Performance of Defatted Peanut, Soybean and Field Pea Meals as Extenders in Ground Beef Patties

Defatted and steam‐heated peanut, soybean and field pea meals were used to replace 5, 10 and 15% of the meat in ground beef patties. Extended patties were compared to all‐beef control patties for differences in cooking losses, water and fat retention, protein content, specific volume, compression, shear, color, and sensory quality attributes. Extended patties had lower cooking losses and higher cooked yields than all‐beef patties. They had high water‐retention properties but were variable in fat retention. Protein content of peanut and soybean‐extended patties was significantly higher and field pea patties lower than all‐beef controls in the uncooked products. Extended patties had similar specific volumes to all‐beef controls but required less force to compress and shear. Field pea meal used at 10 and 15% replacement levels produced the most significant color changes in cooked patties. Sensory qualities were influenced to a greater degree by meal concentration than type of meal. In general, meals at levels higher than 5% caused adverse changes in sensory quality.