Utilization of the Crust from Dry-aged Beef to Enhance Flavor of Beef Patties

The crust that inevitably forms on dry-aged beef is usually trimmed and discarded before sale. The aim of this study was to explore methods for utilizing this crust in processed meat products. Four sirloins were dry-aged for 28 d at 4℃ (75% relative humidity). The crust obtained from the surface of the sirloins after completion of dry aging was lyophilized. Patties were prepared without added crust (control) or with 5% w/w crust, aerobically packaged, and stored at 4℃ for 7 d. Electronic nose analysis indicated that the volatile profile differed significantly between the patties with and without crust. Compared to the control patties, patties containing crust had higher flavor, tenderness, juiciness, and acceptability scores in a sensory panel evaluation (all p<0.05). In addition, patties with crust were less hard, gummy, and chewy than the control patties after 3 and 7 d of storage (all p<0.05). The number of total aerobic bacteria was higher in raw patties with crust than in the control patties during the storage (p<0.05). However, no pathogens were detected. 2-Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance values of patties containing crust were significantly lower than those of control patties after 2 and 6 d of storage (both p<0.05). Thus, crust from dry-aged beef can enhance the flavor by providing beefy and palatable flavor without a long period of dry aging.