Heat-and-Eat Meat

Marinated meats, often described as enhanced or containing a solution, can help tenderize lean meats to avoid “dry gulping,” says Tom Katen, technical services specialist, Cargill Texturizing Solutions, Wayzata, MN, “where the meat moisture does not stay with the meat during chewing.”

Marinade use depends on the size of the cut, notes Chris Kelly, director of technical services, Advanced Food Systems Inc., Somerset, NJ. “Larger cuts will be injected, while smaller cuts are tumbled,” he says. “Further, the marinade must be designed not to purge when reheated and dilute the sauce or adversely affect other components in the meal, such as vegetables or pasta.”

A topical sealant system can help maintain the quality of such high-moisture components of heat-and-eat entrées. “Basically, quick-frozen vegetables or meat pieces are tossed in the coating,” says Kelly. “Based on the desired usage, we offer dry and wet versions, both of which absorb free moisture and create a glaze.” The coating ingredient can be seasoned and flavored. For example, a butter-flavored liquid sealant can create a glaze around sliced carrots packaged with a heat-and-eat pot roast. He suggests “it is typically best to prepare each component separately and combine them under chilled conditions” when manufacturing multi-component, heat-and-eat meals, such as those that contain meat, gravy and vegetables.

“Meat entrées with sauce will look very unappealing and unappetizing when the sauce loses its integrity when reheated,” says Mar Nieto, senior principal scientist, TIC Gums Inc., Belcamp, MD. “Thinning and separation of oil from the sauce are common problems that can be prevented by the proper choice and use of gum stabilizers.

“Sauce will also cling better if gum thickener is used,” continues Nieto. “Refrigeration and freezing aggravate the separation and syneresis; therefore, gums that do not retrograde or lose water-binding when frozen need to be used. This includes xanthan, guar, carboxymethyl cellulose, lambda carrageenan, konjac, or a combination thereof.” He notes that specially designed gum systems solve issues with cook-chill or sous vide meats, and meat entrées with sauce.

Salt plays a critical role in meat marinades. “Salt extracts salt-soluble proteins, which bind moisture and increase water-holding capacity, resulting in a moist and juicy product,” says Linda Kragt, technical services manager, Morton Salt, Chicago. “Dendritic salt is popular in marinades. This fine-grained salt has a lot of surface area, so it dissolves rapidly.

“Some customers have a specified time in which the marinade ingredients have to dissolve, so use of a fast-dissolving salt, such as dendritic, can save on labor costs,” continues Kragt.

Building in flavor and appearance

“As the local, organic and natural trend continues to increase in the United States, so will the trend of grass-fed cattle,” says Susan Parker, creative flavorist, Kraft Food Ingredients, Memphis, TN. “Grass-fed cattle often has grassy off-notes vs. prime, corn-fed beef. Our patented product allows our customers to use grass-fed beef without sacrificing the authentic savory beef flavor of a prime cut.”

The natural flavor also delivers juicy, meaty and rare notes to other beef applications, notes Parker, and can offset warmed-over and “livery-grassy” notes found in lower grades of beef.

Pan-dripping flavors “add slow-roasted flavor with a single ingredient,” says Steve Williams, associate director of research and development, cheese and flavors, Kraft Food Ingredients. “Plus, food-product developers can achieve health-and-wellness formula objectives without sacrificing fatty flavor attributes.”

Besides providing flavor, smoke flavors give some antioxidant protection “through the phenolic content of the liquid smoke,” says Ron Jenkins, application specialist, Red Arrow Products Company, Manitowoc, WI. “Depending on the nature of the product, our natural smoke products can be applied either externally, or neutralized for internal applications.” Other flavors add grill, roast, char, fried, sautéed or caramelized notes.

One “freshness technology,” notes Ratz, “inhibits oxidation, stabilizes seasonings, preserves spice notes, potentiates savory notes, masks soy and is great at reducing that warmed-over flavor that’s often an issue for precooked meats.”

Above all, remember RTE meats “must perform during the first cook cycle at the manufacturing facility and when they are warmed up in consumers’ kitchens,” says Kelly. “In addition, they must be effectively packaged to withstand distribution and storage conditions.”

Donna Berry, president of Chicago-based Dairy & Food Communications, Inc., a network of professionals in business-to-business technical and trade communications, has been writing about product development and marketing for 13 years. Prior to that, she worked for Kraft Foods in the natural-cheese division. She has a B.S. in food science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She can be reached at donnaberry@dairy-food.com.