High-Intensity Meat

A few miles west of Wrigley Field on Chicagos north side, one discovers Hot Dougs. This sausage su-perstore made national headlines after being fined for serving Sauternes-infused duck sausage topped with the then-banned foie gras and truffled Dijon mustard. (The ban has since been lifted.)

Foie gras aside, owner Doug Sohn sells sausageand sells it well. Its salt, fat and meat in one little package, and customers crave this flavor combination, he says.

Curing and smoking intensifies these flavors, adding another dimension to one of the oldest food forms around, Sohn says. Sausage has never gone out of style, but of course it helps that we serve more gourmet, upscale en-cased meats.

Sohns sausages, along with other comminuted and emulsified meats such as bologna and salami, as well as select whole meat cuts, including bacon, brisket and ham, use the ancient preservation processes of curing and smoking to develop flavor, texture and a desirable pink to cherry-red hue. These techniques were invaluable in the days before refrigeration. In fact, the word sausage is derived from the Latin word for salted or preserved, salsus. To-day, however, curing and smoking are more about intensifying the sensory experience of eating processed meat.

The magical cure

Curing is a term applied to processed meats containing nitrites, says Tom Katen, senior food scientist, Cargill Texturizing Solutions, Wayzata, MN. This is the process where we blend and inject and/or tumble a solution of common curing ingredients into meat muscles before cooking and smoking.

The term cure refers to both the combination of ingredients and the process, with nitrites being the common in-gredient in most cures. Nitrites produce a reddish color in meat compared to salt, which just gives a grayish color.

Nitrites provide the characteristic color and flavor in cured meat, says Richard Bosch, technical service fellow, ICL Performance Products LP, St. Louis. During curing, the nitrite converts to nitric oxide, which reacts with the meat pigmentmyoglobinto form nitric oxide myoglobin, which is an unstable, deep-red color. After cooking, this unstable pigment changes to nitrosohemochrome, a relatively stable, bright-pink cure color.

Ron Jenkins, application specialist, Red Arrow Products Company LLC, Manitowoc, WI, adds: Nitrite also in-hibits the growth of Clostridium botulinum. Nitrites react and inactivate certain essential iron-sulfur enzymes of the C. botulinum vegetative cell, thus inhibiting growth of this deadly bacterium.

Further, nitrite is effective at controlling oxidation that leads to rancidity, Jenkins continues. It is believed the typical cured flavor is related to the antioxidant activities of the nitrite.

Nitrites can be added directly to the meat via traditional sodium nitrite curing, or they can be added indirectly, which is considered a natural cure. The latter occurs when nitrate-containing ingredients are added to meat and, via bacterial fermentation, are reduced to nitrite.

Many so-called natural meats rely on celery extract and a bacterial culture, says Gene Brotsky, senior techni-cal services, Innophos, Inc., Cranbury, NJ. The celery extractoften simply labeled as natural flavor on ingre-dient statementshas one of the highest levels of naturally occurring sodium nitrate. The culture converts the ni-trates to nitrites, and the meat undergoes a natural cure.

The problem with this, Katen adds, is the inconsistent levels of nitrate and nitrite obtained through this process. It is also important to convert the nitrate to nitrite before it reacts with meat pigments.

Nitrate and nitrite contain a nitrogen atom joined to oxygen atoms, with nitrate containing three oxygen atoms and nitrite containing two. In nature, nitrates are readily converted to nitrites and vice versa.

A number of health concerns surround nitrites. For example, nitrites in the stomach can react with food proteins to form N-nitroso compounds such as nitrosamines. There are also concerns regarding nitrosamines that could form under high temperature and low-pH conditions between meat protein (amines) and nitrites, says Bosch. Some nitrosamines have been shown to be carcinogens in animals. Therefore, products that undergo high-temperature processing, such as ham and bacon, typically use less nitrite. In the United States, the maximum level of nitrite in ham is 200 ppm and in bacon it is 120 ppm.

Other functional components

Cures typically contain salt for preservation and flavor. The salt extracts the meat proteins to provide better wa-ter holding of the meats natural juices, says Katen.

Sugar and spices can contribute flavor and exert a mild preservative effect. White cane sugar is used to mask some of the salt used for flavor and microbial control, says Katen. Other sweeteners often used include corn syrup, corn syrup solids, dextrose and honey. Customers like a balance of salty and sweet in their cured and smoked meats.

Jenkins notes: Cure-accelerating ingredients speed the conversion of nitrite to nitric oxide and result in signifi-cantly less residual nitrite in the finished product. Such ingredients include a number of acidulants (e.g., citric acid, sodium citrate, glucono delta lactone, sodium acid pyrophosphate, fumaric acid) and reductants (e.g., ascor-bic acid, sodium ascorbate, erythorbic acid, sodium erythorbate).

Phosphates are not a necessary part of the cure, but are almost always included, as they work synergistically with nitrite and enhance the meat in a number of ways.

Phosphates serve multiple functions in cured meat, says Bosch. For instance, meat is subjected to much abuse during the production of cured product, followed by further abuse during smoking, freezing and cooking. This results in the loss of moisture, producing a chewier and less-appealing product. Phosphates are used to raise the pH of the meat during processing, which results in muscle relaxation and protein extraction. Both of these make more water-binding sites available within the meat to absorb and to retain moisture.

Phosphates assist with protein binding. Proteinsmainly myosinare extracted and solubilized from meat by phosphates, says Bosch. These proteins are very sticky and can act as a glue to bind pieces of meat together. This is especially important in the manufacture of products such as boneless hams, where sodium tripolyphos-phate (STPP) is usually used, as it is a very cost-effective phosphate.

Some cured and/or smoked meat producers use non-treated water, which can vary in calcium and magnesium concentration, continues Bosch. At levels above 100 ppm, calcium and magnesium can inhibit the effectiveness of STPP by selectively sequestrating to the STPP and preventing if from interacting with the meat. Thus, the use of blends containing sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) addresses this issue by selectively binding to the cal-cium and magnesium ions and allowing the other components in the blend to behave normally.

Blends containing SHMP also help address off-flavors or off-color issues. The SHMP binds selectively with iron and SHMP copper that can catalyze reactions that lead to oxidation or hydrolysis of fats, which leads to off-flavors, says Bosch. These metals also can catalyze reactions that lead to undesirable spotting, graying and striping in cured/smoked meat products.

Innophos offers a blend of food-grade polyphosphate and sodium bicarbonate that was designed to help reduce residual nitrite levels in bacon, reducing the potential to form cancer-causing nitrosamines when bacon is fried. This also results in better color development, Brotsky. It also stabilizes brine solutions so that a high level of nitrite remains available for the curing reaction and to prevent botulism, but the nitrite is then broken down more efficiently during the heat processing while in the smokehouse.

For the consumer, this unique blend results in bacon that spatters less during frying. It also makes it easier to separate vacuum-packed slices, Brotsky adds.

Phosphates can extract and solubilize proteins from meat, leading to more-stable emulsions. This improves the quality of the final product. We have a special sodium phosphate product that has been shown to improve protein binding that stabilizes a hot dog emulsion to achieve over-chop insurance and greater processing flexibility, says Brotsky. Phosphates slacken the emulsion, which allows easier stuffing with fewer air pockets and more-uniform links. Further, it prevents greasing out and produces better bite in the final product.

One lower-pH sodium phosphate blend permits faster cure color development for cooked sausage products made using rapid processing techniques, adds Brotsky. The special phosphate produces a dramatic improvement in moisture retention and protein binding when used in coarse-chop sausage products, such as kielbasa, he says. The result is a cleaner, crisp flavor, improved bite and enhanced mouthfeel.

To lower sodium contents, Brotsky says it is possible to substitute a potassium phosphate blend for sodium phosphates and obtain a similar product, just with lower sodium levels.

Bosch adds: The use level is the same as sodium phosphate. In addition, using any phosphates in the cure has been shown to reduce the sodium levels in cured meats.

Smokin in the house

Like with curing, the original reason why meat was smoked was to provide protection against spoilage, says Jenkins.

Lirong Zhou, food scientist, ICL Performance Products, adds: Most cured meats are also smoked. Smoking is all about flavor development. More than 200 compounds have been identified in wood smoke, such as aldehyde, ke-tones, alcohols, phenols, organic acids, cresols and acyclic hydrocarbons. All compounds contribute to the charac-teristic flavor of smoked meat, as well provide antibacterial and antioxidant properties.

The actual number and type of flavor compounds and resultant smoke flavor profile depends on the type of wood source and the temperature of the smoke-generation or smoke-production process, says Jenkins. Wood flavors include apple, cherry, hickory, maple mesquite, oak and more.

There are two basic methods of smoking: hot smoking and cold smoking. With hot smoking, the meat is both flavored and cooked, while the cold smoking is for flavor only. The term cold smoking is misleading, since, in gen-eral, cold smoking takes place at temperatures that range between 90 and 120°F, which is not enough to cook most foods. Hot smoking uses high-enough temperaturesusually 170 to 250°Fto thoroughly cook the food as it smokes.

With hot smoking, the goal is to slowly roast the meat while it absorbs smoky flavor. Slow, even cooking makes the meat tender and juicy. Hot-smoked meats dont require curing prior to smoking, as the high temperatures cook it before C. botulinum and other organisms multiply.

Hardwoods are best for smoking, as softwoods such as pine, fir, cedar and spruce produce smoke so full of pitch and resin that it gives food a turpentine flavor and coats everything with a black, sticky film.

On the other hand, components of a wood smoke provide a cross-linking of the proteins, which aids in develop-ment of a skin on the smoked protein product, says Jenkins. Further, smoke contains carbonyl compounds that provide color via heat-related reaction with proteins.

Clean-air flavors

Instead of traditional smoking, the industry is moving toward the use of natural smoke condensates, explains Jenkins. Smoke flavors or natural smoke condensates are real smoking. The natural smoke condensates, com-monly known as liquid smoke, originate with the burning of wood sawdust just as is done via traditional smoking processes. The natural smoke condensates are refined versions of traditional smoke.

Smoke flavors provide all the benefits of real smoking without the hazardous components, which include carbon monoxide generation, smokehouse emissions, solid waste, smokehouse cleaning issues, energy expenditures for burning the sawdust and longer smokehouse operation, adds Jenkins.

Smoke flavors can be added to meats in a number of ways. Atomization is when pressurized air vaporizes the aqueous natural smoke condensate and distributes it externally on the surface of meat, says Jenkins. This process provides flavor and color identical to traditional smoking. Another way, drenching is another type of external smoke application. This is when a natural smoke condensate is applied via soaking or showering of the water-soluble solution over the meats surface, he explains. This application format has advantages over atomization, as it is more efficient, less costly and provides a more-consistent natural-smoke condensate distribution and color and flavor impact.

Natural smoke condensates can also be injected into meat. The smoke condensate is neutralized and added with the curing brine via an injection process, says Jenkins. For other applications, the smoke condensate can be de-livered using a food-grade oil base, or it can be dried and plated on a carbohydrate carrier.

Natural smoke condensates generate less loss or rework from under- or over-smoking. They also have better control of flavor, giving a more-consistent product.

Curing and smoking meats in the 21st century is much more about flavor and texture than preservation. The extended shelf-life is an added bonus, one Hot Dougs does not need to worry about based on the long lines that form for three hours straight every Saturday afternoon.

Donna Berry, president of Chicago-based Dairy & Food Communications, Inc., a network of professionals in business-to-business technical and trade communications, has been writing about product development and mar-keting for 13 years. Prior to that, she worked for Kraft Foods in the natural-cheese division. She has a B.S. in food science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She can be reached at [email protected].