Research Note: The Effects of Post-Mortem Wing Restraint (Muscle Tensioning) on Tenderness of Early-Harvested Broiler Breast Meat

Abstract

In each of two trials, 80 broilers were slaughtered by conventional methods. Forty carcasses served as unrestrained controls. The wings of the other carcasses were bound tightly together at the elbow above the dorsal surface of the carcass prior to chilling. All carcasses were chilled in agitated 13 C water for 15 min followed by an additional 45 min in ice slush (1C). Breast fillets were removed from the carcasses immediately after chilling, aged 24 h, cooked, and evaluated for shear value.Wing restraint significantly decreased shear values of cooked fillets (8.3 kg/g of meat) compared with shear values for cooked fillets obtained from unrestrained, conventionally chilled carcasses (9.4 kg/g of meat). Shear value means for both treatments were above the accepted sensory panelist toughness threshold shear value of 8 kg/g of meat.