RESUMO
In two separate experiments, carcasses of intact Kikoâ¯×â¯Boer male kids were assigned randomly to tension treatments applied 30â¯min postmortem: 1) suspended by the Achilles tendon (AT); 2) suspended from the pelvic bone with front and hind legs tied together (TS); or 3) suspended by the Achilles tendon, and the fore- and hindsaddle were separated at the 12th/13th thoracic intervertebral disk, external fat, accessory muscles and epimysium surrounding the longissimus muscle (LM) were cut (TC), and a 2.3-kg weight attached to the neck (TCâ¯+â¯W). Warner-Bratzler shear force values for the LM were reduced (Pâ¯<â¯0.05) 24.4 to 35.9â¯N in TS carcasses compared to AT carcasses, and WBSF values of SM from TS carcasses were 25.0 and 20.3â¯N less (Pâ¯<â¯0.05) than those for AT and TCâ¯+â¯W carcasses, respectively. Results indicated that cooked goat meat tenderness, particularly the LM and SM, may be improved greatly by suspending goat carcasses by the pelvic bone.