Effect of whey protein concentrate and sodium chloride addition plus tumbling procedures on technological parameters, physical properties and visual appearance of sous vide cooked beef

Beef muscles cooked by the sous vide system were evaluated for the effects of pre-injection tumbling, brine addition and post-injection tumbling on technological parameters, physical properties, visual appearance and tissue microstructure. The muscles were injected at 120% (over original weight) with a brine formulated to give a concentration of 3.5% whey protein concentrate and 0.7% sodium chloride on an injected raw product basis. Pre-injection tumbling did not affect most of the evaluated parameters. Brine addition reduced significantly the cooking and total weight losses. Total weight loss was 7.2% for injected muscles, and significantly higher (28.2%) for non-injected ones. Brine incorporation increased pH and reduced shear force values of cooked muscles. Extended post-injection tumbling (5 rpm–10 h) improved brine distribution and visual appearance, and also diminished the shear force values of cooked muscles. However, this treatment increased the weight losses of post-injection tumbling and cooking-pasteurization stages.