The Relationship of Objective Shear Values and Sensory Tests to Changes in Tenderness of Broiler Breast Meat

Abstract

The relationships were established between two objective shear procedures and sensory responses to tenderness for broiler Pectoralis major muscles. Birds were processed and the breasts removed at one of four post-mortem (PM) deboning times: 0 h (after picking), 2, 6, and 24 h. After deboning, the individual muscles were placed in boilable bags and frozen. The meat was cooked from the frozen state by immersing in 85 C water or by microwave. Two strips, 1.9 cm wide, were removed from each breast for objective and sensory evaluation. A 24-member untrained panel evaluated the samples for juiciness, tenderness, and overall texture acceptability. The samples were evaluated objectively using the Warner-Bratzler (W-B) and Allo-Kramer (A-K) shear devices.Objective shear values and sensory scores were significantly affected by PM deboning time and cooking method. The data indicate that W-B values in the range of 6.5 to 3.5 kg and A-K values in the range of 8.8 to 6.0 kg per g would correspond to the “slightly tender” to “moderately tender” portion of the sensory scale.