Purpose: Quantify thermal destruction of ECOH and STEC in mechanically tenderized veal cutlets following cooking on an electric skillet.
Methods: For each of five trials, flattened veal cutlets (ca. 71.6 g, ca. 1/8 inch thick) were surface inoculated with ca. 6.8 log CFU/g of multi-strain cocktails of ECOH or STEC and mechanically tenderized by passing once through a “Sir Steak” tenderizer. For each cooking time, in each trial, three inoculated and tenderized cutlets were individually cooked for 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, or 2.25 min per side on a skillet set at 191.5°C. Canola oil (ca. 15 ml) was added onto the skillet prior to cooking, and the temperatures of the meat and of the skillet were monitored and recorded using a Type J thermocouple.
Results: With longer the cooking time, higher internal temperature of the meat was achieved, along with greater reduction of ECOH and STEC. The mean final internal temperature of the meat ranged from 60.5 to 89.2°C. Microbial reductions of ca. 1.9 to 6.3 log CFU/g and ca. 2.7 to 6.1 log CFU/g were achieved for ECOH and STEC, respectively.
Significance: To deliver a 5.0-log reduction of ECOH or STEC, and to achieve the recommended internal temperature of 71.1°C, it would be necessary to cook mechanically tenderized veal cutlets on a pre-heated skillet set at ca. 191.5°C and containing 15 ml of cooking oil for at least 2.25 min per side.