Tenderness and Sodium Content of Pectoralis superficialis from Broilers Chilled in Potassium or Sodium Chloride Ice Slush

Abstract

Cooked light meat (Pectoralis superficialis) from broiler carcasses chilled (4 hr, with agitation) in 5% (w/w) sodium chloride (NaCl), 5% (w/w) potassium chloride (KCl), or ice slush was evaluated for moisture content, tenderness (shear force), chloride ion (Cl) concentration, and sodium ion (Na) concentration. Water uptake of the carcasses during chilling was determined. Chilling in either salt solution increased cooked meat moisture, increased chloride ion concentration, and decreased shear force values. Sodium level and water uptake were increased by NaCl brine ice-slush chilling. Samples chilled in NaCl had higher chloride concentrations and lower shear force than samples chilled in KCl.

The Influence of Brine Chilling on Tenderness of Hot-Boned, Chill-Boned, and Age-Boned Broiler Breast Fillets

“…The enhancement of brine uptake for carcasses chilled in salt solution has been documented and discussed by Hoey et al (1983) and Dukes and Janky (1984). Significant differences in water or brine uptake have been observed only when sampled carcasses were uniform in size.…”

Effects of Salt Brine Chilling and Hot Boning on Tenderness of Canned Fowl Light Meat

“…Chilling hot-boned fillets in brine-ice slush did not produce moisture levels significantly different from those observed for cold-boned fillets from brine-ice slush chilled carcasses, but did significantly increase sodium and chloride levels for these samples. Sodium and chloride levels from water-ice slush chilled samples, regardless of time of boning, were greatly increased over normal unsalted meat values [58 mg sodium/ 100 g meat (USDA, 1979) and .08% chloride (Hoey et al, 1983)]. Salt absorption by the meat from the bouillon during either retorting, or the 2-week storage period, or both would account for these high values.…”

“…Further, it appeared that the amount of salt absorbed during cooking or storage was related to the initial salt content of the meat. Samples chilled by brine-ice slush would have higher NaCl levels prior to retorting than samples chilled by water-ice slush (Hoey et al, 1983), and these former samples absorbed significantly less salt from the bouillon (higher bouillion NaCl content, Table 2). Janky et al (1983) related the tenderness response associated with brine chilling to increased water holding capacity due to increased chloride ion concentration.…”

“…Chilling poultry in sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions (brine chilling) has been shown to increase tenderness of muscle aged intact on the carcass (Janky et al, 1978Arafa et al, 1979a,b;Hoey et al, 1983). Soaking spent hen carcasses (postchill) in salt water has also been observed to increase tenderness of the cooked meat (Marion et al, 1964;Oblinger et al, 1977).…”

Physical Characteristics and Sensory Evaluation of Cooked Pectoralis superficialis from Broiler Carcasses Chilled in Water or Brine Solutions Under Commercial Time and Temperature Conditions

“…A minimum of 4 hr of brine chilling has proved to be effective in minimizing variation and increasing tenderness of broiler light meat Hoey et al, 1983); however, commercial processing plant chill times normally are only 30 to 45 min.…”