Ground spices to stabilise lamb burgers made of lower- or higher-value carcass cuts

The effect of adding powdered spices (sage, garlic or clove) on the pH, cooking yield (CY), cooking loss (CL), diameter reduction (DR), shear force (SF), colour coordinates, microbial concentration and lipid oxidation (LO) in two types of lamb burger (made with leg (L) or with leg + neck + breast meat (LNB)) was assessed over a 6-day period. The addition of powdered spices (sage, garlic or clove) did not affect the physico-chemical parameters or the microorganism count. LO values increased (P < 0.001) in burgers spiced with garlic or non-spiced (control) burgers in both formulations (L and LNB). However, sage or clove stabilised LO values during the storage period. In general, L burgers presented higher CY but lower CL, DR, SF and colour-coordinate values than did LNB burgers. Types of lamb burger (L or LNB) affected the total viable count at 6 days of storage (P < 0.001) and Pseudomonas spp. at 0 and 3 days of storage (P < 0.001), with L samples showing higher values than the LNB ones. LO did not vary with the type of meat used.