Effects of rigor state and tumbling time on quality of goat hams

Twelve West African Dwarf goat were slaughtered in this study. The animals were slaughtered in groups of three. The meat from each of the two hind legs from the goat was assigned to either pre- or post-rigor treatment. The main groups (pre- vs post-rigor state) were further treated in a split plot design to study the effect of three tumbling times on chemical composition, physical and sensory properties of goat hams. The rigor state had no effect on chemical composition, physical and sensory properties of tumbled hams, except on their pH, water holding capacity (WHC) and cooking loss. For all tumbling times, the lowest cooking losses were found in pre-rigor hams. The moisture and ash contents of the tumbled hams increased and their protein content decreased as the tumbling time increased from 2 to 6 h. After cooking, no significant difference in pH was found between hams. As the tumbling time increased there was an increase in WHC, salt content and residual nitrite and a decrease in cooking loss and shear force values. The state of rigor had no effect (p > 0.05) on the sensory attributes of the cooked hams. Tumbling the meat continuously for 2 to 6 h improved juiciness, tenderness and colour characteristics of the hams. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.