings and boneless legs) for prep- aration of restructured veal steaks intended for such institu- tional markets. MATERIALS & METHODS Sample preparation Frozen bonelessveal trimmings (from the entire carcass) and veal leg meat were obtained from Berliner & Marx, Inc. (Edison, NJ). Prior to use the meat was thawed at 4°C for 48 hr. Visible connective tissue and fat were removed which resulted in -52% yield (from trimmings) and 94% yield from legs. Restructuredveal steaks were prepared in 2,270-g batches.Veal trimmings were restructuredwith: (a) 0.5% salt (NaC1)/0.5% Heller’s soluble phosphate WJ-0052 (sodium tripoly- phosphate and sodium hexametaphosphate) (Heller Seasonings and In- gredients, Inc., Bedford Park, IL); (b) 0.5% sodium alginate/0.5% encapsulated calcium lactate (Kelco, Chicago, IL); and (c) no additives (control). In another experiment, veal leg meat was restructuredwith: (a) 0.3% salt/0.3% phosphate; (b) 0.4% salt/0.4% phosphate;(c) 0.3% sodium alginate/0.3% encapsulated calcium lactate; (d) 0.4% sodium alginate/0.4%encapsulated calcium lactate; and (e) no additives (con- trol). The raw meat materials were ground through a 2.5 cm plate (Hobart Mfg. Co., Troy, OH) without a cutting blade. This provided relatively large chunks of meat with irregular shape. Each batch (2,270- g/batch) of meat was mixed with dry ingredients(including the control, no additives) for 2 min in a mixer (model K45SS Kitchen-Aid Inc., St. Joseph, MI) at a speed setting of 2. Salt or sodium alginate was added and mixed for 1 min, then phosphateor encapsulated calcium lactate was added and mixed for another min. The mixtures were placed in plastic bags (15 cm X 51 cm, Koch, Kansas City, MO), sealed under vacuum (Multivac, Allglu, Germany) and manually formed into logs (9 cm diam X 35 cm long). The meat logs were initially placed in a cooler at 4°C for 6 hr to provide adequate time for formation of alginate/caIcium gels and subsequently stored in a freezer at approximately -2O’C for 48 hr. Frozen meat logs were sawed into steaks (1.9 cm thick, =12Og), which were individually vacuum-pack- aged, and stored at -2O’C for about 1 wk for further evaluation. Purge Three frozen restructured veal steaks from each treatment were thawed at 4°C to allow meat juices to drain. After 24 hr, steaks were removed from the packagesand their surfaces were manually wiped with a paper towel to remove visible meat exudate. The purge was calculated as the weight loss divided by the initial weight, expressed as a percentage. Cook loss Three frozen restructured beef steakswere temperedfor 1 hr at 24- 25°C prior to cooking. The steakswere cooked using an Open Hearth Broile@’ (Farberware,Yonkers, NY) for 11 min on one side and an- other 10 min on the other side until an internal temperatureof ~71°C was reached.Cook loss was calculated as weight loss due to cooking divided by the initial weight of the raw steak, expressed as a percent- age. Volume 59, No. 3, 1994-JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE471