Characterization of dry aged lamb eating quality at different aging conditions and cooking methods

This study investigated the eating quality of dry aged lamb using four cooking methods. A total of 28 lamb hind legs were selected and assigned randomly into wet aging, dry aging at 80% relative humidity (RH80 dry aging), and dry aging at 60% relative humidity (RH60 dry aging). The samples were aged for 0, 7, 14 days at 4 degrees C and cooked using four cooking methods of hot pot, stir fry, grill, boiling to analyze cooking loss, texture profile, volatile compounds, taste compounds, and sensory characteristics. The tenderness of dry aged lamb was improved from 0 to 14 d except RH80 dry aged lamb for 7 d using stir fry. The lamb in RH80 dry aging for 7 and 14 d had rich aromatic compounds than wet aged lamb. The results of sensory evaluation showed that samples in RH80 dry aging for 7 d was fit for stir fry, boiling, and grill and it was fit for hot pot and grill after aging for 14 d. It can be concluded that the eating quality of RH80 dry aged lamb for 7 and 14 d using four cooking methods was better than RH60 dry aged lamb and wet aged lamb. Practical applications The manuscript describes the eating quality of dry aged lamb using hot pot, stir fry, grill, and boiling cooking methods. The results from this study showed that RH80 dry aged lamb get better meat quality than RH60 dry aged lamb and wet aged lamb in sensory evaluation using four cooking methods, which indicates the potentiality for application of dry aging in Chinese lamb industry.