Characterization of Minced Meat Extracted from Blue Crab Picking Plant By-Products

Blue crab meat was mechanically extracted from picking-room byproducts to produce the following minced meat yields: 3.18%, white; 10.71%, mixed; 6.39%, claw, and 2.62%, leg. Each meat had distinct visual, textural, and flavor attributes. Aerobic plate counts of unpasteurized minced meat ranged from 10⁵ to 10⁷ CFU/g. Extraction within 1.5 hours of picking or icing of by-products prior to mechanical extraction stabilized microbial levels. Meat pasteurized at 80.6°C darkened or blued significantly less than meat processed at 83.3°C. Addition of citric acid-phosphate buffer to meat pasteurized at 80.6°C further reduced darkening of meats.