PORK the Other White Meat

1
PORKthe Other White Meat
2
What is your favorite food?

• Fresh Meats
• Pork Chops
• Steaks
• Ground Beef
• Chicken
• Turkey

• Processed Meats
• Hot Dogs
• Luncheon Meats
• Ham
• Smoked Sausage
• Beef Jerky
• Marinated Meats

3
Whats The Difference?

• Fresh Meats
• No Salt Added
• No Flavorings Added
• No Preservatives Added

• Cured Meats
• Salt may be added
• Flavor normally added
• Preservatives normally added
• Water may be added

4
Types of Meat Preservation

• Drying-
• Removal of water from meat.
• Heating-
• Kills bacteria if temperatures reaches 160
  degrees.
• Refrigeration-
• Slows the growth of bacteria
• Freezing-
• 20 degrees below zero eliminates bacterial
  growth
• Acidification-
• Low pH retards bacterial growth

5
Types of Meat Preservation

• 6. Irradiation-
• Low levels kill bacteria in fresh meat products
• Canning-
• Packaging meat into sealed containers and
  heating meat to kill bacteria
• Curing-
• Compounds make meats inhospitable to microbial
  growth.
• Salting and Sugaring-
• Prevents microbial growth
• Smoking-
• Forms antibacterial chemicals to the meats
  surface

6
The 5 Factors in the Curing Process

• Preservation
• Flavor
• Color
• Tenderness
• Yield

7
Preservation

• 3 main ingredients to preservation process
• Salt
• Sugar
• Nitrite

8
Flavor

• Flavor is the primary reason consumers purchase
  meat more than once
• Salt- Predominant flavor in most processed
  meats
• Sugar- Used to reduce the harshness of the
  salt flavor
• Nitrite- Provide a characteristic flavor you
  recognize as a ham flavor
• Smoked- Contains a smoke flavoring rather than
  being traditionally smoked

9
Color and Tenderness

• Color- If nitrate is used the meat will take
  on a distinctive red color.
• Tenderness- The type of process will affect the
  tenderness of the meat.
• Examples Jerky the meat is dry and tough
• Ham usually fairly tender

10
Yield

• When meat products are cooked and smoked, some
  water and juices are lost, making the product
  weigh less, thus reducing the products value.
• Moisture- Helps prevent moisture loss during
  cooking and smoking
• Increased Profits- Adds weight to products
  increasing the price of the product.
• Curing- Used to deliver cure ingredients into
  the fresh meat prior to curing.

11
The Curing Process

• Non-Meat Ingredients
• Not meat!!!
• Ingredients
• Increase product yield
• Aid in color, texture or flavor development
• Increase product shelf-life
• Increase process efficiency

12
Water

• One of the most important ingredients
• Why?
• Economically beneficial
• Processing aid
• Allowed 25-30lbs per 100 lbs of meat
• Allowed 3 for fresh sausage
• Functions
• Optimizes Juices
• Optimizes finished costs
• Dissolves ingredients
• Controls Temperature

13
SaltEssential Ingredient

• Functions
• Extracts salt soluble proteins
• Adds flavor
• Improves water binding
• Is Bacteriostatic
• Modern Cures
• Normally contain 1.5 to 3 percent salt
• Country style hams often have more than 17 salt

14
Phosphates

• Functions
• Helps hold water and juices in meat products
• Helps the product from drying out
• Controls pH level
• Helps reduce lipid oxidation
• Modern Cures
• 0.05-0.5 percents in finished product

15
NitriteSodium or Potassium

• Functions
• Acts as a cure that adds color and some flavor
• Bacteriostat- inhibits C. botulinum
• Acts as an antioxidant
• Modern Cures
• Concentrations are 156 ppm in most products
• Concentrations are 120 ppm in bacon
• Commercial cures are 6.25 nitrite and 93.75 salt

16
Cure AcceleratorsSodium Erythorbate and Ascorbate

• Functions
• Accelerates reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide
• Speeds up processing time
• Acts as an antioxidant
• Modern Cures
• Allowed 7/8 ounces per 100 lbs of meat

17
Sweeteners

• Function
• Adds flavor
• Keeps moisture in product
• Enhances browning
• Adds cost to product
• Modern Forms Sweetness
• Cane Sugar 100
• Dextrose 70
• Corn Syrup/Solids 50

18
Spices and Seasonings

• Functions
• Adds Flavoring
• Serves as an Antioxidant
• Adds Color to the product
• Modern Forms
• Are Natural
• Are Soluble (Oils)