The Effect of Low-Temperature Heat Treatment on the Physicochemical Properties of Bovine Semitendinosus Muscle

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of various low-temperature heat treatments, namely sous vide (SV), dynamic temperature roasting (ΔT), and slow roasting (R), on the quality of bovine semitendinosus (ST) muscle. The effects on textural and color properties, myoglobin denaturation cooking loss, and consumer acceptance were examined. The samples treated with the SV cooking methods at 55 °C (SV55) and 65 °C (SV65) showed the lowest WBSF values (p ≤ 0.05). Sous vide at lower temperatures (SV55 and SV65) preserved the highest levels of redness a* (p ≤ 0.05) and exhibited the smallest color differences ΔE (p ≤ 0.05) between the perimeter and center cross-sections. Dynamic temperature roasting with a constant temperature difference between the product core and the oven interior of 40 °C (ΔT40) and 20 °C (ΔT20) and roasting at 75 °C (R75) led to lower color differences in the cross-sections compared to the SV methods (p ≤ 0.05). Among all methods, slow cooking, particularly sous vide, resulted in the highest product quality, with higher consumer acceptance scores for juiciness, tenderness, and color. However, it was comparable to ΔT20 samples in terms of WBSF, tenderness, color acceptance, and overall quality. These results suggest that ΔT20 roasting can serve as an alternative to the SV method, achieving a similar quality of ST muscle product in a significantly shorter time.