2.4.2 Drip and cooking loss
For measuring drip loss, a slice of LT (about 20 g) was weighed. Each sample was then placed in sealed polyethylene plastic bags and stored in a chiller at 4 °C for 1 day and 7 days post mortem, after which they were removed from the bags, gently blotted, and re-weighed. The drip loss was expressed as a percentage of the weight change (Honikel, 1998). For cooking loss, a slice of LT muscle (about 30 g) was placed in a thin-walled polyethylene bag and vacuum-packed. Then the bag was completely immersed in a water bath (80 °C) for 30 min. Stainless steel rods were put in the bottom of the bag to keep all the meat immersed in the bath. Then the bag was put in running tap water (20 °C) for 40 min after which the meat was taken from the bag, dried and reweighed. The difference from the initial weight was obtained and divided by the original weight to give cooking loss (Honikel, 1998).
2.4.3 Shear force
The meat tenderness of LT muscle was objectively measured by Volodkevich bite jaw shear force test based on the mechanical force required to shear the muscle fibers of a cooked meat sample. The textural assessment of cooked meat tenderness was carried out using the TA.HD plus® texture analyzer (Stable Micro System, Surrey, UK). The entire sample preparation was carried out according to the procedures described by Sazili et al. (2005). Muscle chops for shear force determination were thawed overnight at 4 °C. Chops were cooked to an internal temperature of 78 °C, and cooking was maintained for a further 10 min before cooling them overnight at 4 °C. At least, 3 blocks (1 cm height, 1 cm width and 2 cm length) were removed from each cooked sample following as close to the longitudinal orientation of the muscle fibers as possible, and sheared in the center across the muscle fibers.