Development and evaluation of a cabrito smoked sausage product.

In order for the meat goat producer to survive, new avenues for marketing goats must be created. Currently, the live animal is sold directly to consumers, or to brokers who in turn sell the animal directly to consumers or retail stores that cater to various ethnic groups. The production of value-added products with appeal to North American consumers, as well as current ethnic consumers, should result in increased profitability of the meat goat. The objectives of this study were to develop a value added product, cabrito smoked sausage, using goat meat as the sole meat ingredient; evaluate soy protein concentrate (SPC) at various levels in an effort to reduce product cost; determine consumer acceptability; and conduct a cost analysis to determine the approximate market price for the product. Three fermented cabrito smoked sausage products were manufactured containing 0, 1.75 or 3.50% SPC and stored at 2±1°C until evaluated. The sausages were evaluated for sensory characteristics, proximate analysis, pH, water activity and smokehouse yields. Trained panelists detected no significant flavor differences (P > 0.05) between the products. As a result of these findings, sausages formulated with 0 and 3.50% SPC were compared in a consumer sensory evaluation. Consumer panelists detected no significant differences (P > 0.05) in flavor, texture and overall acceptance between the snack sticks. Approximately 65% of the panelists commented that they would purchase the value added products. Proximates, pH, water activity and smokehouse yields were similar (P > 0.05) for the sausages formulated with 0 and 3.50% SPC. The addition of SPC resulted in an 8.79% reduction in the price of the 3.50% SPC formulation when compared to the sausage formulated with no SPC.