Effect of postmortem deboning time on sensory descriptive flavor and texture profiles of cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs

Authors: Zhuang, Hong; Savage, Elizabeth

Submitted to: LWT - Food Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/8/2011
Publication Date: 12/1/2011
Citation: Zhuang, H., Savage, E.M. 2011. Effect of postmortem deboning time on sensory descriptive flavor and texture profiles of cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 44:2087-2090.

Interpretive Summary: Boneless skinless chicken thighs are a new deboned poultry meat product in the retail markets and their market share is growing in the U.S. Time to remove poultry breast meat from bones during postmortem aging or deboning time has been shown to significantly affect on breast meat sensory quality. However, there is lack of information concerning effects of deboning time on flavor and texture quality of cooked boneless skinless chicken thigh meat. Our results demonstrate that there are not any perceivable differences in both flavor and texture between the hot-boned and 2-h deboned chicken thighs. Thighs removed from leg bones at 24 h postmortem have the flavor characteristics similar to both early-deboned samples; however, they have texture properties significantly different from both early-deboned products. The later-deboned thighs taste less hard and less chewy with smaller bolus size and less cohesiveness of mass during chewing. Deboning time can result in texture changes in cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs products.

Technical Abstract: Three replicate trials were conducted to investigate the effect of deboning time on sensory descriptive profiles of cooked boneless skinless thigh meat (iliotibialis, iliofibularis and the femoritibialis). Carcasses (42-d old birds) were obtained from a commercial processing plant. Thighs were hot-boned (about 45 min postmortem), cold-deboned 2 h postmortem (2h) and cold-deboned 24 h postmortem (24h). Sensory descriptive tests were performed by 8 trained descriptive panelists using 0-15 universal intensity scale. Our results show that there were no significant differences in average intensity scores of the tested texture and flavor attributes between the hot-boned and the 2h thigh meat, and no significant differences for 9 sensory flavor attributes were found due to three deboning times. However, the average intensity scores of the 24h fillets for the texture attributes, hardness, cohesiveness of mass, bolus size and chewiness were significantly lower than the hot-boned and the 2h thighs (p < 0.05). The average score of the 24h samples for the texture attribute cohesiveness was significantly lower than the 2h thighs, and was not different from the hot-boned samples. These results suggest that the early deboning (within 2 h postmortem) does not result in the differences in flavor and texture profiles of cooked thigh meat. The time of thigh muscle removal within 24 h postmortem has no influence on the flavor profiles of cooked thigh meat. However, deboning time can significantly affect texture profiles of cooked thigh meat. Cooked 24-h deboned thighs have different texture profiles from hot-boned and 2-h deboned chicken thighs.