Physical and sensory properties of burgers affected by different dry ageing time of beef neck

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dry ageing on the yield and physical quality indicators of beef neck and to determine the sensory characteristics of burgers. Neck meat from castrated male Angus steers weighing 600 kg and 22 months old was used for the study. Neck samples (N = 12) were hung for 7 days (group Z-7) and 21 days (group Z-21) in a dry ageing chamber at a temperature of 2 °C ± 1 °C and a relative humidity of 77 % ± 3 %. Weight and pH of the meat were measured at the beginning and end of the ageing period. After ageing, the neck was dissected into muscle, subcutaneous and intermuscular fat, bone, and remaining parts. Burgers were prepared from the ground neck meat (73.9%) and fat (24.6%) to which 1.2% sea salt and 0.3% ground black pepper were added. The burgers (average weight 150 g) were then heat treated in a steam convection oven at a temperature of 230°C until an internal temperature of 64°C was reached. After heat treatment, the burgers were weighed again to calculate cooking weight loss and their diameter was measured in two perpendicular dimensions to calculate surface area reduction. Quantitative descriptive analysis and likability test were performed with nine trained sensory assessors in the sensory laboratory. The study revealed no significant differences in the proportions of each tissue obtained during dissection. The necks from group Z-21 had significantly higher pH (6.16) and weight loss (12.23%) at the end of dry aging. Significantly lower cooking loss was observed in group Z-21 (26.52%) compared to group Z-7 (31.31%), but no significant difference was observed in the reduction of the surface area of the burger. The descriptive sensory attributes and likeability traits of the burgers were not significantly different between groups Z-7 and Z-21. In view of this, it is considered that a shorter maturation period of beef necks should be used for the production of burgers.