Texture and quality of chicken sausage formulated with woody breast meat

Authors: RIGDON, MACC - University Of Georgia; STELZLENI, ALEXANDER - University Of Georgia; MCKEE, ROBERT - University Of Georgia; PRINGLE, DEAN - University Of Georgia; Bowker, Brian; Zhuang, Hong; THIPPAREDDI, HARSHAVARDHAN - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/7/2020
Publication Date: 3/1/2021
Citation: Rigdon, M., Stelzleni, A., Mckee, R., Pringle, D., Bowker, B.C., Zhuang, H., Thippareddi, H. 2021. Texture and quality of chicken sausage formulated with woody breast meat. Poultry Science, 100: 100915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2020.12.014.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2020.12.014

Interpretive Summary: Woody breast (WB) myopathy is a quality defect that leads processors to downgrade or discard broiler breast meat. Findings from this study demonstrate that WB meat can be included in chicken sausage formulations with minimal impact on product quality attributes.

Technical Abstract: Woody breast (WB) myopathy is a quality defect, afflicting a large portion of commercial broilers to some degree. The WB myopathy is commonly attributed to rapid bird growth and characterized by excessive fibrosis within the Pectoralis major, which is thought to cause the palpably hardened texture observed in the afflicted breast meat. These phenotypically tough breast fillets are not marketed for traditional intact muscle products due to poor quality and eating experience. Potential avenues for these afflicted breast fillets include their use in formulation of fresh and cooked sausages. Two degrees of WB fillets (Moderate and Severe) were used as a replacement for normal (unafflicted) breast fillet meat at levels of 25%, 50% and 100%, in a sausage formulation with 1.5% salt and 15% chicken fat. All six treatments were compared to a control formulation (100% normal breast meat), and analyzed for texture profile, cook loss, color, and proximate composition. Moisture and fat content for all formulations were similar (P=0.95, and P=0.33, respectively), but with increasing inclusion rate of WB, lower protein content (P<0.01) was observed. Raw sausage color indicated a lighter (P<0.05) color for control sausage (100% normal) compared to both 100% moderate and 100% severe formulations. Similarly, sausages containing 100 severe woody breast meat were the darkest (L*; P<0.05), but similar to sausages containing 100% moderate (P>0.05) woody breast meat. Texture profile analysis indicated no difference between hardness, cohesiveness, and springiness across all sausage blends (P=0.06, P=0.53, and P=0.95 respectively). These results indicate the possibility of utilizing woody breast fillet meat in a sausage formulation with minimal impact on sausage texture profiles.