B-l ‘I30 March ‘I973 M35 1'5 ‘T3 Carcass ancl Meat Characteristics cf Nilgai Anteiope The Texas Agricultural Experiment Stuti J. E. Miller, Director, College Station, cs Texas A8=M University Authors E. D. ABLEs, associate professor, The Texas y tural Experiment Station (Wildlife and F ' __ Sciences Department). Z. L. CARPENTER, professor, The Texas Agricul Experiment Station (Animal Science Departm LYNN QUARRIER, former research assistant, The T Agricultural Experiment Station (Animal Sci Department). We W. _]. SHEFFIELD, research associate, The Texas cultural Experiment Station (Wildlife and ”_ eries Sciences Department). T Contents Summary Introduction Methods Treatment of Carcasses Analysis of Meats Ordinary Cuts Wiener Formulations.. Results. . Carcass Characteristics Characteristics of the Meats Ordinary Cuts I Wiener Formulations Discussion Acknowledgments Nilgai antelope (Boselaphus tragocamelus) i‘ a potential source 0f meats acceptable to public. Carcasses dress out at approx- percent of live weight and have less than ‘t trim and about 20 percent bone. Sensory j- panels rated round steaks and loin steaks Q steaks in flavor and juiciness but similar _ ss. Nilgai meats were not distinguishable in various wiener formulations. i: ins OF INTRODUCED WILD UNGULATES are _,- ' ly capable of increasing the efficiency j yields from rangelands in the Southwest. l? acres in brush are marginal or unsuited i‘. production of domestic livestock. Pro- many other ranges can be increased by “n of species which more efficiently use 've complex. i of ecological relationships including food ~ uction, habitat requirements, diseases ‘tion with domestic livestock have pro- of the information necessary for stocking ungulates. However, recommenda- _-be based on knowledge of the suitability ar species as a source of meat acceptable er. The objectives of this study were yields and composition of nilgai carcasses, ~ cteristics of the meats that are important f»- acceptance, to determine the potential _ ' g boneless nilgai meats in wiener formu- W to compare nilgai and beef using these METHODS Treatment of Carcasses "nilgai-one adult male, one adult female adult male-were collected on King Ranch, xarcasses were weighed, field dressed, re- »- transported to ranch headquarters where 'ned, quartered and stored in a cooler. g day they were wrapped in insulation ,1 trademark or a proprietary product does not rantee or warranty of the product by The Texas ilxperiment Station and does not imply its approval _i on of other products that also may be suitable. . Carcass and Meat Characteristics of Nilgai Antelope and taken to the Meats Laboratory at Texas A8cM - University where they were held at a temperature of 32° to 34°F for 7 days. On the eighth day post mortem the carcasses were fabricated to provide cuts of lean meat for use in sensory evaluations and frank- furter emulsions. Analysis of Meats Ordinary Cuts Sensory evaluations of three common cuts of meat (top round, bottom round and loin steaks) were per- formed by two expert panels of judges. An eight- member panel designated as the "satisfaction panel” rated the meats for flavor, tenderness and juiciness. Ratings were based on a scale of 1 to 9 (dislike ex- tremely to like extremely). In addition, tenderness was assessed objectively with the Warner-Bratzler Shear which measures the force necessary to cut through a 0.5-inch core of meat. A second six-member panel, the “tenderness profile panel," rated the steaks according to the same 1- to 9-scale for eight character- ' istics related to tenderness. Cooking procedures for meats used by the two panels differed slightly, though both were variations of the dry-heat, oven-broiling technique. Steaks for the satisfaction panel were cut 1 inch thick and cooked from the frozen state to an internal ternpera- ture of 70° C in an electric oven preheated to 163° C. The cooking time varied from 50 to 60 minutes. Steaks for the tenderness profile panel were also 1 inch in thickness but were cooked for 46 minutes in a gas oven preheated to 180° C. For comparative purposes loin steaks from four USDA Choice and three USDA Good steers were cooked and evaluated by identical methods. Wiener Formulations Boneless nilgai meats were used at levels of 331/9, percent, 66% percent and 100 percent in the replace- ment of lean beef in typical wiener formulations. A control formulation consisting of only beef and pork was also prepared. In all preparations, those variables known to affect palatability were held as nearly constant as possible to permit detection of the differences in quantity of the nilgai. Modified Babcock tests were performed on the raw ingredients to determine fat percentages before the final formulas were derived. The percentages of fat were lean beef, 9.5 percent; pork trim, 36.5 per~ cent; and nilgai, 2 percent. To obtain the desired fat level in the final product, pork fat estimated to contain 95 percent fat was added to the formulation. In all preparations, a ratio of 40 percent beef and/or nilgai to 60 percent pork for the meat portion of the formulation was used. The remainder of the ingre- dients included spices, water and curing materials. The curing ingredients contained salt, dextrose, NaNOa and NaNOz. A spice mixture, commercially processed and dried with soluble seasoning on a dextrose carrier, was added. The beef and/or antelope was chopped for 2 minutes in a Silent Cutter. Pork trim, seasonings and ice were then added, and the mixture was chopped for an additional 8 minutes. After the chopping and mixing, the emulsion was stuffed into cellulose casings which were subsequently linked and placed in the smokehouse. The cycle for the smokehouse was 140° F for 15 minutes, 155° F for 15 minutes, 170° F for 30 minutes and 185° F for 15 minutes. Emulsion stability was determined microscopically by measuring the average size of the droplets of fat _ and the distance between them. Larger sized drop- lets and more diffuse distribution indicate that an emulsion has more instability than one with small droplets and greater concentration of droplets. For sensory evaluations, the wieners were placed in polyvinylidene chloride bags to which a vacuum was applied and then heated in 90° C water for 20 minutes. The vacuum packages were used to prevent flavor leaching or commingling that might occur in immersion of unprotected wieners in water. After TABLE 1. CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF THREE NILGAI ANTELOPE (WEIGHTS ARE IN POUNDSl Adult Q Subadult 8 Adult 8 Live weight 360 356 568 Field dressed wt 234 227 392 Dressed wt 185 175 300 Dressing out percentage 51.4 49.1 52.8 Hindquarter wt 42.3 40.1 62.8 Forequarter wt 40.7 40.0 78.4 Side wt 83.0 80.1 141.2 Forequarter/side (‘A1 49.0 49.9 55.5 Hindquarter/side 1%) 51.0 50.1 44.5 4 TABLE 2. COMPARISON o1= NILGAI AND STEER CUTTING -' Nilgai Steer 1 Adult Q Subadult 6‘ Adult 6‘ Choice I Bone 1%) 19.15 25.09 19.75 12.6 1 Fat trim 17.1 1.44 0.02 0.21 18.5 1 Lean 1%) 79.03 74.15 79.88 68.9 being heated, the wieners were removed and cut 1e five pieces, each approximately 0.75 inch in l 1;; Three different sensory panels made taste ations—a large untrained consumer panel '1? small untrained panel (n=20) and a small tr’ p‘ panel (n=10). The consumer panel evaluated i individual wieners for overall satisfaction only, _ the other two panels evaluated flavor, juiciness tenderness in addition to overall satisfaction. evaluations were done on the basis of the nine- -_ scale described previously. i’ Product tenderness was evaluated also in s 11 Q subjected to an Allo-Kramer shear press. For 5 test, wieners were cut into pieces weighing app i mately 20 grams each. ~ RESULTS Carcass Characteristics Adult female and subadult male nilgai out at approximately 50 percent of live weight, . "i the adult male dressed out slightly heavier (Tab ; This weight characteristic is easily discerned -1~ ' live animals - older adult males are more u A than younger adults of equal height and have ‘it quarters considerably heavier than hindq 1 , Younger nilgai have a larger percentage of l than adults (Table 2); the bone percentage of - exceeds that of beef by approximately 67 1 -.._1 Fat trim on all nilgai is slight, however, and amount of lean on a nilgai carcass is greater - 1' a beef animal of equal size. Nilgai have very ‘_ amounts of intramuscular fat deposits, even on casses of animals in excellent condition. Characteristics of the Meats Ordinary Cuts Results of the satisfaction panel's palata ratings are presented in Figures l-3. As expected, " steaks received higher overall scores than round s ~g The scores for flavor, juiciness and tenderness 0f. cuts were somewhat lower than those for ~ 1; Choice beefsteaks but well within acceptable t. and comparable with those of standard beef.‘ _ steaks from the adult male were judged to have a most desirable flavor, but top and bottom ro J steaks from the subadult male were most flav Evidently, on the basis of flavor, males are su to females, a situation existing also in beef. jui‘ J of bottom round steaks was comparable to NI LGAI "Teuoehnesé OVERALL SATISFACTION BEEF Figure l. The satisfaction panel's analysis of nilgai and beef loin steaks. EMALE SUBADULT MALE ADULT MALE i both loin and top round steaks were drier, excessively so. This is to be expected on i>~ low amounts of intramuscular fat (Table _ steaks, except from the adult male, were Yigreater in tenderness than beef, and steaks adult were not objectionally tough. ICHEMICAL ANALYSES OF NILGAI MEATS Adult Q Subadult 8 Adult 6‘ 71.4 73.2 75.6 5.2 1.5 0.8 22.l 23.2 22.2 erall satisfaction, nilgai was rated lower 1 mainly on the basis of flavor. Some panel ‘objected to the flavor of nilgai. Flavor is ' subjective criterion and subject to great variation. ferness is one of the most important attri- __mcat and the one most likely to influence Z 1Q? .22 ¢u. mm OI: zq “in l-J ..| 4 E LIJ > O FEMALE SUBADULT MALE ADULT MALE ; e satisfaction panel's analysis of top-round steaks from consumer acceptance. Tenderness can be modified somewhat by cooking method or treatment of the meat prior to cooking but is essentially an inherent characteristic of the meat (Cover and Hostetler, 1960)} The physical qualities which contribute to tenderness were examined (Tables 4-6). Criteria for evaluating tenderness were developed. Softness T8cC and Softness TC refer to the way the meat feels to tongue and cheek and to the ease with which the teeth sink into the meat, respectively. Fragmentation refers to the ease or difficulty of biting across the grain. Mealiness is a term used to describe texture of the meat when being chewed. Meat that is mealy crumbles into small fragments. Excessive mealiness is considered undesirable. Adhesion refers to the apparent tendency of muscle fibers to stick together. Amount connective tissue and Softness (CT) ‘Cover, Sylvia, and R. L. Hostetler. 1960. Beef tenderness by new methods. Bull. No. 947, Tex. Agr. Exp. Sta., College Station. 24 pp. Z Q B ‘£5 l-"m 2|: “<2 “w CJ z: u.| es Lu > O o -l N w a 01 a: \| no ca A I FLAVOR é E 2 2 ? a a a a a é é . ADULT FEMALE Figure 3. The satisfaction panel's analysis of bottom-round nilgai steaks. SUBADULT MALE ADULT MALE 5 TABLE 4. RATINGS FOR CHARACTERISTICS OF LOIN STEAKS WHICH AFFECT TENDERNESS (TENDERNESS PROFILE PANEL) Nilgai Beef Subadult Adult Q 8 Adult 8 Good Choice Juiciness 3.3 3.2 4.8 5.6 4.5 Softness T&C‘ 5.2 5.0 5.7 5.4 5.1 Softness TC‘ 5.8 6.2 5.5 5.5 5.1 Fragmentation 6.7 6.7 5.7 5.7 5.3 Mealiness 4.3 3.8 2.5 2.3 2.7 Adhesion 7.0 7.2 5.7 5.8 5.1 Amount con- nective tissue 9.0 9.0 8.3 8.8 8.7 Softness CT‘ 9.0 9.0 8.0 8.8 8.7 ‘Softness T&C refers to the way meat feels to tongue and cheek; Softness TC refers to the ease with which teeth sink into the meat; Softness CT refers to the ease with which connective tissue lgristle) can be chewed. refer to the amount and softness of connective tissue (popularly known as gristle). High scores on these two characteristics mean small amounts of connective tis- sue that are soft and easily chewed. Loin steaks of adult male nilgai and both grades of beef were similar for all criteria tested (Table 4). Values for ease of fragmentation, mealiness and ad- hesion of muscle fibers were slightly higher for the female and the subadult male than for the male and were probably associated with greater dryness of these two samples. Both top and bottom round steaks scored generally lower than loin (Tables 4 and 5). They contained larger amounts of connective tissue and were less easily masticated. Data for beef (Cover and Hostetler, 1960) compared with that for nilgai show bottom round to be more mealy and similar in soft- ness and to have slightly tougher connective tissue than bottom round for nilgai. TABLE 5. CHARACTERISTICS OF NILGAI ROUND STEAKS WHICH AFFECT TENDERNESS Adult Q Subadult 6‘ Adult 8 Top Round Juiciness 3.7 3.7 3.5 Softness T&C‘ 5.2 4.8 5.2 Softness TC‘ 5.8 5.5 4.7 Fragmentation 6.3 6.3 4.8 Mealiness 4.2 4.0 2.3 Adhesion - 6.8 6.5 4.8 Amount connective tissue 7.5 7.3 7.3 Softness TC‘ 6.5 6.7 6.7 Bottom Round Juiciness 4.2 4.7 3.2 Softness T&C‘ 6.3 5.7 5.0 Softness TC‘ 6.8 5.8 4.8 Fragmentation 6.8 6.2 4.8 Mealiness 4.0 1.5 3.2 Adhesion 6.7 6.0 5.2 Amount connective tissue 6.3 8.3 6.7 Softness TC‘ 5.7 8.0 5.8 ‘Softness T&C refers to the way meat feels to tongue and cheek; Softness TC refers to the ease with which teeth sink into the meat,- Softness CT refers to the ease with which connective tissue (gristle) can be chewed. 6 TABLE 6. WARNER-BRATZLER SHEAR VALUES OF NILGAI A Nilgai Be ;i Subadult Adult Q 8 Adult 5‘ Good Variable cooking time Loin 6.9 7.6 f~ 13.1 7.3 Top round 7.8 8.0 ~=’ 9.8 Bottom round 9.2 7.7 9.5 Constant cooking time Loin 7.0 8.2 11.0 Top round 8.2 8.4 12.2 Bottom round 8.2 8.6 10.8 Objective measurements for tenderness (T generally agreed with subjective judgments '_ panels. Loin steaks of the female and young‘ were equivalent to beefsteaks in tenderness, l the adult male was tougher. Shear-force val 7.3 to 9.0 for beef (Cover and Hostetler, 1960) i; that the younger nilgai is similar in tend r beef while the older animal is tougher. It M) of interest to compare meat of older nilgai it!" tests with that of a bull of equivalent age. it The effects of cooking technique and vii‘ cooking requirements of the various cuts are a t; ‘ in Table 6. Steaks cooked for a variable time an internal temperature of 70° C and then moved from the oven; the others were cooked constant time (46 minutes) in a 180° C oven.{ implication: for maximum tenderness, do n _ cook. A possible exception is loin steak from 1 q animal which seemed to be more tender if coo a constant temperature. Since those steaks y’ for a constant length of time had considerably I shrinkage values (Table 7), they possibly were s" longer than necessary. = . Wiener Formulations The fat percentages of the final products little from one formulation to another (Table l‘ were much less than the maximum level of 30 -‘ TABLE 7. COOKING LOSSES OF NILGAI AND BEEF STEAKS "w; ING TO CUT OF MEAT AND METHOD OF PREPARATION Nilgai Be . SubaduIt Adult Q 6‘ Adult 8 Good Variable cooking time Loin 23.9 20.6 22.5 24.5 Top round 22.6 23.6 17.9 Bottom round 14.5 14.6 20.0 Constant cooking time Loin 33.8 33.3 32.6 32.3 Top round 36.0 39.0 36.1 Bottom round 35.4 32.6 34.2 ION INGREDIENTS‘ Percent Beef (as Antelope Total fat in Beef % beef in Antelope as % beef Pork meat chilled (lb.) formula 1) llb.) in formula 1 llb.) llb.) wiener 4 100 6 10 25.02 2.7 66 "/3 1.3 33 ‘l; 6 10 24.20 1.3 33 V; 2.7 66 1/3 6 10 23.56 4.0 100 6 10 23.92 .powder--17.0 grams and moisture—3 pounds. 4;,» government. As expected, the rela- _-_- antelope (2 percent fat as contrasted to fat for beef) yielded a final product with nt of fat. Although 1 pound of pork fat _. - the final formulation, the low fat con- _, the raw ingredients contributed to the “=1 of fat in the wieners. 5y (Table 9) did not differ drastically Fulations. The product with 66% percent y» the least shrinkage (5.21 percent) while ‘- cent antelope wiener sustained the great- nt). ‘aults of the emulsion stability tests (Table consistent in that figures obtained for plet size and distance between droplets A large size droplet generally indicates p, emulsion as does a diffuse distribution lNKAGE Weight in Weight after smokehouse 6-hour chill Percent llb.) (lb.) shrinkage 12.10 11.45 5.40 12.70 11.85 6.69 11.50 10.90 5.21 12.70 12.00 5.51 ULSION STABILITY COMPONENTS '4. Average droplet Average distance between size (p) droplets (p) .68 2.37 2.60 3.35 2.43 3.43 .85 4.94 ' zoning ingredients were as follow for all formulations: salt—-90 grams, dextrose——22.6 grams, wiener seasoning——22.6 of droplets. In this experiment, in some instances, the droplets were small with a large distance between droplets; in other cases, the droplet-distance relation- ship was the reverse. A slight amount of fatting out in all formulations indicated that an imperfect emul- sion had been formed in all instances. The sensory panel evaluations for overall satis- faction (Table ll) revealed no significant differences among the various levels of antelope and the control. The untrained panels rated the product with 33% percent antelope highest, while the trained panel gave the highest scores to the control and to the product with 100 percent antelope. No significant differences in flavor were detected by the small untrained and the trained panels. Both preferred the flavor of the 33%-percent antelope wiener. Texture parameters of juiciness and tenderness were also investigated. Juiciness ratings (Table ll) among formulations by the two sensory panels were not significantly different. The untrained panel chose the Eifilé-percent antelope product as the juiciest, while the trained panel selected the control and the 100-percent antelope product as juiciest. Organolep- tic evaluations for tenderness among the formulations (Table 12) were not significantly different. Both the untrained and trained panels gave the highest ratings to the 66%-percent antelope wiener. Alla-Kramer shear press values indicated that the 33lA-percent antelope product was the tenderest. DISCUSSION Apparently the nilgai antelope can be a source of meats generally acceptable to the consumer public. Though meats of nilgai were rated slightly lower than beef for most characteristics which affect palatability, _TISFACTION RATINGS BY THREE SENSORY PANELS FOR WIENERS OF EACH FORMULATION ;.- Large untrained Small untrained Small trained consumer panel (n = 59) panel (n = 20) panel (n = 10) Overall Overall Overall satisfaction Juiciness Flavor satisfaction Juiciness Flavor satisfaction Juiciness Flavor 5.19 6.00 6.40 6.00 7.00 7.10 6.70 5.75 6.25 6.80 6.45 6.90 6.60 7.22 , 5.24 5.90 6.55 5.80 6.70 6.60 6.40 5.40 5.50 6.20 5.55 7.00 7.10 6.70 TABLE l2. TENDERNESS RATINGS FOR WIENERS OF EACH FORMU- LATION Rating by Rating by Allo-Kramer Formula untrained panel trained panel values number (n = 20) (n = l0) in psi TAMU l 6.75 7.30 6.555 TAMU 2 6.50 7.30 5.950 TAMU 3 6.85 7.70 7.305 TAMU 4 6.25 7.30 8.l l5 none of these ratings was objectionably low. Values for tenderness compare favorably with those of beef, while values for flavor and juiciness were lower. Since flavor is a subjective criterion, a comparison of nilgai with beef flavor may not have been justified. Dryness is an attribute of most wild game meat and seems associated with small amounts of intramuscular fat. Proper cooking methods can partially or wholly off- set this deficiency. In some respects nilgai meats have advantages over beef. Although nilgai have a larger percentage of bone, the proportion of lean is greater than in beef, and the amount of fat is approximately 5 per- cent that of beef. The leaner nilgai meats are thus well suited for combining with fat trim from pork or beef in sausage-like products. Nilgai can be substi- tuted completely for lean beef in wieners, and palat- ability factors and color of the product pose no barrier to consumer acceptance. Any objectionable flavors that might be present are masked by spices and other components. The only potential problem is an esthetic one of labeling. Since federal regulations require the labeling of all components of processed - foreman of the Norias Division, and to Bob l4. meats, the stigma of having game animal m the final product may have to be combated. f more, processing of antelope may create probl sociated with inspection and higher unit cos U~ Methods of preparing meats of any kind ' the table qualities of the cuts. Many reco u, recipes for game meats require so many adul; and lengthy techniques that»; they are not p - _ on a routine basis. Cooking methods were -_i amined in detail in this study, but the t_ toward dryness of nilgai meats suggests use of all heat method of cooking. A variation of the ~- method has been successful: Nilgai steaks or roasts are seared in a j greased skillet, placed in aluminum foil, cov canned mushrooms and ordinary canned oni; the foil sealed and the package placed in . 1 preheated to 325° F. Cooking time varies withif cut but usually takes from 30 to 90 minu - desired degree of doneness depends on in tastes, but overcooking should be avoided. -~ prepared are juicy and compare favorably prepared similarly. Y ACKNOWLEDGMENTS p. This study was supported financially by to The Texas Agricultural Experiment Statio Caesar Kleberg Foundation for Wildlife Co --i The authors are especially indebted to Ed I? president of King Ranch, Inc. We extend p thanks to all those persons who worked on _i phases of the overall nilgai project.