Simultaneous heat and mass transfer and evolution of the physical properties of pork meat during deep-fat frying were studied. Frying was conducted at 90, 100 and 110 degrees C in sunflower oil and, only at 100 degrees C in shortening, just for comparison purpose. The moisture diffusivity coefficient exhibited values between 1.5 and 30.2 x 10(-9) m(2)/s, whereas the convective heat transfer coefficient ranged from 187.7 to 226.1 W/m(2) degrees C. Both transport phenomena were dependent of the frying temperature and there was not an effect of the nature of frying medium on the transport properties (a = 0.05). Thermal diffusivity remained practically constant through the process; in contrast, the specific heat and thermal conductivity decreased with the increasing of frying time, due to moisture loss in the meat plates. Density, crust color and texture were affected by the frying temperature and frying medium type. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.