Nutritional and quality characteristics of meat from goats and lambs finished under identical dietary regime

This experiment was conducted to compare the chemical composition and quality characteristics of chevon and lamb from animals raised under similar conditions. Crossbred goats (n = 16) and lambs (n = 16) raised under the same management conditions were slaughtered using standard procedures. After 24 h of cooler storage (2 °C), each carcass was fabricated into primal cuts. The loin chops (2.5-cm thick) from the left side were allotted for determination of cooking loss and Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) values, and the chops from the right side were used to measure fresh meat color (CIE L* a* b* values). Subsequently, the Longissimus muscle (LM) and subcutaneous fat were excised from the right side chops to determine metmyoglobin percentages, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), proximate compositions, and fatty acid profiles. No differences (P > 0.05) were found in moisture, protein, and fat percentages between the LM of goats and lambs. However, the ash content in the LM of goats (1.73%) was higher (P < 0.05) than that of lambs (1.17%). Compared to lambs, goats had higher (P < 0.05) levels of palmitic (16.8% versus 21.6%), palmitoleic (2.91% versus 4.09%), and oleic (31.3% versus 36.6%) acids and a lower (P < 0.05) level of stearic acid (24.7% versus 20.0%) in the LM. Goats also had a higher (P < 0.05) level of tridecanoic acid (0.33% versus 0.93%) and a lower (P < 0.05) level of margaric acid (1.36% versus 1.20%) in subcutaneous fat compared to lambs. The a* values (redness) of lamb chops were higher (P < 0.05) compared with chevon chops. Percent metmyoglobin, TBARS, and cooking loss were not different (P > 0.05) between chevon and lamb chops. The WBSF values were lower (P < 0.05) in lamb chops compared with chevon chops. The results indicated that chevon has a healthier fatty acid composition compared to lamb, since it had lower levels of hypercholesteremic fatty acids and higher levels of unsaturated fatty acids. However, lamb may have better color and tenderness properties than chevon.