Impact of varying thickness in the size of meat cuts on volatile compounds and sensory attributes of Tsire, a Nigerian grilled stick meat product

Tsire is a popular Nigerian stick meat commonly produced by grilling of sliced and spiced beef meat that have been hanged on tips of sharpened sticks. In this study, tsire was produced with thickness of meat cuts of 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25 and 1.5 mm, with the objective of assessing the impact of varying thickness in the size of meat cuts on volatile compounds and sensory attributes of the product. Solid phase mass extraction gas chromatography – mass spectrometry analysis showed identification of 89 volatile compounds belonging to different classes of ketones, acids, alcohols, esters, aromatic/cyclic hydrocarbons, alkanes/alkenes, nitrogeneous compounds, aldehydes and furans. Concentrations of the volatiles increased with increase in thickness of the size of meat cuts. Some of the major volatile compounds in the product were acetone, 2-butanone, 3-methyl-1-butanol and 2,3-butanedione, which had highest concentrations (μg/g) of 4629, 1543, 1200 and 423, respectively in the 0.5 mm tsire sample. Sensory evaluation of the stick meat indicated that consumers had better preference for the 0.5 and 0.75 mm tsire samples than others in the attributes of aroma and appearance. In contrast, the 1.25 and 1.5 mm samples recorded better preference in the attributes of tenderness, taste and acceptability than others. It was concluded that optimal concentrations of the major volatile compounds occurred in the 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 mm tsire samples; this therefore may give the thickness sizes advantage over the 1.25 and 1.5 mm meat cuts. Variation however occurred in consumers’ preference for sensory attributes of the meat samples. This is the first report on the effect of varying thickness in the size of meat cuts on volatile compounds and sensory attributes of the stick meat product tsire.Keywords: Tsire; grilling, volatile compounds, thickness in sizes, sensory attribute