Impact of Combining Tumbling and Sous-Vide Cooking Processes on the Tenderness, Cooking Losses and Colour of Bovine Meat

This study investigated the effect of combining tumbling and sous-vide cooking processes on the tenderness, cooking losses and colour of bovine Semitendinosus (ST) muscles sampled from Charolais-breed cows. Half of the ST muscles were tumbled for 12 h with a compression rate of 40%. All muscle samples, whether tumbled or not, were then sous-vide cooked at 50 degrees C, 60 degrees C or 80 degrees C for 1 h or 4 h. After cooking, we measured the shear forces (SF), cooking losses, total water content and the main colour characteristics of pre-tumbled and non-tumbled meat pieces. Pre-tumbled meat pieces had 20% lower SF values than non-tumbled meat pieces, regardless of the cooking conditions applied. All meat pieces cooked at 50 degrees C had significantly higher (p < 0.05) SF values and lower (p < 0.05) cooking losses than meat pieces cooked at 60 degrees C or 80 degrees C. Pre-tumbled meat pieces showed significantly lower cooking losses (p < 0.001) than non-tumbled meat pieces. Applying the tumbling process before cooking led to an increase in meat colour lightness values (p < 0.001), and the colour parameters were significantly affected (p < 0.05) by temperature, cooking time, and temperature x cooking time interaction. Combining a 12-h tumbling process with cooking at 60 degrees C appears to provide the best compromise between increasing meat tenderness and limiting cooking losses.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of combining tumbling and sous-vide cooking on the tenderness, cooking losses, and color of bovine Semitendinosus muscles. Tumbling pre-treatment resulted in lower shear forces and cooking losses. Cooking at 60 degrees Celsius showed the best compromise between tenderness and cooking losses.