Development of a Low-fat, Cold Bound Restructured Lamp Chop Suitable for Broiling
02-3-054 || Vance, Robert
Consumers of meat generally look for products that are lean, palatable and convenient to prepare. Recent increases in US poultry, pork and beef consumption have been attributed to the development of new products that are better portioned, easy to prepare and have a unique taste characteristics. Lamb consumption in the US, on the other hand, has been on the decline. Reasons for this include perceived poor palatability, variability in portion size and difficulty of preparation. Recognizing these problems, California sheep producers are interested in the development of lamb products that are low fat, consistent in size and eating quality, easy to prepare, and can be competitively priced. Lamb shoulder is a low value commodity that can be used to produce such products. Lamb shoulder meat, boned and trimmed of all external and seam fat, will be combined with seasoning and a commercial cold meat binding material to produce a restructured chop of uniform composition that can be portion sized and cooked quickly on a broiler or grill. Finished product acceptability will be evaluated via consumer taste-testing. Successful production could provide American consumers with a lamb alternative to other similarly produced meat products.
