Changes in the Tenderness of Meat Cooked at 50–65°C

Warner-Bratzler (WB) shear force values obtained for stretched veal muscles decreased as cooking temperatures were increased from 50 to 60°C. Increased proteolytic enzyme activity at these temperatures to give accelerated aging did not appear to explain the effects since there was still a substantial decrease in shear force with increase in cooking temperature from 50 to 60°C, even when well aged (7 wk at 5–6°C) meat and meat cooked for 24 hr was used. A more likely explanation was that, even at these relatively low temperatures, changes in connective tissue were involved since (a) the magnitude and direction of the change in shear force with increasing temperature was dependent on animal age and cooking time; (b) the effect of recooking at 80°C was dependent on animal age; and (c) the effects of increasing the cooking temperature and/or time on adhesion between the meat fibres was significantly greater for the samples from the younger animals.