Effects of deboning time and thawing method interaction on sensory descriptive profiles of cooked chicken breast and thigh meat

Authors: ZHANG, JIAN - Beijing Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; Bowker, Brian; YANG, YI - China Agricultural University; PANG, BIN - Qingdao Agricultural University; Zhuang, Hong

Submitted to: LWT - Food Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/8/2019
Publication Date: 12/8/2019
Citation: Zhang, J., Bowker, B.C., Yang, Y., Pang, B., Zhuang, H. 2020. Effects of deboning time and thawing method interaction on sensory descriptive profiles of cooked chicken breast and thigh meat. LWT - Food Science and Technology. Volume 120, 108939 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2019.108939.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2019.108939

Interpretive Summary: Either postmortem deboning time or freezing/thawing technique significantly affects sensory quality of cooked meat. Experiments have demonstrated that postmortem deboning time directly affects sensory quality of deboned chicken breast meat and freezing/thawing prior to cooking also alters sensory profiles of cooked chicken meat. However, there is a lack of scientific information about the effect of deboning time and thawing method interaction on sensory quality of chicken meat. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of combination of deboning time with freezing/thawing methods on the sensory quality of cooked chicken breast and thigh meat. Our results showed that postmortem deboning time did not influence freezing/thawing effects on sensory attributes and vice versa. Deboning time had more impacts on sensory quality of cooked breast meat than cooked thigh meat. The freezing/thawing methods had more impacts on cooked thigh meat than cooked breast meat. Therefore, for quality consistency, breast meat should be removed from chicken bones at the same postmortem time and thigh meat should be stored under the same temperature before use.

Technical Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of freezing/thawing method and deboning time interaction on sensory descriptive profiles of cooked chicken breast and thigh meat. Broiler breast fillets (pectoralis major) and thigh meat were deboned at 45 min, 2 h, or 24 h postmortem. Meat samples were either cooked from a fresh state (no freezing/thawing) or freezing/thawing with three different methods. Sensory characteristics were profiled by a trained descriptive panel. Statistical results show that there were no significant deboning and thawing interaction effects for sensory characteristics regardless of attribute and meat type. Deboning time had more impacts on cooked breast meat than thighs for attributes cohesiveness, hardness, bolus size, rate of break down, and chewiness. The thawing methods had more impacts on hardness and juiciness of cooked thighs than those of cooked breast meat. These results indicate that the effects of deboning time on sensory profiles are not altered by thawing method used for cooking frozen chicken meat products and meat state (fresh versus frozen) and the effects of the thawing methods on sensory characteristics are similar in cooked chicken meat no matter when the meat is removed from bones regardless of meat type.