The Differences in Chemical Composition, Physical Quality Traits and Nutritional Values of Horse Meat as Affected by Various Retail Cut Types

The effects of retail cut type on chemical, quality and nutritional characteristics of horse meat were studied. Jeju female breed horses (n = 9) at 32-mo-old were slaughtered and the carcasses at 24 h post-mortem were fabricated into 10 retail cuts including: tender-loin, loin, strip-loin, shoulder-chuck-roll, shoulder-clod, top-round, outside-round, brisket, short-plate-brisket, and shank. The results revealed that all of parameters (chemical, meat quality and nutritional composition) examined significantly (p<0.05) differed between the cuts. The chemical composition range (minimum to maximum) of cuts was found as such: moisture 65.06% to 71.69%; protein 19.07% to 21.28%; collagen 1.40% to 2.45%; fat 2.56% to 12.14% and cholesterol 55.76 to 79.50 mg/100 g. Shoulder-chuck-roll had the highest pH and water-holding capacity, while top-round had the highest cooking loss. Shear force ranged between the cuts from 2.80 kg/cm(2) to 4.98 kg/cm(2). The Cu, Fe, and Zn contents ranged between the cuts from 1.52 mg/kg to 2.75 mg/kg, 21.25 mg/kg to 30.85 mg/kg, and 16.51 mg/kg to 40.42 mg/kg, respectively. Additionally, most of the cuts studied showed favorable polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid, n-3/n-6 and essential amino acid/non-essential amino acid ratios.