Effect of pelvic suspension and cooking method on the processing and sensory properties of hams prepared from two pork muscles

The effect of two hanging methods (Achilles and aitch-bone) and two cooking methods (normal and Delta-T (ΔT)) on the quality of cooked hams produced from two muscles, M. semimembranosus (topside) and M. biceps femoris (silverside) was examined. Pork sides were hung by the Achilles tendon (conventional) or the aitch-bone (pelvic suspension) 1 h post-slaughter and chilled for 24 h at 1 °C. The hams were steam-cooked using a 'normal' cooking cycle (cooked at 85 °C to a core temperature of 72 °C) or a 'ΔT' cycle (maintaining a constant difference, of 35 °C, between oven and core temperatures until the oven reaches 85 °C, whereupon the core is allowed to come up to 72 °C). Pelvic suspension increased (P ⩽ 0.01) the brine uptake of silverside hams, by 2.6%, but not of topside. The ΔT cooking method had a significant effect (P ⩽ 0.05) for both muscles, reducing cook losses by 2.3% units in the topside hams and 3.3% in the silverside hams, compared to the normal continuous cook. Pelvic suspension resulted in slightly (P ⩽ 0.05) more tender and juicy hams from silverside but not from topside. Both hanging method (Achilles and Aitch-bone) and cooking method (normal and ΔT) affected silverside ham more than topside ham. The overall result was that a combination of pelvic suspension and ΔT cooking had a positive effect on the quality of cooked hams, particularly hams produced from the silverside.