India ranks first in buffalo population and ranks top in buffalo meat export. Buffalo meat is lean with less fat, contains crucial amino acids, good functional properties and blends well with other ingredients. Since meat is a perishable product it can be converted into shelf stable product by drying, which is the simplest and oldest preservation technique. The present study was aimed to standardise the drying techniques in hot air and hot air- microwave combination drying. Round portion of buffalo carcass was subjected to drying techniques such as hot air and hot air-microwave combination drying and subjected to different packaging systems viz T1- Aerobically packed hot air dried buffalo meat, T2- vacuum packaged hot air dried buffalo meat, T3- aerobically packed hot air – microwave combination dried buffalo meat and T4-vacuum packaged hot air- microwave combination dried buffalo meat. Treatments were stored at ambient temperature and their proximate principles and sensory attributes were assessed. Moisture content was significantly higher for T1 and T2 and no significant difference was observed in protein, fat, ash, carbohydrate and calorific values of treatments. Sensory attributes did not differ significantly between treatments and were acceptable upto 90 days storage. Combination drying technique can be adopted as an efficient fast method of drying in small and large scale production of dried meat products.

Highlights

• Hot air drying and hot air – microwave combination drying of buffalo meat showed no significant difference in proximate composition and sensory attributes.
• Combination drying reduces the drying time for buffalo meat.