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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #293280
Title: Effect of postmortem aging time on tumbling marination performance of broiler breast fillets

Author
item Zhuang, Hong
item Bowker, Brian
item Samuel, Dora

Submitted to: American Meat Science Association Conference Reciprocal Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/17/2013
Publication Date: 6/17/2013
Citation: Zhuang, H., Bowker, B.C., Samuel, D.D. 2013. Effect of postmortem aging time on tumbling marination performance of broiler breast fillets. American Meat Science Association Conference Reciprocal Proceedings. 40:20.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Previous data demonstrated that water-holding capacity (WHC), as measured by the salt-induced water uptake method, increases with aging up to 24 h postmortem in early-deboned chicken breast fillets (pectoralis major). Therefore, it was hypothesized that 24 h postmortem aging may enhance marination performance in chicken breast meat. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of postmortem time of marination on the pickup and retention of NaCl-based marinade in boneless skinless broiler breast fillets. Broiler breast butterflies (n=24), which were removed from carcasses (42-day old broilers) 2 h postmortem, were collected from a commercial deboning line. The right and left fillets from each butterfly were separated and one was marinated at 6 h postmortem and the other at 24 h postmortem. Fillets were vacuum-tumbled (20 kPa at 15 rpm for 20 min) in a 20% solution (w/w) with a targeted final concentration of 0.75% salt and 0.45% sodium tripolyphosphate and 15% marinade pickup. Marination performance parameters measured included marinade pickup at 5 and 20 min, marination retention (24 h after marination), marination weight gain, and cook loss. Data were analyzed in SAS using PROC UNIVARIATE for WHC and PROC MIXED with a model that included postmortem aging time as a fixed effect and replication and butterfly as random effects for marination performance. At 24 h postmortem samples exhibited greater (P<0.05) salt-induced water uptake than at 6 h postmortem (80.0% vs. 57.6%). Overall marinade pickup was 8.8% after 5 min of marination and 14% after 20 min of marination. Fillets marinated at 6 and 24 h postmortem exhibited similar marinade pickup (P>0.60). Marinade retention was greater than 98% after 24 h of storage, overall marination weight gain was 11.6%, and cook loss was 12.7% across all samples. The postmortem time at which samples were marinated had no effect on marination retention or cook loss (P>0.70). Data show that with a targeted 15% marinade pickup, aging fillets to 24 h postmortem prior to marination does not enhance marination performance compared with marinating chicken fillets at 6 h postmortem.