Effects of Cooking Methods on Textural Properties and Water‐Holding Capacity of Broiler Breast Meat Deboned at Various Postmortem Times

Abstract

AbstractThe effects of oven‐baking (OB) and water‐cooking (WC) methods on the textural properties and water‐holding capacity (WHC) of broiler breast meat were investigated. A total of 1,008 broilers processed and deboned at nine different postmortem (0.25, 1.25, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 6.0 and 24.0 h) duration were cooked by two different cooking methods. Textural properties of cooked meat were predicted by the Meullenet–Owens razor shear method, descriptive analysis and consumer testing. Moisture and expressible moisture contents were also evaluated. Results showed that postmortem deboning time played more important roles on the development of texture in broiler breast meat than the cooking methods. The WC‐cooked samples had higher moisture and expressible moisture contents across most of postmortem deboning times than the OB‐cooked samples, indicating a better WHC for the WC method.Practical ApplicationsThis research provides practical information regarding how different cooking methods (oven baking and water cooking) relate to the textural properties and water‐holding capacity (WHC) of broiler breast meat. Significant findings would include that quality of broiler breast meat was more significantly influenced by postmortem deboning times than the cooking methods. However, some of quality indicators associated with WHC varied according to the cooking methods. This information would be of benefit to poultry processors or users who would like to optimize the quality of broiler breast meat being cooked.