Periods: Three

1. Planning

2. Processing

3. Evaluation

1. To familiarize the student with the principles o fmeat processing and evaluation.
2. To familiarize the student with the procedures of cured whole-muscle meat product manufacture.

Meat products come in a variety of forms. A product's identity is determined by the size of the meat particles, the ingredients that go into it, and the cooking procedure. In addition, many products have a legal standard of identity .Since fat, moisture, and the concentration of dissolved ingredients can change during cooking, meat processing companies must experiment with their procedures in order to control the composition and microbial safety of the final product.

Boneless butt is a cured whole-muscle pork product similar to ham. A brine, which contains curing ingredients, is pumped into the muscle, and the butts are allowed to rest in the curing solution to ensure that all the meat has been exposed to the curing solution. The butt is then cooked in a smokehouse to a temperature of 152 oF .

Curing solution always contains salt and a nitrite salt. These are essential to the

prevention of microbial growth, and it is the nitrite that imparts the pink color to cured meats. Other ingredients may include ascorbate and erythorbate, which enhance the reactivity of nitrite, phosphates, which improve the yield and texture, and various soluble flavoring agents and texture modifiers.

The yield and texture of a meat product depends on its fat content and on the binding capacity of the proteins. When salt is added to fresh meat, the actin and myosin (which contract the muscle in the live animal) are extracted into the solution. Grinding, chopping, and tumbling facilitate this process. These proteins bind separate pieces of meat together , keep fat globules intact in comminuted sausages, and increase firmness and yields o fwhole muscle products.

1. Mix Brine:

This recipe is for 100 lbs. of meat, so adjust your amounts accordingly.

2. Stitch pump to 100/0 increase in meat weight

3. Soak in brine in refrigerator 3-6 days.

4. Put butts in stockinettes and hang on truck.

5. Cook with smoke to IT=152F

6. Cool at room temp to 110F.

7. 18 hours at 45F.

Moisture content

Yield

Flavor

Color

Texture

Renker, M D 2000 Handbook of Meat Product Technology. Blackwell Science, Oxford