Effect of thawing rate on distribution of an injected salt and phosphate brine in beef

Striping or streaking is a problem in moisture enhanced meats which are injected to low levels. Research was undertaken to determine brine distribution paths and effect of pre-injection thawing rate on brine distribution. Beef rib eyes and eye of rounds were vacuum packed and aged 7 days at 3 °C, then frozen (−35 °C) for a month, thawed either quickly in water (5 h at 12–17 °C) or slowly in air (48 h at 3 °C), injected to 108–110% using a conventional brine containing blue food colouring, chilled overnight, then cut along four planes and photographed for image analysis of % blue, % marbling, and subjective evaluation of brine distribution paths. There were no significant differences in % blue due to treatment. Brine distribution in both muscles was better parallel to fibers than perpendicular to them. A subset of aged rib eyes was injected to 125%. Although brine was more extensively distributed than at lower injection levels, basic patterns remained unchanged.