Utilization of fababean protein-stabilized structured emulsions in the replacement of animal fat in beef burgers

Processed meat, such as burgers are rich in animal fat which contribute significantly towards many structural and sensory properties. In this work, hybrid beef burger was developed by replacing the animal fat with fababean protein-stabilized O/W emulsions. To create a stable structured emulsions 80wt% coconut oil (CNO) was mixed with canola oil (CO). The molten oil phase (50wt%) was emulsified with 10wt% fababean protein concentrate dispersion in an industrial food processor. The hot emulsion was cooled in an ice bath while constant mixing until the temperature reached 10ºC and the emulsion transformed into a strong viscoelastic gel. The emulsion was then mixed with lean beef meat and in a bowl chopper and a grinder at 4ºC to prepare the ground meat, which was then used to prepare the burger patties using a patty maker. The animal fat control burgers contained 20% beef fat, which was fully replaced with the emulsions. A reduced beef fat burger was also made with fat content similar to the hybrid burger. The hardness of the CNO emulsion hybrid burgers were lower than the control full-fat and reduced-fat burgers, but they were significantly better than the 100% CO emulsion burger, indicating the importance of structured fat on burger structure. Interestingly, both the CNO and CO emulsion hybrid burgers showed the highest cook yield compared to the control burgers. The Warner-Bratzler shear force values of the hybrid CNO burgers were lower than the full-fat control burger, while they were similar to the reduced-fat burgers. No difference in external and interior color and size of the cooked burgers were observed among the various treatments indicating the success in replacing animal fat from beef burgers with plant protein based CNO emulsion. Such novel product could not only reduce fat but also improve the lipid profile of meat.