Effects of Salt Concentration and Drying Time on the Quality Characteristics of Pork Jerky during Dehydration

This study was conducted in order to evaluate the effects of brine pre-soaking at different concentrations and drying time on the quality characteristics of pork jerky. The physicochemical properties of pork jerky including final moisture content, water activity (aw), shear force, microstructure, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) values were investigated. The sensory attributes of pork jerky were evaluated and used as parameters for determining the optimum drying condition. The sliced pork samples were pre-soaked at salt concentrations ranging from 0 to 10% for 3 h and then dried at 70oC for up to 10 h. The pre-soaked samples in the salt solution showed higher final moisture content than the control sample after drying for 10 h. The final moisture content of pork jerky increased with increasing salt concentrations. On the other hand, the water activity with regards to the pre-soaked samples in a 10% salt solution showed the lowest value for up to 8 h drying. The shear force values of pork jerky decreased with increasing salt concentration while the TBARS values of the samples increased with increasing salt concentrations. Sensory evaluation suggested that the color, flavor, juiciness, and tenderness of the pork jerky samples were improved by pre-soaking in a 2% salt solution and the highest likeability score of pork jerky among the samples were obtained by pre-soaking in a 2% salt solution prior to drying.