Abstract

Fourteen male yearling red deer from the same cohort were included in this study. Seven of these animals were fast growing and reached slaughter live weight in late June (fast growing group), while the second group of seven deer did not reach slaughter live weight until early December (slower growing group). All animals were slaughtered according to standard protocol. Carcass composition was determined by computed tomography scanning. Water-holding capacity, meat pH, tenderness and sarcomere length were measured in samples (M. longissimus) at 1 day post slaughter and in samples kept in chilled storage at -1.5 °C for three weeks. Eating quality of the meat was evaluated in consumer preference tests. Slower growing deer were heavier (P = 0.02) and had more fat in the shoulder (P = 0.01) and loin (P = 0.001) cuts than fast growing deer. Meat from fast growing deer had lower pH values (P = 0.01), lower cooking loss (P = 0.04) and longer sarcomere lengths (P = 0.002) than slower growing deer. Consumers judged the flavour of venison from fast growing deer to be best (P = 0.005), although interactions between the sensory attributes and the consumer`s experience of venison affected their assessment.

E, Wiklund, GW Asher, JA Archer, JF Ward, and RP Littlejohn

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 68, Brisbane, Australia, 174-177, 2008