Carcass physical and chemical composition of three fat-tailed breeds of sheep

Physical and chemical compositions of carcasses of 73 intact ram lambs of three fat-tailed Iranian breeds; Karakul (K), Mehraban (M) and Baluchi (B) were studied. Lambs were 195 days old at slaughter. Weight of wholesale cuts and bone, fat trim and trimmed meat of each cut were recorded. Moisture, protein, ether extract and ash were determined in each of the deboned cuts. The higher (P < 0·01) proportion of leg and shoulder in K compared with those in the other two breeds was due to a smaller (P < 0·01) tail fat in the former breed. The breeds were not different for weight of wholesale cuts as percentage of tail-free carcases. Tail-free carcass of K lambs had the highest percentage of bone, protein and moisture, and those of M had the highest fat trim and the lowest bone as compared with the other breeds. The small-size Baluchi, which is well adapted to the sub-desert conditions, was the fattest of the breeds, as assessed by its highest ranking for percentage of ether extract in the carcass. On the basis of protein content, the values of M and B tail-free carcasses were 93% and 89% as high, respectively, as that for K. Differences among the breeds for the physical and chemical constituents of wholesale cuts as a percentage of the same component in half carcass without tail were small. On the basis of percentage protein, the values of shoulder, back and flap + neck were 102, 98 and 85% as high, respectively, as that for leg.