Meat paired - what is it?

Not all people know what meat means in pairs. Some believe that this concept is a characteristic of the best and freshest product, and try to acquire it in the first place. But is it true?

Characteristics of steamed meat

The main property of such meat is the highest freshness. According to GOST, it is during the first one and a half hours after the slaughter of the animal. In practice, the time interval during which the product is referred to this thermal stage is somewhat larger, up to four hours.

Meat is characterized by a non-uniform state of fibers, with excessive stress in some places, wateriness is observed. There is no characteristic odor. If you cook it, the broth will turn out muddy.

Meat needs some time to "mature" and go to the category of chilled. The period required for this depends on which animal this meat is. Pork, for example, will reach the required state in about a week. The hen will need only a couple of days. And the beef will ripen in a month.

Ripened meat is different from paired. Its color and muscle structure change, the fibers become softer. Above there is a dried up crust.

Where meat is used

Meat paired is not recommended to fry or cook, it is not suitable for shish kebab. Regardless of the time spent on heat treatment, it will remain stiff and tasteless. Even a long stay in the marinade will not improve the taste. And to find the meat of a dead animal is unlikely to succeed.

But there are some types of products for the production of which meat is used only for slaughtered cattle. These are sausages and sausages, sausages.

One-stage cooling

In order for the meat to mature ripe, but not spoiled, it should be subjected to a cooling procedure. There are several ways. One of the most used is a one-stage cooling.

The procedure involves placing paired meat in a refrigerator with an air temperature equal to zero. Because of this, it takes more time to cool the meat to the desired temperature (minimum day), which leads to an increased percentage of shrinkage. It is not surprising that the weight of paired meat is greater than that of chilled meat, since during ripening, excess water comes out of it. Loss in weight when using this technology can reach 2% (normal). In practice, it can be higher. At large volumes is a significant loss.

With a large production volume, it is necessary to have a sufficient number of cold rooms, which requires additional investment and a place for their placement.

Cooling of paired meat is associated with a uniform coverage of the carcass rather dense crust. With increased humidity, it can become thicker, which harms the product and reduces its storage time.

This method has not only drawbacks, but also a significant advantage. Since cooling takes place gradually for a long time, the muscle mass is in a relaxed state without the risk of contractions.

Two-stage cooling

It is also called shock cooling technology. The cooling of the meat at the first stage takes place in air under conditions of negative temperature. If the flow of meat carcasses that are fixed to the suspension conveyor is constant, then the temperature inside the chamber does not change. To cool carcasses of different livestock, individual temperature conditions are necessary. So for pork, they should be between -6 and -12 degrees. The procedure takes about 2 hours. Beef is cooled at a higher temperature - from -3 to -5, for about 5 hours.

Quick cooling allows minimizing weight loss. Usually they are in the range of 1-1.5%.

In the second stage, the well-cooled meat is placed in the refrigerator for about a day with the temperature inside the chamber about zero.

As a result of the application of this technology, the meat acquires an excellent appearance and a longer shelf life. This is also due to the formation of a very thin crust that is capable of passing oxygen.

If in the market or in a store the seller claims that he is selling meat exactly the same, you should not trust him. This is nothing more than a publicity stunt.