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Title: EFFECTS OF CHILLING TIME AND BELT FLATTENING ON PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS, YIELD AND TENDERNESS OF BROILER BREASTS

Author
item Lyon, Clyde
item BILGILI, S - AUBURN UNIVERSITY
item Dickens, James

Submitted to: Poultry Science Association Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/23/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Removing breast muscles from the carcass prior to the resolution of rigor results in tough meat, but holding front halves or whole carcasses after chilling is cost prohibitive. In this study, the effects of chilling time (1, 2, 3 hours) and belt flattening after chilling on physical and textural properties were determined. Maximum length and width of each Pectoralis major was recorded before and after flattening and after cooking. Raw and cooked weights were determined. One breast from each carcass was subjected to the belt flattening treatment. Individual breasts were cooked in heat and seal bags. Texture (Warner-Bratzler shear values, W-B) was evaluated by removing a 1.9 cm wide strip from each sample. Belt flattening resulted in a loss of weight and an increase in area (length and width) for the raw muscle. Flattened muscles lost more weight due to cooking than did the unflattened muscles, 40 to 20%, respectively. Flattening muscles from carcasses chilled for 2 hours resulted in significantly lower W-B shear values compared to unflattened muscles chilled for 2 hours; 3.46 versus 5.58 kg, respectively. KEY WORDS: belt flattening, chill time, length, width, texture