By: Alison Chaney
Dill pickle beef jerky: one of many products that come from the Tarleton State University Meats Lab. The meats lab is a state-inspected meat processing facility located at the Tarleton Agriculture Production Complex, manned by a majority of graduate and undergraduate student workers.
The meats lab can harvest, process, age, and break down larger cuts of meat. The meats lab primarily processes beef, but it can also process pork, lamb, goat, and poultry.
“On average we process around 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of meat per week depending on the time of year,” said Eric Harwell, meats lab manager and instructor at Tarleton State University.
Harwell and Dr. Drew Cassens, assistant professor of meat science, work with roughly 10 to 15 undergraduate and graduate students to run the meats lab. In addition to being a fully functioning meat processing plant, the meats lab also serves as a teaching facility for students
The lab allows students to learn the different cuts of meat, and how to handle and package finished products. The meat science program at Tarleton focuses on livestock and meat evaluation, grading, animal processing, processed meats, quality assurance, and other industry trends.
A majority of the meat that is processed at the meats lab comes from individuals in the general public, said Harwell. The Agriculture Production Complex at Tarleton also makes up a portion of the meat processed at the meats lab.
After the meat has been processed, it is returned to the individual as the final product. The final meat product that comes from the Agriculture Production Complex at Tarleton often goes to The Purple Tractor.
The Purple Tractor is a retail store open to the public that sells products made by Tarleton students, as well as food products from the meats lab. At this store, products sold from the meats lab include a variety of jerkies, ground lamb, pork, beef, steaks, and sausages.
In the coming years, Harwell hopes to continue to increase production, meat variety, public outreach, and real-world experience among students. Harwell plans on adding fish products to this list of items the meats lab can process, making the meats lab a true meat market.
Find your Tarleton State University Meats Lab meat at the Purple Tractor! Students with an interest in the food and meat industry can join the meat judging, academic quiz bowl, value-added product development, and competitive cooking teams. To learn more about the meats lab, visit their page on Tarleton’s website.
*Article Submitted in ACOM 3314 – Writing & Editing