Meat quality of designated South African indigenous goat and sheep breeds

Carcass composition, proximate meat composition, fatty acid composition and sensory characteristics of two breeds of goats, Indigenous (n=12) and Boer goats (n=12), and two breeds of sheep, Damara (n=12) and Dorper (n=12), on extensive pasture-grazing, were analysed. The right side of each carcass was processed into wholesale cuts and dissected into subcutaneous fat, meat and bone. Meat and fat were minced together and sampled for proximate analysis as well as fatty acid profiles. The remaining minced meat was formed into meat patties, which were cooked for descriptive sensory evaluation of aroma, tenderness, juiciness and flavour characteristics by a trained panel. Goat and sheep breeds had different meat qualities. The composition and properties of subcutaneous and intramuscular fat contributed to the differences in meat quality observed within and between the species studied. Goats had proportionally smaller carcasses. Sheep yielded more dissectable fat and lean and less bone as a percentage of carcass weight than goat breeds, although the proportional lean content per cut of Boer goats was comparable to that of sheep. The percentage of bone was highest for Indigenous goats. Concentrations of saturated fatty acids were higher in goats compared to sheep. Sheep patties were more tender, juicy, greasy and less chewy compared to goat patties. The species related goaty and muttony flavour were clearly distinguishable. It is recommended that goats should be valued as a different species compared to sheep.