Effects of ultrasound on the beef structure and water distribution during curing through protein degradation and modification

•Ultrasound (PUS) could increase the WHC and tenderness of beef during curing.•LF-NMR analysis showed that PUS could induce the higher P21 values of beef.•Higher ratio of myosin oligomer was related to the increased WHC of beef by PUS.•PUS could increase the MFI values and the extent of myofibril proteolysis of beef. The objective of this study was to explore the mechanisms of power ultrasound (PUS, 150 and 300W) and treatment time (30 and 120min) on the water-holding capacity (WHC) and tenderness of beef during curing. Beef muscle at 48h post mortem was subjected to PUS treatment at a frequency of 20kHz. Analysis of compression loss and shear force showed that PUS-assisted curing significantly increased the WHC and the tenderness of beef compared to static brining (p