Sex and crossbreed effects on the characteristics of dry-cured ham

The right ham of 76 gilts and 82 barrows from five different crossbreeds, which included Duroc (DU), Landrace (LR), Large White (LW) and Belgian Landrace (BL) lines - DUx(LRxLW), LWx(DUxLW), LWx(LRxLW), BLx(DUxLW) and BLx(LRxLW) - were processed to produce dry cured hams. The external appearance of the hams, and the colour and thickness of the subcutaneous fat were determined. Chemical analyses, appearance, texture, flavour and odour were evaluated on biceps femoris (BF) muscle. The hams from the barrows showed a thicker and whiter layer of subcutaneous fat, higher marbling and lower processing loss than those from gilts. Hams from DU-sired pigs presented the highest marbling, but the worst texture characteristics. The texture characteristics of the hams from the LBx(LRxLW) cross were similar to those of the hams from DU-sired pigs. The hams from the LW-sired crosses showed the highest intensity of holes surrounding the coxo-femoral joint. The LBx(DUxLW) could be the most suitable among the five crosses studied for dry-cured ham production under the processing conditions used in this study.