Abstract:The ultrasonic-assisted tenderization of pork tenderloin with ginger juice for deep-fried pork steaks was optimized by combined use of one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) method and response surface methodology. The effect of various process parameters on the sensory quality, texture profile analysis, shear stress, pH value and water-holding capacity of the product was examined. The results obtained showed that the optimized process conditions were 29.57% ginger juice concentration (2.5 mL), 31.54 min ultrasonic time and 61.35 W ultrasonic power. Under these conditions, the shear force of deepfried pork steaks was predicted to be 24.41 N and the sensory evaluation score was 8.9, which was 33.7% higher than that of the control group (7.4). Good agreement between the model prediction and the experimental results was obtained, implying that the model was effective.