Fermented beef heart and lung sauce

A modern research prototype

The atlas row that led to this candidate named an experimental beef-offal sauce but provided no process detail. The source trail identifies Meat & Livestock Australia project P.PSH.1475, “Fermented meat sauce – A proof of concept using beef lung and heart.” MLA funded the work, which AgResearch Group carried out with a pilot plant in New Zealand. The project ran from August 2023 to November 2025; MLA published its project page in February 2026.

The title groups two prototype families. The report tested lung and heart separately and produced lung extracts and heart extracts, each in heated and unheated versions. It does not describe one sauce blended from both organs. The project asked whether a meat starter, Staphylococcus xylosus, together with protease could create flavour extracts from abattoir co-products. Its aim was a proof of concept for further product development, not a household recipe.

Pilot setup and its limits

The researchers obtained cattle organs from a commercial supplier in Wellington with export certification. The report describes frozen storage, thawing, manual chopping, sterilised sea salt, protease and Staphylococcus xylosus. Three 5 kg batches were prepared for each tissue. The lung and heart treatments were separate. These are study inputs from a supervised facility; they should not be read as directions for home preparation.

The project fermented the lung and heart materials for different durations, separated liquid from solids, clarified the extracts and divided each into heated and unheated prototypes. The heated versions received retort-type treatment; the report notes that the pilot treatment was not under high pressure. Unheated bottles retained live starter culture. The project stored sealed bottles frozen. Its own risk-management plan and facility procedures formed part of the setup; reproducing selected ingredients or timings would not reproduce those safeguards.

Different tissues, different measurements

The reported pH results differed between extracts. Lung liquid remained around 6.1 in the sampled weeks, while heart liquid moved from about 5.3 toward 4.9. The researchers proposed that heart's glycogen content could support greater starter growth, while lung offered less readily available carbon. These are observations and an explanation from this project, not general targets or safety thresholds.

The reported liquid yield was about 43% from lung and 51% from heart. The report discusses heart's higher protein content and lung's collagen as possible reasons for the difference. The lung prototypes contained about 10% protein and heart prototypes about 14%; final salt values ranged from about 16% to 18%. Those figures describe specific test batches and should not be treated as a formulation for other materials, equipment or scales.

Safety findings stay within the project

The pilot team used inspected commercial raw material and a safety plan developed for the project. It considered sanitation, salt, measured acidification, heat treatment and storage together. The team tested prototype extracts for Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens and reported that risky concentrations were not detected. That result applies to these tested samples and methods; it does not establish safety for other organs, starter cultures, settings or processes.

The report notes that the lung extract did not acidify to the cited pH 4.6 benchmark and that Staphylococcus xylosus was a weaker acidifier than some lactic-acid bacteria. The heart followed a different pH course. The study's combined safety plan, monitoring and pathogen tests cannot be replaced by a general salt percentage or fermentation time. Japan's health ministry separately warns that cattle organs can carry pathogens and that enterohemorrhagic E. coli has been found inside bovine liver.

Early sensory results

Two researchers conducted a semi-formal in-house sensory evaluation. The prototypes were strongly salty and had pronounced liver or offal notes; some lung samples had an ammonia-like aroma. Heart extracts were described as meaty and roasted, while lung extracts showed fruity notes and subtle sweetness. Heating changed the aroma and taste profiles, especially for heart. Dilution reduced some intense salt and offal notes.

The researchers also tried prototypes in prepared soup. Concentrated additions overwhelmed the soup with salt, and the lung prototype integrated poorly in that particular test. This small in-house evaluation is not a consumer-preference study. The report calls for more product-development trials and market investigation, including possible future chef-led formulation work.

Geography and historical scope

This account records New Zealand as the setting of a modern research project and the Australian meat industry's development context. It does not establish a New Zealand culinary tradition or a historical origin for fermented beef heart or lung. The project and atlas row provide no evidence of an earlier household sauce, consumer-ready formula or established serving custom.