Nin.hr (M.D.T.); [email protected] (A.K.); [email protected] (I.L.) Ministry of Agriculture, Ul. Grada Vukovara 78, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; [email protected] Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetosimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; [email protected] Correspondence: [email protected]: Krvavica, M.; gum, J.; Topalovi, M.D.; Kegalj, A.; Ljubi i, I.; c cc Konja i, M. Adjustments in Proximate cc Chemical and Mineral Compositions of Different Sex Categories of Mutton throughout the Dry-Curing Method. Animals 2021, 11, 3019. https:// doi.org/10.3390/ani11113019 Academic Editors: Luigi Faucitano and Federica Bellagamba Received: 29 July 2021 Accepted: 18 October 2021 Published: 20 OctoberSimple Summary: The older raw mutton categories are considered to become of poor high-quality and are poorly accepted by shoppers, mostly because of the toughness and intense odor. Thus, they are most normally utilized in the production of a variety of meat products. In Dalmatia, mutton is Nemonapride Dopamine Receptor primarily processed into a conventional dry-cured product referred to as kastradina. Its high-quality depends on the age and sex, as well as the kastradina from the castrated and fattened rams (wethers) would be the most effective accepted by buyers. This study examined the influence of sex and castration on the proximate chemical and mineral compositions of raw mutton and kastradina as indicators of their top quality. Meat is primarily a source of protein plus a considerable supply of minerals (phosphorus, iron, zinc, potassium) in the human diet plan. Consequently, it’s crucial to ascertain which things influence their composition the most. The outcomes showed that sex and castration drastically impacted the salt content and also the proximate chemical and mineral compositions of raw mutton and kastradina that could impact the high quality (nutritive and sensory) of kastradina. The findings recommended that the raw mutton of wethers and ewes may very well be a better-quality raw material for production of kastradina than could the ram mutton. Abstract: The aim of this investigation was to decide the effect of sex, castration, and processing on the chemical properties of mutton within the production of kastradina–a traditional Dalmatian drycured meat product. As a result, the carcasses of 20 ewes (E), 20 rams (R), and 20 wethers (W) in the Dalmatian Methazolamide-d6 supplier pramenka breed were processed by dry-curing. On the 1st, 35th, and 60th days of processing, the samples in the scapulae have been taken, then the proximate chemical, NaCl, and mineral analyses had been performed, and considerable variations in between the majority of the parameters were located. Unlike W, the R samples contained substantially more proteins (p 0.01), NaCl (p 0.05), and potassium (p 0.05) and less fat (p 0.05). Furthermore, in comparison with the W and R categories, the E category of kastradina contained significantly additional calcium (p 0.05). The greater contents of intramuscular fat, potassium, and calcium and reduced content material of NaCl could positively have an effect on the sensory (marbling, flavor, juiciness, and tenderness) and chemical (fatty acid profile) properties of kastradina. These findings recommend that the W and E raw mutton could be a better-quality raw material for production of kastradina than could the R, but further analysis is required for any much more comprehensive image of its excellent. Key phrases: chemical composition; dalmatian dry-cured mutton; impact of sex and castration; kastradina; mineral composition; muttonPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published ma.