Effects of agricultural by-products as smoking fuels on the eating qualities of comminuted beef sausages

Abstract

This study was carried out to assess the effects of alternative smoking fuel on the eating qualities of comminuted beef sausages. The sausages were produced with lean beef (2.5kg), minced, mixed with spices, chopped and stuffed into natural casings. They were five groups of sausages and each group was smoked with one of five fuel types: Sawdust (control, C), corn cobs (CC), groundnut pods (GNP), Soyabean residue (SBR) and rice husk (RH) for one hour, scalded, cooled and stored for assessment two days after production. The attributes assessed were colour, taste, flavour and texture of the smoked sausages. A five–point category scale was used for the evaluation. There were no significance differences among the fuel types for smoky flavour and texture but the colour and taste were significantly affected by the fuel types. The fuel types imparted a desirable brown or yellow colour and a moderate ‘smoky’ flavour in the sausages resulting in a pleasant taste. The alternative fuel exhibited different characteristic during the smoking process but have the potential for use in smoking comminuted beef sausages and could therefore serve as substitutes or supplementary fuel to the use of sawdust. The moistened GNP was observed to produce the best smoke among the fuel types. Key words: Smoking, fuel types, eating quality, beef sausages