The Effects of Korean Traditional Sauces on Quality Characteristics of Hanwoo Semitendinosus Dry-cured Ham

This study was conducted to develop a processing method for dry-curing beef ham with Korean traditional sauces and to investigate the quality properties of the dry-cured beef hams. Semitendinosus muscle from Hanwoo was spread with sun-dried salt (C), sun-dried salt mixed with red pepper paste (T1), and sun-dried salt mixed with soybean paste (T2), and inserted into washed Hanwoo large intestine. It was then dried and fermented for 75 d. Moisture contents of the hams were 46-48%, without any significant differences. T1 showed the lowest pH among the three dry-cured hams, while water holding capacity (WHC) of T2 was found the lowest (p<0.05). In mechanical color determination, C showed higher CIE a* and CIE b* than T1 and T2 (p<0.05), however CIE L* did not show any significant difference. In texture, T1 demonstrated significantly lower springiness than C (p<0.05). The sensory properties of all dry-cured hams did not show any significant difference, but T1 indicated a higher taste, saltiness and overall acceptability than others, whereas C gathered the highest score in color and flavor. In conclusion, the dry-curing by combination of sun-dried salt mixed with red pepper sauce (T1) showed higher quality properties of the Hanwoo dry-cured ham.