Relationship of Hot-Processing and Method of Forming with Quality of Whole Hog Sausage Patties

Two crossbred sows (ca. 160 kg) were slaughtered for each of two replications of an experiment designed to determine the effect of hot-processing and method of patty-forming on the quality of whole hog sausage. One side from each carcass was randomly selected for either hot-processing or cold-processing (control). For each replication, two sides per processing treatment were hand-deboned and the meat ground through a 9.5-mm plate, seasoned, then reground through a 3.2-mm plate and subdivided into two batches. One batch was stuffed into 7.6-cm diameter casings, frozen, tempered and sliced into patties (Stuffed/Sliced), whereas the remaining batch was formed into the same size patties using a Versaform forming machine (model VF 20). Patties were placed in styrofoam trays, overwrapped with PVC film, sealed in wax-lined boxes, and stored at -10°C until analyzed. Hot-processed patties had greater bind, lower shear values and less expressible free water (higher water-holding capacity) than cold-processed patties. Formed patties had less free water than Stuffed/Sliced patties. Micro-textural properties were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The micro-texture was slightly different for patties from the various treatments.