The effect of preheated tendon as a lean meat replacement on the properties of fine emulsion sausages.

Tendon from beef hind leg muscles was used to replace some of the lean in a conventional emulsion formulation. The tendon was homogenized and either used raw or preheated for 2·5 h at a range of temperatures (50, 60, 70, 80°C) before use. Texture analysis and sensory evaluation were performed on cylinders of cooked sausage. Texture analysis was carried out on formulations which had 20% of meat protein replaced by 20% tendons which were raw or had been preheated to 50, 60, 70, or 80°C. Fracturability decreased by about 40% with raw tendon, but was restored to within 20% of the no-replacement control if the tendon had been preheated. Hardness was approximately doubled by replacement with raw tendon or tendon heated at 50°C. At temperatures higher than that, hardness returned to approximately no-replacement levels. For sensory evaluation (0-25% replacement; preheating at 70°C), sausages were assessed by a 12-member panel for texture, flavour and overall acceptability. All attributes decreased with increasing collagen content, the decrease being less marked with preheated tendon. Thus more connective tissue could be added for the same panel score if the tissue was preheated. Comparison of the texture profile and the panel scores for texture at the same lean replacement level suggested that reduced fracturability was the texture parameter that panellists objected to when heated tendon replaced some of the lean. Other researchers have shown that connective tissue preheated to 100°C before addition in emulsion sausages results in improved yields and better sensory attributes, but the present results show that temperatures as low as 60°C can be effective for beef tendon.