Evaluation of the changes in composition of pork chops during cooking

The objective was to determine the change in extractable lipid concentration during cooking of boneless pork chops to different endpoint temperatures. Pork loins (152 total) were used and three consecutive chops were cut from each loin. Chop 1 was evaluated raw (not cooked) for intramuscular fat (IMF) percentage. Raw IMF percentages were used to categorize the remaining two chops, from each loin, into low, average, and high marbling bins. The low bin included ≤3% IMF, the average bin included 3–4% IMF, and the high bin included ≥4% IMF. Chop 2 was cooked to 63 °C and chop 3 was cooked to 71 °C to evaluate cook loss, Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and IMF percentage. When cooked to either 63 or 71 °C, high IMF chops maintained greater (P < 0.001) IMF percentage than average and low IMF chops. Additionally, average IMF chops maintained greater (P < 0.001) IMF percentage than low chops, regardless of endpoint cooking temperature. The three marbling categories did not differ in cook loss (P = 0.28) or WBSF (P = 0.23) when chops were cooked to either 63 or 71 °C. However, both WBSF (2.76 kg) and cook loss (18.72%) were decreased (P < 0.001) in chops cooked to 63 °C compared with chops cooked to 71 °C (3.08 kg, 23.45%). Overall, differences in IMF percentages persisted even after cooking. Furthermore, IMF percentage of pork chops did not affect tenderness.