Abstract
The focus of this study was to introduce a shelf-stable meat snack, known as Patsey, as a value-added product to help reduce malnutrition among the populace. Patsey is a newly developed meat snack prepared mainly from beef muscle and preserved using honey and lemon juice. The objectives were to assess the quality of the product by evaluating the physicochemical properties, proximate composition, and lipid profile of fresh beef, as well as to determine the microbial load and palatability of the Patsey products. Ten (10) kilograms of fresh White Fulani beef muscles (Semimembranosus) were obtained from the College Teaching and Research Farm and processed into four treatments: oven-dried with spices (T1), fried with spices (T2), oven-dried without spices (T3), and fried without spices (T4). The meat was cut into rectangular strips measuring 2 cm by 10 cm. All samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties, proximate composition, lipid profile, microbial load, and sensory attributes using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Fresh beef contained 21.58% protein, 7.87% fat, and 63 mg/100 g of cholesterol. Treatment T2 (fried with spices) recorded significantly higher (P < 0.05) protein content (43.01%) and the lowest lipid oxidation value (TBA = 0.04), while T3 (oven-dried without spices) retained the highest moisture content (48.06%) but had significantly higher fat and cholesterol levels. Fried samples (T2 and T4) showed lower microbial load, and sensory evaluation rated T2 as the most acceptable in taste, tenderness, and overall appeal. Thus, T2 was identified as the most desirable Patsey product.
Keywords: Patsey beefmeat, semimembranous, spices, quality characteristics