Qualities of Meat

Meat Quality is defined by the compositional quality (lean to fat ratio) and the palatability (appearance, juiciness, tenderness, and flavor).

Appearance

The visual identification of quality meat is based on color, marbling and waterholding capacity.  The meat should have a normal color that is uniform throughout the entire cut.  It should also have marbling throughout the meat.  Marbling is small streaks of fat that are found within the muscle and can be seen in the meat cut.  The marbling will increase the juiciness, tenderness and flavor the the product.   Waterholding capacity can be witnessed by looking at the package, if excess water is found in the bottom of the retail package, it may lead to a dry cooked product.   The cut should hold water within the meat to add to juiciness.

Juiciness

Juiciness depends on the amount of water retained in a cooked meat product. Juiciness increases flavor, helps soften meat - making it easier to chew, and stimulates saliva production in the mouth.

Water retention and lipid content determine juiciness. Marbling and fat around edges helps hold in water. Water losses are from evaporation and drip losses. Meat aging can increase water retention and therefore increases juiciness. Using proper cooking methods, such as cooking slowly and/or with moist heat, can increase juiciness. Cooking past medium can also dry out meat. The best way to increase the juiciness of the meat being prepared is to learn the best cooking method.

Tenderness

Tenderness can be attributed to a person's perception of meat, such as:
Softness to tongue and cheek
Resistance to tooth pressure
Ease of fragmentation
Mealiness (if it breaks up too much in the mouth)
Adhesion (if it clumps together in the mouth)
Residue after chewing

Tenderness has been linked to several factors, such as the animal's age, sex or the muscle location.  As an animal matures the connective tissue in the muscle gets thicker, therefore the products of older animals will not be as tender as the products from younger animals.  Males tend to have more connective tissue than females and the muscle that are used more (i.e. the leg muscles) will also have more connective tissue.   Young, rapid growing animals on a high quality diet will be the most tender.

Another factor is the state of the meat while being harvested has dramatic effects on tenderness.  If temperatures are too cold, the muscle fibers will shorten or shrink.   This effect is called cold shortening and it make meat tough. 

One important way to tenderize meat is by aging. Meat is aged by holding it at refrigeration temperatures for 2 to 4 weeks which allows enzymes within the meat to break down the muscle and connective tissue which makes the meat more tender.

Flavor

Flavor and aroma are intertwined to create the sensation the consumer has during eating.  These perceptions rely on the smell through the nose and on the sensations of salty, sweet, sour and bitter on the tongue.

Meat flavor is affected by many different things.  A major portion of flavor is believed to be due to the breakdown products of ATP or energy.  This phenomenon leads to a stronger flavor in energy storing muscles than in other muscles.  This is also part of the changes in flavor attributed to aging, where certain molecules in the product are being destroyed over time.  

Flavor is also attributed to many of the water soluble components of the muscle. These components are held in by water retention during cooking. Also sulfur and nitrogen compounds in the product will lead to a slightly different flavor.

Each species will have a slightly different flavor which can be traced to the fat within the muscle.  Animals with different uses and different diets will deposit fat that contains different products.  The fat melts during cooking and gives each species it's own distinctive flavor.

Changing cooking methods can also affect the flavor of the meat.  Dry heat cooking will change the flavor on the outer portions of the product, while wet cooking will change more of the inner tissue taste.  Reheated products also have a distinctive flavor that is usually unappealing.  This distasteful flavor is caused by changes to the meat components during refrigeration.  Smoked and cured products will also have a distinctive flavor.

To Learn More

Natural Hub - An excellent source of information about meat tenderness.

Meat Color - Information about meat color with many helpful pictures from Montana State University and University of Saskatchewan.