In this blog, we’ll talk about how you can make juicier meat products at home. You will learn what carrot fiber is and how phosphates are used in meats.

We’ve all taken a bite out of a meat snack, a piece of chicken, or other meat, and the meat has been dry and unappetizing. If you want to try and avoid a dry meat product, you can do a couple of things to tweak your process and include additives to help increase the water holding capacity and help us make a juicier final product. Two options we will look at today are Phosphates and Carrot Fiber. Sometimes seasoning blends meant to be used as a marinade will already include phosphates. Some additives already include phosphates, like the Sure Gel Meat Binder, but it is not always included in other seasoning blends. Always check the ingredient statement on your seasoning to see if it already has phosphates included or if you can include extra phosphate, as the maximum allowed amount of phosphate in meat products is 2 oz per 25 lb. of meat. One of our favorite phosphate-included seasoning blends for injecting or marinating meat is our Excalibur Butter Flavored Seasoning & Marinade. It works great on all types of proteins, from beef, pork, chicken, or anything else. Using a seasoning like this with phosphates added will really help make one of the best-smoked pork loins, brisket, or marinated and grilled chicken breasts that you could imagine. If you are using another seasoning or marinade that doesn’t include phosphates, you can include an additive like our Cold Phosphate, at a rate of 2 oz per 25 lb of meat, to help increase the water-holding capacity in any type of meat product. Cold phosphate can be added to most seasoning blends that do not already contain phosphates, is available in 8 oz or 5 lb packages, and is also in 50 lb bulk cases if you are a commercial meat processor.

Options for binders that can increase water holding capacity in a variety of sausages would be using our Sure Gel Meat Binder at a rate of 6 oz per 25 lb. of meat, Carrot Fiber at a rate of 4 oz per 25 lb. of meat, or Soy Protein Blend at a rate of 12 oz per 25 lb. of meat. All of these are quite acceptable for most varieties of sausages and smoked and cured meat products.

By adding phosphates we increase the pH level of the meat product and move it further away from the isoelectric pH point of meat, which starts at around 5.2. As the pH moves away from that isoelectric point, the water holding capacity increases because there are more negative protein charges for the water to bind to. Phosphates also increase the water-holding capacity by increasing the space between proteins which allows for more water to enter the meat and be held in the myofibrils by capillary forces. One last thing that phosphates can help with is in extending shelf life because they have antioxidant properties which can decrease the rate of lipid or fat oxidation in meats.

A few final things to keep in mind is that adding phosphates, carrot fiber, or other binders and additives can increase water holding capacity, but they will only partially correct a bad cooking cycle and overcooking meats. If you marinate chicken and include phosphates, but you cook the chicken to an internal temp of 225° instead of 165°, you can still end up cooking out too much water and end up with a dry final product. Instead, couple the inclusion of phosphates, carrot fiber, and binders with cooking meat to the proper temperature and check it with a meat thermometer to achieve the best and most consistent results with the moistest, juiciest, and most flavorful product possible. And if you are making and cooking meat products at home, these additives can help you have a juicier final product, but if you are a commercial meat processor, it can also increase your profit margins by adding to the overall weight of your meat products.

To sum things up, if you want to make the moistest and juiciest meat product possible or increase your yields to increase your profit margin on meat products you are selling, make sure your seasoning blend includes an additive that can increase water-holding capacity like phosphates, or when injecting seasoning and marinade use and add Cold Phosphate or Sure Gel to your injection solution, and if you are making any type of sausage you can add Carrot Fiber or Sure Gel Binder to increase your water holding capacity as well.