ABSTRACT
Dry-cured sausages are meat products with high fat content. Commercial sausages have fat contents around 32% immediately after manufacture, but as a result of drying this rises to about 45-60% (Gómez and Lorenzo 2013). The fat is responsible for various properties of dry-fermented sausages: (i) fat contributes to the flavour, texture, mouthfeel, juiciness and lubricity, which determine the quality and acceptability of dry sausages and (ii) the granulated fat has a technological function in the manufacture of dry-fermented sausages as it helps to loosen up the sausage mixture to facilitate the continuous release of moisture from the inner layer of the sausage; a process necessary for undisturbed fermentation and flavour development (Wirth 1988). In addition, fat has an important role in reducing manufacturing costs because it generally has less economic value than lean meat.
