Carcass quality and composition, sensory characteristics, and shelf-life evaluation of five goat breed-types fed grain- or grassed-based diets

Abstract

Wether goats from five breed-types, Boer/Spanish, Spanish/Angora, Boer/Angora, Spanish, and Angora, assigned to grain-fed or pasture-fed, and grain-fed Boer/Spanish intact males were used to conduct this study. After slaughter, carcasses were evaluated for conformation and quality, then fabricated into standard bone-in primals. Leg and loin primals were randomly assigned to oven-broiling as steaks or oven-roasting to determine flavor and palatability of goat meat. Grain-fed racks were assigned to one of 12 packaging and storage treatments to determine shelf-life characteristics of goat meat. Shoulders from each breed-type and feeding treatment were formulated into ground goat patties containing 100%, 75%, or 55% goat meat with ground beef to evaluate flavor and texture of ground goat meat. Grain-fed Boer/Spanish goat carcasses had higher (P<0.05) carcass and leg conformation scores, larger (P<0.05) rib-eye areas, and greater (P<0.05) leg circumferences than other grain-fed breed-types. Except for Angora goats, grain-fed carcasses had superior conformation and heavier live and carcass weights. Grain-fed goat carcasses had greater (P<0.05) actual and adjusted fat thickness; higher (P<0.05) marbling, feathering, and flank streaking; and lower (P<0.05) Warner-Bratzler shear values. After 14 days of refrigerated storage and 2 days of retail display, microbial levels were greater (P<0.05) than 6 log₁₀ CFU/cm₂ on all goat racks or displayed steaks. With increased frozen storage, APCs tended to decrease. Lipid oxidation for frozen, vacuum-package rack primals increased (P<0.05) from 3 to 6 months. Retail storage of steaks from frozen goat racks tended to decrease slightly with increased retail display time, indicated by increasing log counts. Goat meat aromatic increased (P<0.05) as percentage of goat meat increased in ground goat patties. Increasing the percentage of goat meat from 55% to 75% increased (P<0.05) musty, grassy/grainy, and gamey aromatics and musty aftertaste. Boer/Spanish grain-fed goat carcasses seem to offer carcass conformation superior to other grain-fed breed-types. Frozen storage is highly recommended for goat meat due to the high rate of microbial spoilage. Increasing lipid oxidation during frozen storage suggested that goat meat be marketed within 3 months of frozen storage. Ground goat patties containing 55% goat meat had lower levels of negative flavor descriptive attributes.