321: Functionality of Various Binding Agents in Boudin Made From Cold-Smoked Salmon Trimmings

Introduction

Smoked salmon processors produce significant amounts of trimmings as byproducts of smoked salmon production that typically go to landfills. These trimmings are high in protein, unsaturated fats, and salt. This makes them nutritionally rich, but difficult to incorporate into food products without separating the components. The trimmings may be fully utilized to replace pork in a boudin sausage that also traditionally contains rice, vegetables, and seasonings. The goal of this study was to evaluate the functionality of various binding agents without major allergens in boudin made from cold-smoked salmon trimmings.

Methods

Boudin was prepared by mixing ground cold-smoked salmon (Salmo salar) trimmings and seasonings for 10 min, followed by the addition of vegetables, water, and binder with mixing for 5 min. Binders (carrot fiber (CF), cornstarch (CS), or flaxseed meal (FM)) were mixed into separate batches at 3.1% w/w. The control boudin contained no binder. Cooked rice was then added and everything mixed for 5 min. The mixture was stuffed into hog casings (~100 g/sausage). Sausages were steam-cooked for 12 min prior to cold storage. The binders were tested for oil binding capacity (OBC) and water holding capacity (WHC). Boudin analyses included cook loss, OBC, WHC, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and color.

Results

For binder OBC (g/g), all samples had significantly different values with CF being highest (2.76±0.06), followed by FM (1.12±0.72), and CS (0.58±0.06). Binders also had differences in WHC (g/g) (P < 0.05), where values were 9.28±0.87, 2.92±0.16, and 0.49±0.20 for CF, FM, and CS, respectively. Cook losses of boudin containing CF (7.83±3.06%) or CS (6.53±3.27%) were significantly lower than the one containing FM (9.63±1.49%) and the control (17.48±3.95%). Regarding color, boudin containing FM had more blueness (lower b* value) than the control, but all other L*a*b* values were comparable between sausages. OBC, WBC, and WBSF values for the boudins were all similar.

Significance

This study outlines a method to fully upcycle smoked salmon byproducts, which has been difficult previously due to their high fat and salt contents. Utilization of CS as a cost-effective and allergen-friendly binding agent in smoked salmon boudin can significantly reduce cook loss during processing.

Authors: Zoë Carmac, Greg Bolton, Alona Chepiha, Dana Hanson, Fernanda Santos, Bruno Pittella, Alexander Chouljenko