Pre-rigor temperature and the relationship between lamb tenderisation, free water production, bound water and dry matter

•Lambs were electrically stimulated and changes post rigor measured over time•Shear force, bound water, dry matter reduce, free water increase•Free water increase highly correlated with shear force reduction•These properties were unaffected by pre-rigor temperatures of 4, 7, 15 or 35° C

The M. longissimus from lambs electrically stimulated at 15 min post-mortem were removed after grading, wrapped in polythene film and held at 4 (n = 6), 7 (n = 6), 15 (n = 6, n = 8) and 35 °C (n = 6), until rigor mortis then aged at 15 °C for 0, 4, 24 and 72 h post-rigor. Centrifuged free water increased exponentially, and bound water, dry matter and shear force decreased exponentially over time. Decreases in shear force and increases in free water were closely related (r2 = 0.52) and were unaffected by pre-rigor temperatures.