Development of a modified dry curing process for beef

The development of a dry curing process using physical treatments to promote the diffusion of the cure ingredients was studied. Vacuum pulsing with and without tumbling, continuous vacuum, and tumbling only treatments were compared with a conventional static dry cure control method on beef M. supraspinatus. Vacuum tumble and tumble only treatments gave highest core salt content after 7 days conditioning (3.3% and 3.1%, respectively). All test treatments resulted in higher colour uniformity and lower % cook loss in comparison to control (P < 0.001). The control and vacuum pulsed samples were tougher (P < 0.001). Vacuum tumble and tumble only treatments gave higher acceptability (P < 0.001). Based on these findings for M. supraspinatus, indicating that the vacuum tumble treatments gave the best results, further testing of this method was conducted using the M. biceps femoris in addition to the M. supraspinatus. Cured beef slices were stored in modified atmosphere packs (MAP) (80%N2:20%CO2) for up to 28 day at 4 °C. Redness (a∗, P < 0.001) decreased over storage time in M. biceps femoris. Vacuum tumble treatment increased (P < 0.05) redness in M. supraspinatus. Results obtained demonstrate the benefits of vacuum tumbling over the other physical treatments as a method for accelerating the dry curing process, producing dry cured beef products with enhanced organoleptic quality and increased yields.