Quality Measurements of Chicken and Turkey Summer Sausages

Summer sausages formulated from 50% mechanically deboned chicken meat and 50% ground beef (50/50 MDCM/Beef), 50% mechanically deboned turkey meat and 50% ground beef (50/50 MDTM/Beef) and from 100% ground beef were tested for their overall quality measurements after storage at two different temperatures (20°C. and 4°C.) subsequent to mellowing for 7 days in a 4°C. cold room. Sausages were examined at 0 time and after 5 days, 10 days, and 15 days and measured for weight loss, shear value, sliceability, pH, shrink, TBA value, and color. Subjective preference taste panel scores by semi-trained members were obtained. Summer sausages were also formulated from meat samples which were in frozen storage for 3 or 6 months and tested similarly as to their acceptance. The loss in weight was higher for the treatments held at 20°C. than at 4°C. and greater during the first 5 days of storage. The overall shrinkage observed was higher in MDCM and MDTM sausages than in the 100% ground beef sausages held at 20°C.; less shrinkage was observed in sausages held at 4°C. Shear values and sliceability scores of MDCM and MDTM increased with length of storage showing an increase in firmness, but this was not observed in the 100% beef sausage treatment. Sausages were found quite acceptable when formulated from meats which had undergone 3 and 6 months of frozen storage. However, TBA numbers of the sausages made from the frozen stored meats were higher than those encountered in the sausages stored as such for 15 days.