Influence of cutting methods and heat treatment on selected technological properties and structure of pork longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of cutting methods on the fiber structure and quality attributes of the cooked pork loin muscle. The culinary portions were cut perpendicularly (D, diagonal) or along the muscle fibers (P, parallel). The samples were heated to 72 °C in water bath (85 °C or 95 °C), steam (100 °C), or oven (125 °C or 150 °C). The P samples had a significantly smaller cooking loss (2–4.5%), greater water-holding capacity (3–5%), and lower shear force (0.35–2.2 N) than D samples except for the 100P, whose cooking loss was higher (by 1.9%) than the 100D. Heat-induced structural changes in the muscle, sarcomere shortening, and destruction of the perimysium and endomysium were affected by the cutting methods and cooking conditions. The findings justify the advisability of cutting individual culinary portions from pork loin muscle in parallel to the muscle fibers in order to increase raw meat efficiency.