Tenderness and flavor of leg cuts from meat goats influenced by calcium chloride injection

This study was conducted to assess the potential of improving tenderness of chevon using calcium chloride (CaCl₂) injection and its effect on the palatability characteristics of chevon. Primal leg cuts from meat goats were allotted to one of four treatments: either no injection (control) or injection with water, CaCl₂ (food grade, 2.2% w/v), or CaCl₂ plus a spice mix. The CaCl₂ injection improved tenderness of goat leg cuts, proven by Warner–Bratzler shear force values and sensory panels. Furthermore, panelists were not able to detect off-flavor problems associated with CaCl₂ injection. When CaCl₂ was injected into goat leg cuts with the beef spice mixture, it resulted in a more desirable flavor. Calcium injection did not influence flavor volatile compounds in cooked chevon leg cuts. The results indicate that CaCl₂ plus spice mix injection can be applied to improve tenderness of goat meat without detrimental effects on other sensory characteristics.