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Freezing-thawing and sub-sampling influence the marination performance of chicken breast meat1
Freezing-thawing and sub-sampling influence the marination performance of chicken breast meat1 B. Bowker2 and H. Zhuang USDA, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. National Poultry Research Center, Athens, GA 30605 cranial sub-samples (P < 0.05). After 45 min, marinade uptake for fresh samples was greatest in intact fillets and lowest in cranial sub-samples. For frozen-thawed samples, marinade uptake at 45 min was greater in caudal sub-samples and intact fillets than cranial subsamples (P < 0.0001). Marinade uptake in sub-samples at 30 min was greater in frozen-thawed versus fresh fillets (P < 0.05). Differences in marinade retention were not observed. Cook loss was similar between fresh and frozen-thawed samples but was greater in sub-samples compared to intact fillets (P < 0.0001). Correlations between marinade uptake in intact fillets and cranial sub-samples were greater in fresh (r = 0.64 to 0.78) than frozen-thawed samples (r = 0.39 to 0.59). Correlations between marinade uptake in intact fillets and caudal sub-samples were greater in frozen-thawed (r = 0.79 to 0.82) than fresh samples (r = 0.46 to 0.63). Data suggest that the relationships between marination performance of whole breast fillets and fillet sub-samples are dependent upon prior sample handling and intrafillet sampling location.
ABSTRACT Vacuum-tumbling marination is often used to improve the yield and quality of whole or portioned broiler breast fillets. The relationship between the marination performance of whole Pectoralis major muscles and breast fillet sub-samples is not well understood. The objective was to determine the effects of subsampling and freezing-thawing on the marination performance and cook loss of broiler breast meat. Paired right and left breast fillets were marinated as whole fillets or sub-samples (cranial and mid-caudal portions). Samples were marinated at 48 h postmortem (fresh) or stored at –20◦ C and then thawed prior to marination (frozen-thawed). Samples were vacuum-tumbled in 20% wt/wt brine (5% NaCl, 3% STP) and weighed premarination, during marination (15, 30, and 45 min), and 24 h post-marination. Samples were then cooked to 75◦ C for determination of cook loss. Marinade uptake was greater in caudal sub-samples than intact fillets and cranial sub-samples after 15 min of marination (P < 0.0001). After 30 min, marinade uptake was greater in caudal sub-samples and intact fillets than
Key words: Breast meat, cook loss, marination, meat quality, vacuum-tumbling 2017 Poultry Science 0:1–7 http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps/pex117
INTRODUCTION
marination can also be used to improve flavor and extend product shelf-life (Smith and Acton, 2010). Marinades used in moisture-enhanced poultry products typically contain salt, phosphate, and water (Alvarado and McKee, 2007). Vacuum-tumbling is a method for marinating raw poultry meat that is commonly used throughout the industry. As a result, much research has been conducted on the vacuum-tumbling marination of chicken breast meat. Investigators have evaluated the effects of specific vacuum-tumbling operating parameters such as tumbling duration, speed, and pressure on marination performance (Heath and Owens, 1991; Xiong and Kupski, 1999a,b; Young and Smith, 2004; Smith and Young, 2007). Vacuum-tumbling marination has also been utilized to determine the impact that various marinade ingredients and formulations have on processing variables and final product quality attributes (Xiong and Kupski, 1999a,b; Parks et al., 2000; Saha et al., 2009a; Jarvis et al., 2012; Lee et al., 2012; Petracci et al., 2012; Rimini et al., 2014). A considerable amount of research
In the U.S., the demand for value-added poultry meat products has rapidly increased over the last several decades, leading to more broiler meat being sold as further-processed products (National Chicken Council, 2016). Marination is now commonly used throughout the poultry industry to enhance meat tenderness, juiciness, and to improve raw and cooked product yield (Alvarado and McKee, 2007; Smith and Acton, 2010). Based on the ingredients incorporated into the meat, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Poultry Science Association 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US. Received September 30, 2016. Accepted April 28, 2017. 1 The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the United States Department of Agriculture or the Agricultural Research Service of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. 2 Corresponding author: [email protected]
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has been conducted to determine the influence of processing variables such as carcass electrical stimulation (Young et al., 1999, 2004), carcass chilling (Carroll and Alvarado, 2008; Perumalla et al., 2011), and post-chill aging and deboning time (Young and Lyon, 1997; Saha et al., 2009b) on the quality attributes of vacuum tumbled marinated breast meat. Variations in raw breast meat quality such as pale color and low muscle pH (Woelfel and Sams, 2001; Qiao et al., 2002; Barbut et al., 2005; Gorsuch and Alvarado, 2010; Zhuang et al., 2014) or the presence of the white striping or woody breast conditions (Petracci et al., 2013; Mudalal et al., 2015; Soglia et al., 2016) have also been shown to influence vacuum-tumbling marination performance. The specific methods used for sample preparation and vacuum-tumbling marination reported in the literature vary considerably. While most studies have been conducted by marinating whole boneless skinless breast fillets, some have been conducted by marinating only sub-sample portions of the breast meat. The Pectoralis major is an irregular-shaped muscle in which the thickness of the muscle, the orientation of the fibers, and the amount of exposed muscle tissue due to deboning are not uniform on the cranial-caudal and dorsalventral axes. Due to these inherent differences in the breast meat, it is hypothesized that the marination and cooking properties of whole breast fillets are different than breast meat sub-samples. Additionally, while some studies utilized fresh never-frozen breast meat, others utilized breast meat that was frozen and thawed prior to vacuum-tumbling marination. Although it is known that the formation of ice crystals during freezing can damage muscle ultrastructure and influence meat quality (Leygonie et al., 2012), the impact of freezingthawing on the processing performance of whole breast fillets and breast fillet portions is not well defined. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of broiler breast fillet sub-sampling and freezingthawing on marinade uptake, marinade retention, and cook loss. From a research perspective, these data will provide information that is useful for experimental design and establishing protocols for sample handling. From an industry perspective, understanding these relationships will provide better insight on the marination and cooking attributes of portioned breast meat products.
Color (CIE-L∗ a∗ b∗ ) was measured in triplicate on the dorsal surface of each fillet with a Minolta Spectrophotometer CM-700d (Konica Minolta Inc., Ramsey, NJ). From each butterfly breast, one fillet was marinated as a whole intact fillet (average weight 292 ± 13 g) and the other fillet was marinated as 2 sub-sample portions (7 × 4 × 2 cm, average weight 60 ± 2 g) removed from the cranial and mid-caudal portions of the Pectoralis major muscle. Fillets were sub-sampled and marinated at either 48 h postmortem (fresh) or after freezing (–20◦ C) and thawing (4◦ C for 24 h). The left and right fillets from each butterfly breast were assigned similar fresh or frozen/thawed treatments.
Marination and Cooking All samples (intact fillets and sub-samples) were individually tagged prior to vacuum tumbling marination in order to retain their identification throughout the process. Samples were vacuum tumbled with marinade added at a 20% (wt/wt) marinade to meat ratio. The marinade consisted of 5% sodium chloride and 3% sodium tripolyphosphate (Innophos, Inc., Cranbury, NJ) with a targeted final concentration of 0.75% salt and 0.45% sodium tripolyphosphate (based on raw meat weight). Samples were vacuum tumbled (DVTS 30 V.S., Daniels Food Equipment, Parkers Prairie, MN) at 4◦ C for a total of 45 min at 580 mm Hg and 8 rpm. Samples were weighed after 15, 30, and 45 min of vacuum-tumbling. At each interval, the tumbler was stopped and the samples were gently blotted dry to remove excess marinade on the surface prior to weighing. Samples were then placed back into the tumbler, the vacuum re-established and the tumbling process continued. After marination was completed, all samples were stored at 4◦ C on covered wire racks for 24 h prior to cooking. Intact fillets and sub-samples were then individually sealed in vacuum packing bags and cooked to an internal temperature of 75◦ C in a combi steam oven (MCS-6, Henny Penny Corp., Eaton, OH). Cooked samples were set at room temperature for 5 min prior to weighing.
Calculations and Statistical Analysis MATERIALS AND METHODS Samples and Treatments Over 3 separate trial days, a total of 69 butterfly breast fillets (Pectoralis major) were collected from broiler carcasses at the U.S. National Poultry Research Center poultry processing facility (Athens, GA) after overnight air chilling and deboning at 24 h postmortem. Breast muscle pH was measured using a Hach H160 pH meter (Hach Co., Loveland, CO) with a piercing tip micro probe inserted into the cranial end of each fillet.
Sample weights were recorded at 24 h postmortem (wtinitial ), immediately prior to marination (wtpremarination ), after 15, 30, and 45 min of marination (wt15min , wt30min , wt45min ), 24 h after marination (wtprecook ), and after cooking (wtpostcook ). Fillets designated for sub-sampling were weighed as intact fillets for wtinitial and wtpremarination measurements and then cut into sub-samples which were individually re-weighed for sub-sample wtpremarination and subsequent measurements. The following processing variables were calculated:
MARINATION PERFORMANCE OF BREAST MEAT
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Purge/thaw loss (%) = ((wtinitial – wtpremarination )/ wtinitial ) × 100 Marinade uptake 15 min (%) = ((wt15min – wtpremarination )/wtpremarination ) × 100 Marinade uptake at 30 and 45 min were similarly calculated using wt30min and wt45min . Marinade retention (%) = ((wtprecook – wtpremarination )/(wt45min – wtpremarination )) × 100 Cook loss (%) = ((wtprecook – wtpostcook )/wtprecook )) × 100 Final yield (%) = (wtpostcook /wtpremarination ) × 100
Data were analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS (Version 9.4, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). To determine the effects of sample type (whole, cranial sub-sample, and caudal sub-sample) and marination duration (15, 30, and 45 min) on marinade uptake, fresh and frozen-thawed data were separately analyzed using a mixed model with repeated measures that included sample type, marination duration, and the sample type by duration interaction as fixed effects. To determine the effects of sample type and freezing-thawing on marination and cooking properties, a 2-way ANOVA was utilized with treatment (fresh, frozen/thawed), sample type, and the treatment by sample type interaction included in the model as fixed effects and experimental replication as a random effect. Significant differences (P < 0.05) between means were identified using the Tukey’s means separation method. Pearson correlation coefficients were determined using the PROC CORR procedure of SAS.
Figure 1. Marinade uptake (%) of whole breast fillets and fillet subsamples (cranial and caudal) from fresh broiler breast meat (lsmeans).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Variations in raw breast meat quality are known to influence marination performance and cook yield. It has been shown that pale color and low meat pH (Woelfel and Sams 2001; Qiao et al., 2002; Barbut et al., 2005; Gorsuch and Alvarado, 2010; Zhuang et al., 2014), and the presence of the white striping or woody breast conditions (Petracci et al., 2013; Mudalal et al., 2015; Soglia et al., 2016) are often associated with diminished marinade absorption and greater cook loss. Because the focus of this study was to determine the effects of fillet sub-sampling and freezing-thawing on the marination process, broiler breast fillets exhibiting extreme color characteristics (pale or dark) or the white striping or woody breast conditions were not utilized. The breast fillets utilized in this study exhibited what would be considered normal pH (5.86 ± 0.05) and L∗ -lightness values (L∗ 54.5 ± 3.0). The fresh never-frozen samples had an average purge loss of 0.51% during refrigerated storage from 24 h postmortem to the time of marination at 48 h postmortem. Fillets that were frozen-thawed prior to marination had an average purge/thaw loss of 2.2%. Thus, wide variations in initial breast meat qual-
Figure 2. Marinade uptake (%) of whole breast fillets and fillet sub-samples (cranial and caudal) from frozen-thawed broiler breast meat (lsmeans).
ity were not thought to play a significant role in this study. In order to determine the effects of fillet sub-sampling and vacuum-tumbling duration on marinade uptake, data for fresh and frozen-thawed samples were analyzed separately using a repeated measures analysis. As expected, marinade absorption increased with vacuumtumbling duration in both intact fillets and fillet subsamples (Figures 1 and 2). Although the samples were marinated for a total of 45 min, most of the marinade absorption occurred during the first 15 min of vacuumtumbling. Using marinades with various types of phosphates and salt levels, Xiong and Kupski (1999a,b) similarly found that the majority of marinade absorption by intact breast fillets occurred during the first 15 min of tumbling marination. Marinade absorption in breast meat pieces was also previously found to increase with tumbling time (Heath and Owens, 1991). Figure 1 shows the interacting effect (P = 0.0001) of
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fillet sub-sampling and marination duration on marinade uptake in fresh samples. Overall, marinade uptake seemed to be slower with fresh intact fillets compared to sub-samples. Maximum marinade uptake for both the cranial and caudal sub-samples was reached after only 15 min of vacuum tumbling, whereas maximum marinade uptake in intact fillets was not reached until 30 min of marination. Differences in marinade absorption between intact fillets and sub-samples were likely a function of the ratio between the exposed muscle surface area and the sample weight. Past research on turkey breast meat demonstrated that during vacuum-tumbling, marinade was less readily absorbed through the ventral surfaces of the fillets than the dorsal surfaces (Bowker et al., 2010). This was likely due to the dorsal surfaces of the fillets having increased areas of muscle fiber exposure due to the lack of the outer membrane and the cutting/deboning process (Bowker et al., 2010). Similarly, Heath and Owens (1991) suggested that marinade absorption and retention is related to the amount of muscle surface area and cut tissue exposed to the marinade. Hence, the more rapid marinade uptake in the breast fillet sub-samples in the current study may have been due to the fact that the sub-samples had a relatively higher proportion of surface area with exposed muscle fibers per unit of weight than the intact fillets due to the cutting process necessary to remove the sub-samples. On average, however, fresh intact breast fillets reached a greater maximum marinade uptake than fillet subsamples with extended vacuum-tumbling. For the fresh intact fillets, marinade uptake was similar to cranial sub-samples after 15 min of vacuum-tumbling but was greater than both sub-samples after extended marination (30 and 45 min). These data suggest that the use of sub-samples instead of intact fillets may underestimate average marinade pick-up with extended marination. The part of the Pectoralis major muscle from which the sub-samples were taken also influenced marination uptake. Caudal sub-samples had greater marinade uptake than cranial sub-samples after 15, 30, and 45 min of vacuum-tumbling. Differences between sub-samples may have been due to variations in muscle fiber orientation relative to the direction the samples were cut. Figure 2 shows the effects of fillet sub-sampling and vacuum-tumbling duration on marinade uptake in samples that were frozen-thawed prior to marination. For both types of frozen-thawed samples (intact fillets and sub-samples), maximum marinade uptake was not reached until 30 min of vacuum-tumbling. When compared to fresh samples (Figure 1), these data suggest that freezing-thawing the breast meat prior to marination decreased the rate of marinade absorption in fillet sub-samples. For the frozen-thawed intact fillets, marinade uptake was similar to cranial sub-samples after 15 min of vacuum-tumbling but more similar to caudal sub-samples at 45 min. Thus, the relationship between the marinade uptake of frozen-thawed intact fillets and fillet sub-samples was dependent upon the duration of
vacuum-tumbling. For the frozen-thawed samples, caudal portions had greater marinade uptake than cranial portions after 15, 30, and 45 min of vacuum-tumbling, similar to fresh samples. Freezing-thawing is known to alter the functionality attributes of raw poultry meat (Chan et al., 2011). In order to directly compare the effects of freezing-thawing on the marination performance of intact fillets and fillet sub-samples, data were analyzed as a 2-way ANOVA. Table 1 shows the interacting effects of sub-sampling and freezing-thawing on the processing variables. After 15 min of vacuum-tumbling, marinade uptake was not different between fresh and frozen-thawed samples but was on average greatest in caudal sub-samples and lowest in cranial sub-samples. With longer vacuumtumbling (30 and 45 min), however, there were significant sample type by fillet treatment interaction effects on marinade uptake. Surprisingly, freezing-thawing increased marinade uptake at 30 min in both the cranial and caudal sub-samples but had only a limited impact on the marinade uptake of the intact fillets. After 45 min of vacuum-tumbling, the marinade uptake of fresh samples was greatest in the intact fillets and lowest in the cranial sub-samples with caudal sub-samples intermediate. However, in frozen-thawed samples, the marinade uptake after 45 min was similar between intact fillets and caudal sub-samples and lowest in cranial sub-samples. Thus, even though the freezing-thawing protocol used in this study may have influenced the rate of marinade absorption, it did not seem to affect the total amount of marinade absorbed by the samples with extended vacuum-tumbling. Overall, for both the fresh and frozen-thawed samples the average marinade uptake of the caudal sub-samples seemed to be a closer approximation to the intact fillets. The parameters of the vacuum-tumbling procedure in this study may have contributed to the lower than expected marinade uptakes. Rather than using continuous vacuum tumbling, the samples were vacuum tumbled in three 15 min intervals with weights taken in between in order to determine the time course of marinade absorption. It has previously been observed that continuous vacuum-tumbling marination improves product yield and water-holding capacity compared to intermittent vacuum-tumbling (Gao et al., 2015). Additionally, lower marinade uptakes may have been partially due to tumbling speed (8 rpm). The physical loosening of the muscle tissue structure caused by tumbling helps to facilitate marinade absorption (Theno et al., 1978). Using a faster tumbling speed may have increased marinade absorption in the samples by enhancing muscle fiber disruption. Because the primary focus of this study was to compare the marination performance of whole breast fillets and fillet portions, it was necessary to maintain the identification of the individual pieces throughout the entire process. Using a slower vacuum-tumbling speed minimized the loss of identification tags during marination.
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MARINATION PERFORMANCE OF BREAST MEAT Table 1. Marination and cooking performance of whole breast fillets and fillet sub-samples (cranial and caudal) from fresh and frozen-thawed broiler breast meat (lsmeans). Fillet Treatment Trait
Sample Type
Marinade Uptake % 15 min
Marinade Uptake % 30 min
Marinade Uptake % 45 min
Marinade Retention %
Cook Loss %
Final Yield % (cooked)
a–d
Fresh
Frozen
Factor Significance Sample Type mean y
Trt
Sample
Trt × Sample
0.0001
NS
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
5.86 5.34 7.16 6.12
6.24 5.59 7.14 6.32
6.05 5.47z 7.15x
NS
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
8.28a,b,c 5.47d 7.40b,c 7.05y
9.00a,b 7.31c 9.74a 8.69x
8.64x 6.39y 8.57x
0.0258
9.68a,b 7.88c,d 9.90a,b 9.15
9.91x 7.21z 9.09y
NS
SEM = 0.38 0.0001
0.0218
SEM = 0.49
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
10.14a 6.54d 8.28b,c 8.32
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
85.7 86.3 86.7 86.3
86.5 87.3 92.2 88.7
86.1 86.8 89.4
NS
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
10.5 11.9 11.8 11.4
10.4 11.9 11.3 11.2
10.5y 11.9x 11.6x
NS
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
96.7a 92.3c 93.8b 94.3
96.6a 93.4b,c 95.9a 95.3
96.6x 92.9z 94.9y
NS
0.0001
0.0041
SEM = 0.50 0.0728
NS
SEM = 1.6 0.0001
NS
SEM = 0.3 0.0001
0.0107
SEM = 0.6
lsmeans within interaction effects with different superscripts significantly differ (P < 0.05). lsmeans within main effects with different superscripts significantly differ (P < 0.05).
x,y,z
Final product quality is not only influenced by marinade uptake but also by the ability of the breast meat to retain the marinade throughout storage and cooking. Salt and phosphate in the marinade function to increase the water-holding capacity of the meat and enhance moisture retention and product yield. In the current study, the average marinade retention during 24 h of cold storage after vacuum-tumbling was approximately 87% and was similar between fresh and frozen-thawed samples (Table 1). There was a trend (P = 0.0728) for marinade retention to be higher in sub-samples than intact fillets. Cook loss was greater in both the cranial and caudal sub-samples than the intact fillets (Table 1). The cranial and caudal sub-samples exhibited similar cook loss. Similar to marinade uptake, differences in the cut and exposed surface areas between intact fillets and sub-sample portions may have influenced the amount of moisture lost during cooking. In non-marinated broiler breast meat it has been shown that frozen storage can increase cook loss (Lee et al., 2008). In this study, however, freezing-thawing prior to marination did not impact average cook loss values for either intact fillets or sub-samples. It is likely that the salt and phosphate in the marinade increased breast meat cook yield and may have masked inherent differences in cook loss due to prior freezing and thawing. The overall processing performance of the samples in this study were estimated by calculating the final cooked product yield. This calculated variable simulta-
neously accounted for differences in marinade uptake, marinade retention, and cook loss. Final product yield exhibited a significant interaction effect (P = 0.0107) between freezing-thawing and sub-sampling treatments (Table 1). Freezing-thawing caused an increase in the final product yield of the cranial and caudal sub-samples but not the intact fillets. This was likely due to the increased marinade uptake in the frozen-thawed subsamples compared to the fresh sub-samples. Final product yield, however, was greatest in intact fillets and lowest in cranial sub-samples. In order to determine how representative the marination performance of Pectoralis major sub-samples were of similar properties in the entire muscle, it was important to not only look at the absolute values of the measurements but also the correlations between the data. Thus, correlation analysis was utilized to determine the strength of the relationships between the intact fillets and fillet sub-samples. With regards to the processing variables, the strength of the relationships between the intact fillets and fillet sub-samples were influenced by freezing-thawing (Table 2). The correlations between marinade uptake levels in intact fillets and cranial sub-samples were stronger in fresh samples (r = 0.64 to 0.78) than frozen-thawed samples (r = 0.39 to 0.59). However, the correlations between marinade uptake levels in intact fillets and caudal sub-samples were stronger in frozen-thawed samples (r = 0.79 to 0.82) than fresh samples (r = 0.46 to 0.63). Correlations
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BOWKER AND ZHUANG Table 2. Correlations between whole breast fillets and fillet sub-samples (cranial and caudal) for marination and cooking performance. Pearson Correlation Coefficients Fillet Treatment
Trait
Whole Fillet Versus Cranial Sub-Sample
Whole Fillet Versus Caudal Sub-Sample
Cranial Sub-Sample Versus Caudal Sub-Sample
Marinade Uptake % 15 min
Fresh Frozen
0.64∗∗∗ 0.39∗
0.50∗ 0.80∗∗∗
0.91∗∗∗ 0.72∗∗∗
Marinade Uptake % 30 min
Fresh Frozen
0.78∗∗∗ 0.59∗∗∗
0.63∗∗ 0.82∗∗∗
0.85∗∗∗ 0.79∗∗∗
Marinade Uptake % 45 min
Fresh Frozen
0.71∗∗∗ 0.44
0.46 0.79∗∗∗
0.76∗∗∗ 0.56∗
Marinade Retention %
Fresh Frozen
0.09 0.47∗
0.17 0.80∗∗∗
0.41 0.69∗∗∗
Cook Loss %
Fresh Frozen
0.06 0.67∗∗∗
0.06 0.73∗∗∗
0.40 0.72∗∗∗
Final Yield % (cooked)
Fresh Frozen
0.34 0.86∗∗∗
0.08 0.83∗∗∗
0.70∗∗ 0.87∗∗∗
∗
P < 0.01,
∗∗
P < 0.001,
∗∗∗
P < 0.0001
between marinade uptake levels in cranial sub-samples and caudal sub-samples were stronger in fresh samples (r = 0.76 to 0.91) than frozen-thawed samples (r = 0.56 to 0.79). For marinade retention, cooking loss, and final product yield, correlations between intact fillets and sub-samples were generally greater in frozen-thawed samples than fresh samples.
CONCLUSIONS Data from this study demonstrate that both subsampling and freezing-thawing prior to marination influence the processing and cooking performance of broiler breast meat. With short vacuum-tumbling times (15 min), the marinade uptakes of the whole breast fillets were more similar to the cranial sub-samples than the caudal sub-samples. With longer vacuumtumbling, however, marinade uptakes of caudal subsamples were more similar to the whole muscles. In both fresh and frozen-thawed samples, vacuum-tumbling beyond 30 min did not lead to further marinade absorption. Freezing-thawing fillets prior to sub-sampling and marination tended to slow the rate of marinade absorption in sub-samples but did not have a strong effect on the marination or cooking properties of the breast meat. In both fresh and frozen-thawed samples, cook loss values were greater in sub-samples than intact breast fillets. Freezing-thawing strongly influenced the relationships between performance of the sub-samples and whole breast fillets. In fresh samples, the marination properties of the intact fillets were more closely related to the cranial sub-samples. In frozen-thawed samples, however, the marination properties of the intact fillets were more closely related to the caudal sub-samples. Although breast fillets are often frozen-thawed prior to marination and sub-samples from the Pectoralis major muscle are frequently utilized for research purposes, the interpretation and comparison of subsequently collected data on the marination and cooking characteristics of
broiler breast fillets should account for these variations in sample handling. From an industry perspective, these data demonstrate that breast meat can be frozenthawed prior to portioning and vacuum-tumbling marination without negatively impacting marinade absorption, marinade retention, or cook loss, but also suggest that the portioning of breast fillets prior to vacuumtumbling marination can potentially lower cooked product yield.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank Elizabeth Barton and Candace McKinney (USDA-ARS) for their technical assistance in completing this research.
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MARINATION PERFORMANCE OF BREAST MEAT products as a substitute for phosphate in chicken marinade. J. Food Sci. 77:253–257. Lee, Y. S., A. Saha, R. Xiong, C. M. Owens, and J. F. Meullenet. 2008. Changes in broiler breast fillet tenderness, water-holding capacity, and color attributes during long-term frozen storage. J. Food Sci. 73:162–168. Lee, Y. S., Z. G. Zhekov, C. M. Owens, M. Kim, and J. F. Meullenet. 2012. Effects of partial and complete replacement of sodium chloride with potassium chloride on the texture, flavor and water-holding capacity of marinated broiler breast fillets. J. Text. Stud. 43:124–132. Leygonie, C., T. J. Britz, and L. C. Hoffman. 2012. Impact of freezing and thawing on the quality of meat: review. Meat Sci. 91:93–98. Mudalal, S., M. Lorenzi, F. Soglia, C. Cavani, and M. Petracci. 2015. Implications of white striping and wooden breast abnormalities on quality traits of raw and marinated chicken meat. Animal. 9:728–734. National Chicken Council. 2016. How broilers are marketed. http:// www.nationalchickencouncil.org/about-the-industry/statistics/. Accessed June 15, 2017. Parks, S. S., A. E. Reynolds, and L. Wicker. 2000. Aqueous apple flavoring in breast muscle has physical, chemical, and sensory properties similar to those of phosphate-marinated controls. Poult. Sci. 79:1183–1188. Perumalla, A. V. S., A. Saha, Y. Lee, J. F. Meullenet, and C. M. Owens. 2011. Marination properties and sensory evaluation of breast fillets from air-chilled and immersion-chilled broiler carcasses. Poult. Sci. 90:671–679. Petracci, M., L. Laghi, P. Rocculi, S. Rimini, V. Panarese, M. A. Cremonini, and C. Cavani. 2012. The use of sodium bicarbonate for marination of broiler breast meat. Poult. Sci. 91:526–534. Petracci, M., S. Mudalal, A. Bonfiglio, and C. Cavani. 2013. Occurrence of white striping under commercial conditions and its impact on breast meat quality in broiler chickens. Poult. Sci. 92:1670–1675. Qiao, M., D. L. Fletcher, D. P. Smith, and J. K. Northcutt. 2002. Effects of raw broiler breast meat color variation on marination and cooked meat quality. Poult. Sci. 81:276–280. Rimini, S., M. Petracci, and D. P. Smith. 2014. The use of thyme and orange essential oils blend to improve quality traits of marinated chicken meat. Poult. Sci. 93:2096–2102. Saha, A., Y. Lee, J. F. Meullenet, and C. M. Owens. 2009a. Consumer acceptance of broiler breast fillets marinated with varying levels of salt. Poult. Sci. 88:415–423.
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Saha, A., A. V. S. Perumalla, Y. Lee, J. F. Meullenet, and C. M. Owens. 2009b. Tenderness, moistness, and flavor of pre- and postrigor marinated broiler breast fillets evaluated by consumer sensory panel. Poult. Sci. 88:1250–1256. Smith, D. P., and J. C. Acton. 2010. Marination, cooking, and curing of poultry products. Pages 311–336 In Poultry Meat Processing, Second Edition. C. M. Owens, C. Z. Alvarado, and A. R. Sams, eds. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL. Smith, D. P., and L. L. Young. 2007. Marination pressure and phosphate effects on broiler breast fillet yield, tenderness, and color. Poult. Sci. 86:2666–2670. Soglia, F., S. Mudalal, E. Babini, M. Di Nunzio, M. Mazzoni, F. Sirri, C. Cavani, and M. Petracci. 2016. Histology, composition, and quality traits of chicken Pectoralis major muscle affected by wooden breast abnormality. Poult. Sci. 95:651–659. Theno, D. M., D. G. Siegel, and G. R. Schmidt. 1978. Meat massaging: effects of salt and phosphate on the ultrastructure of cured porcine muscle. J. Food Sci. 43:488–492. Woelfel, R. L., and A. R. Sams. 2001. Marination performance of pale broiler breast meat. Poult. Sci. 80:1519–1522. Xiong, Y. L., and D. R. Kupski. 1999a. Monitoring phosphate marinade penetration in tumbled chicken fillets using a thin-slicing, dye-tracing method. Poult. Sci. 78:1048–1052. Xiong, Y. L., and D. R. Kupski. 1999b. Time-dependent marinade absorption and retention, cooking yield, and palatability of chicken fillets marinated in various phosphate solutions. Poult. Sci. 78:1053–1059. Young, L. L., R. J. Buhr, and C. E. Lyon. 1999. Effect of polyphosphate treatment and electrical stimulation on postchill changes in quality of broiler breast meat. Poult. Sci. 78:267–271. Young, L. L., and C. E. Lyon. 1997. Effect of postchill aging and sodium tripolyphosphate on moisture binding properties, color, and Warner-Bratzler shear values of chicken breast meat. Poult. Sci. 76:1587–1590. Young, L. L., and D. P. Smith. 2004. Effect of vacuum on moisture absorption and retention by marinated broiler fillets. Poult. Sci. 83:129–131. Young, L. L., D. P. Smith, J. A. Cason, and J. M. Walker. 2004. Effect of intact carcass electrical stimulation on moisture retention characteristics of polyphosphate-treated non-aged boneless broiler breast fillets. Int. J. Poult. Sci. 3:796–798. Zhuang, H., B. Bowker, and D. Samuel. 2014. Effect of postmortem aging on marination performance of broiler breast pectoralis major categorized by color lightness. Poult. Sci. 93:3123–3129.
ABSTRACT Vacuum-tumbling marination is often used to improve the yield and quality of whole or portioned broiler breast fillets. The relationship between the marination performance of whole Pectoralis major muscles and breast fillet sub-samples is not well understood. The objective was to determine the effects of subsampling and freezing-thawing on the marination performance and cook loss of broiler breast meat. Paired right and left breast fillets were marinated as whole fillets or sub-samples (cranial and mid-caudal portions). Samples were marinated at 48 h postmortem (fresh) or stored at –20◦ C and then thawed prior to marination (frozen-thawed). Samples were vacuum-tumbled in 20% wt/wt brine (5% NaCl, 3% STP) and weighed premarination, during marination (15, 30, and 45 min), and 24 h post-marination. Samples were then cooked to 75◦ C for determination of cook loss. Marinade uptake was greater in caudal sub-samples than intact fillets and cranial sub-samples after 15 min of marination (P < 0.0001). After 30 min, marinade uptake was greater in caudal sub-samples and intact fillets than
Key words: Breast meat, cook loss, marination, meat quality, vacuum-tumbling 2017 Poultry Science 0:1–7 http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps/pex117
INTRODUCTION
marination can also be used to improve flavor and extend product shelf-life (Smith and Acton, 2010). Marinades used in moisture-enhanced poultry products typically contain salt, phosphate, and water (Alvarado and McKee, 2007). Vacuum-tumbling is a method for marinating raw poultry meat that is commonly used throughout the industry. As a result, much research has been conducted on the vacuum-tumbling marination of chicken breast meat. Investigators have evaluated the effects of specific vacuum-tumbling operating parameters such as tumbling duration, speed, and pressure on marination performance (Heath and Owens, 1991; Xiong and Kupski, 1999a,b; Young and Smith, 2004; Smith and Young, 2007). Vacuum-tumbling marination has also been utilized to determine the impact that various marinade ingredients and formulations have on processing variables and final product quality attributes (Xiong and Kupski, 1999a,b; Parks et al., 2000; Saha et al., 2009a; Jarvis et al., 2012; Lee et al., 2012; Petracci et al., 2012; Rimini et al., 2014). A considerable amount of research
In the U.S., the demand for value-added poultry meat products has rapidly increased over the last several decades, leading to more broiler meat being sold as further-processed products (National Chicken Council, 2016). Marination is now commonly used throughout the poultry industry to enhance meat tenderness, juiciness, and to improve raw and cooked product yield (Alvarado and McKee, 2007; Smith and Acton, 2010). Based on the ingredients incorporated into the meat, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Poultry Science Association 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US. Received September 30, 2016. Accepted April 28, 2017. 1 The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the United States Department of Agriculture or the Agricultural Research Service of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. 2 Corresponding author: [email protected]
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has been conducted to determine the influence of processing variables such as carcass electrical stimulation (Young et al., 1999, 2004), carcass chilling (Carroll and Alvarado, 2008; Perumalla et al., 2011), and post-chill aging and deboning time (Young and Lyon, 1997; Saha et al., 2009b) on the quality attributes of vacuum tumbled marinated breast meat. Variations in raw breast meat quality such as pale color and low muscle pH (Woelfel and Sams, 2001; Qiao et al., 2002; Barbut et al., 2005; Gorsuch and Alvarado, 2010; Zhuang et al., 2014) or the presence of the white striping or woody breast conditions (Petracci et al., 2013; Mudalal et al., 2015; Soglia et al., 2016) have also been shown to influence vacuum-tumbling marination performance. The specific methods used for sample preparation and vacuum-tumbling marination reported in the literature vary considerably. While most studies have been conducted by marinating whole boneless skinless breast fillets, some have been conducted by marinating only sub-sample portions of the breast meat. The Pectoralis major is an irregular-shaped muscle in which the thickness of the muscle, the orientation of the fibers, and the amount of exposed muscle tissue due to deboning are not uniform on the cranial-caudal and dorsalventral axes. Due to these inherent differences in the breast meat, it is hypothesized that the marination and cooking properties of whole breast fillets are different than breast meat sub-samples. Additionally, while some studies utilized fresh never-frozen breast meat, others utilized breast meat that was frozen and thawed prior to vacuum-tumbling marination. Although it is known that the formation of ice crystals during freezing can damage muscle ultrastructure and influence meat quality (Leygonie et al., 2012), the impact of freezingthawing on the processing performance of whole breast fillets and breast fillet portions is not well defined. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of broiler breast fillet sub-sampling and freezingthawing on marinade uptake, marinade retention, and cook loss. From a research perspective, these data will provide information that is useful for experimental design and establishing protocols for sample handling. From an industry perspective, understanding these relationships will provide better insight on the marination and cooking attributes of portioned breast meat products.
Color (CIE-L∗ a∗ b∗ ) was measured in triplicate on the dorsal surface of each fillet with a Minolta Spectrophotometer CM-700d (Konica Minolta Inc., Ramsey, NJ). From each butterfly breast, one fillet was marinated as a whole intact fillet (average weight 292 ± 13 g) and the other fillet was marinated as 2 sub-sample portions (7 × 4 × 2 cm, average weight 60 ± 2 g) removed from the cranial and mid-caudal portions of the Pectoralis major muscle. Fillets were sub-sampled and marinated at either 48 h postmortem (fresh) or after freezing (–20◦ C) and thawing (4◦ C for 24 h). The left and right fillets from each butterfly breast were assigned similar fresh or frozen/thawed treatments.
Marination and Cooking All samples (intact fillets and sub-samples) were individually tagged prior to vacuum tumbling marination in order to retain their identification throughout the process. Samples were vacuum tumbled with marinade added at a 20% (wt/wt) marinade to meat ratio. The marinade consisted of 5% sodium chloride and 3% sodium tripolyphosphate (Innophos, Inc., Cranbury, NJ) with a targeted final concentration of 0.75% salt and 0.45% sodium tripolyphosphate (based on raw meat weight). Samples were vacuum tumbled (DVTS 30 V.S., Daniels Food Equipment, Parkers Prairie, MN) at 4◦ C for a total of 45 min at 580 mm Hg and 8 rpm. Samples were weighed after 15, 30, and 45 min of vacuum-tumbling. At each interval, the tumbler was stopped and the samples were gently blotted dry to remove excess marinade on the surface prior to weighing. Samples were then placed back into the tumbler, the vacuum re-established and the tumbling process continued. After marination was completed, all samples were stored at 4◦ C on covered wire racks for 24 h prior to cooking. Intact fillets and sub-samples were then individually sealed in vacuum packing bags and cooked to an internal temperature of 75◦ C in a combi steam oven (MCS-6, Henny Penny Corp., Eaton, OH). Cooked samples were set at room temperature for 5 min prior to weighing.
Calculations and Statistical Analysis MATERIALS AND METHODS Samples and Treatments Over 3 separate trial days, a total of 69 butterfly breast fillets (Pectoralis major) were collected from broiler carcasses at the U.S. National Poultry Research Center poultry processing facility (Athens, GA) after overnight air chilling and deboning at 24 h postmortem. Breast muscle pH was measured using a Hach H160 pH meter (Hach Co., Loveland, CO) with a piercing tip micro probe inserted into the cranial end of each fillet.
Sample weights were recorded at 24 h postmortem (wtinitial ), immediately prior to marination (wtpremarination ), after 15, 30, and 45 min of marination (wt15min , wt30min , wt45min ), 24 h after marination (wtprecook ), and after cooking (wtpostcook ). Fillets designated for sub-sampling were weighed as intact fillets for wtinitial and wtpremarination measurements and then cut into sub-samples which were individually re-weighed for sub-sample wtpremarination and subsequent measurements. The following processing variables were calculated:
MARINATION PERFORMANCE OF BREAST MEAT
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Purge/thaw loss (%) = ((wtinitial – wtpremarination )/ wtinitial ) × 100 Marinade uptake 15 min (%) = ((wt15min – wtpremarination )/wtpremarination ) × 100 Marinade uptake at 30 and 45 min were similarly calculated using wt30min and wt45min . Marinade retention (%) = ((wtprecook – wtpremarination )/(wt45min – wtpremarination )) × 100 Cook loss (%) = ((wtprecook – wtpostcook )/wtprecook )) × 100 Final yield (%) = (wtpostcook /wtpremarination ) × 100
Data were analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS (Version 9.4, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). To determine the effects of sample type (whole, cranial sub-sample, and caudal sub-sample) and marination duration (15, 30, and 45 min) on marinade uptake, fresh and frozen-thawed data were separately analyzed using a mixed model with repeated measures that included sample type, marination duration, and the sample type by duration interaction as fixed effects. To determine the effects of sample type and freezing-thawing on marination and cooking properties, a 2-way ANOVA was utilized with treatment (fresh, frozen/thawed), sample type, and the treatment by sample type interaction included in the model as fixed effects and experimental replication as a random effect. Significant differences (P < 0.05) between means were identified using the Tukey’s means separation method. Pearson correlation coefficients were determined using the PROC CORR procedure of SAS.
Figure 1. Marinade uptake (%) of whole breast fillets and fillet subsamples (cranial and caudal) from fresh broiler breast meat (lsmeans).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Variations in raw breast meat quality are known to influence marination performance and cook yield. It has been shown that pale color and low meat pH (Woelfel and Sams 2001; Qiao et al., 2002; Barbut et al., 2005; Gorsuch and Alvarado, 2010; Zhuang et al., 2014), and the presence of the white striping or woody breast conditions (Petracci et al., 2013; Mudalal et al., 2015; Soglia et al., 2016) are often associated with diminished marinade absorption and greater cook loss. Because the focus of this study was to determine the effects of fillet sub-sampling and freezing-thawing on the marination process, broiler breast fillets exhibiting extreme color characteristics (pale or dark) or the white striping or woody breast conditions were not utilized. The breast fillets utilized in this study exhibited what would be considered normal pH (5.86 ± 0.05) and L∗ -lightness values (L∗ 54.5 ± 3.0). The fresh never-frozen samples had an average purge loss of 0.51% during refrigerated storage from 24 h postmortem to the time of marination at 48 h postmortem. Fillets that were frozen-thawed prior to marination had an average purge/thaw loss of 2.2%. Thus, wide variations in initial breast meat qual-
Figure 2. Marinade uptake (%) of whole breast fillets and fillet sub-samples (cranial and caudal) from frozen-thawed broiler breast meat (lsmeans).
ity were not thought to play a significant role in this study. In order to determine the effects of fillet sub-sampling and vacuum-tumbling duration on marinade uptake, data for fresh and frozen-thawed samples were analyzed separately using a repeated measures analysis. As expected, marinade absorption increased with vacuumtumbling duration in both intact fillets and fillet subsamples (Figures 1 and 2). Although the samples were marinated for a total of 45 min, most of the marinade absorption occurred during the first 15 min of vacuumtumbling. Using marinades with various types of phosphates and salt levels, Xiong and Kupski (1999a,b) similarly found that the majority of marinade absorption by intact breast fillets occurred during the first 15 min of tumbling marination. Marinade absorption in breast meat pieces was also previously found to increase with tumbling time (Heath and Owens, 1991). Figure 1 shows the interacting effect (P = 0.0001) of
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fillet sub-sampling and marination duration on marinade uptake in fresh samples. Overall, marinade uptake seemed to be slower with fresh intact fillets compared to sub-samples. Maximum marinade uptake for both the cranial and caudal sub-samples was reached after only 15 min of vacuum tumbling, whereas maximum marinade uptake in intact fillets was not reached until 30 min of marination. Differences in marinade absorption between intact fillets and sub-samples were likely a function of the ratio between the exposed muscle surface area and the sample weight. Past research on turkey breast meat demonstrated that during vacuum-tumbling, marinade was less readily absorbed through the ventral surfaces of the fillets than the dorsal surfaces (Bowker et al., 2010). This was likely due to the dorsal surfaces of the fillets having increased areas of muscle fiber exposure due to the lack of the outer membrane and the cutting/deboning process (Bowker et al., 2010). Similarly, Heath and Owens (1991) suggested that marinade absorption and retention is related to the amount of muscle surface area and cut tissue exposed to the marinade. Hence, the more rapid marinade uptake in the breast fillet sub-samples in the current study may have been due to the fact that the sub-samples had a relatively higher proportion of surface area with exposed muscle fibers per unit of weight than the intact fillets due to the cutting process necessary to remove the sub-samples. On average, however, fresh intact breast fillets reached a greater maximum marinade uptake than fillet subsamples with extended vacuum-tumbling. For the fresh intact fillets, marinade uptake was similar to cranial sub-samples after 15 min of vacuum-tumbling but was greater than both sub-samples after extended marination (30 and 45 min). These data suggest that the use of sub-samples instead of intact fillets may underestimate average marinade pick-up with extended marination. The part of the Pectoralis major muscle from which the sub-samples were taken also influenced marination uptake. Caudal sub-samples had greater marinade uptake than cranial sub-samples after 15, 30, and 45 min of vacuum-tumbling. Differences between sub-samples may have been due to variations in muscle fiber orientation relative to the direction the samples were cut. Figure 2 shows the effects of fillet sub-sampling and vacuum-tumbling duration on marinade uptake in samples that were frozen-thawed prior to marination. For both types of frozen-thawed samples (intact fillets and sub-samples), maximum marinade uptake was not reached until 30 min of vacuum-tumbling. When compared to fresh samples (Figure 1), these data suggest that freezing-thawing the breast meat prior to marination decreased the rate of marinade absorption in fillet sub-samples. For the frozen-thawed intact fillets, marinade uptake was similar to cranial sub-samples after 15 min of vacuum-tumbling but more similar to caudal sub-samples at 45 min. Thus, the relationship between the marinade uptake of frozen-thawed intact fillets and fillet sub-samples was dependent upon the duration of
vacuum-tumbling. For the frozen-thawed samples, caudal portions had greater marinade uptake than cranial portions after 15, 30, and 45 min of vacuum-tumbling, similar to fresh samples. Freezing-thawing is known to alter the functionality attributes of raw poultry meat (Chan et al., 2011). In order to directly compare the effects of freezing-thawing on the marination performance of intact fillets and fillet sub-samples, data were analyzed as a 2-way ANOVA. Table 1 shows the interacting effects of sub-sampling and freezing-thawing on the processing variables. After 15 min of vacuum-tumbling, marinade uptake was not different between fresh and frozen-thawed samples but was on average greatest in caudal sub-samples and lowest in cranial sub-samples. With longer vacuumtumbling (30 and 45 min), however, there were significant sample type by fillet treatment interaction effects on marinade uptake. Surprisingly, freezing-thawing increased marinade uptake at 30 min in both the cranial and caudal sub-samples but had only a limited impact on the marinade uptake of the intact fillets. After 45 min of vacuum-tumbling, the marinade uptake of fresh samples was greatest in the intact fillets and lowest in the cranial sub-samples with caudal sub-samples intermediate. However, in frozen-thawed samples, the marinade uptake after 45 min was similar between intact fillets and caudal sub-samples and lowest in cranial sub-samples. Thus, even though the freezing-thawing protocol used in this study may have influenced the rate of marinade absorption, it did not seem to affect the total amount of marinade absorbed by the samples with extended vacuum-tumbling. Overall, for both the fresh and frozen-thawed samples the average marinade uptake of the caudal sub-samples seemed to be a closer approximation to the intact fillets. The parameters of the vacuum-tumbling procedure in this study may have contributed to the lower than expected marinade uptakes. Rather than using continuous vacuum tumbling, the samples were vacuum tumbled in three 15 min intervals with weights taken in between in order to determine the time course of marinade absorption. It has previously been observed that continuous vacuum-tumbling marination improves product yield and water-holding capacity compared to intermittent vacuum-tumbling (Gao et al., 2015). Additionally, lower marinade uptakes may have been partially due to tumbling speed (8 rpm). The physical loosening of the muscle tissue structure caused by tumbling helps to facilitate marinade absorption (Theno et al., 1978). Using a faster tumbling speed may have increased marinade absorption in the samples by enhancing muscle fiber disruption. Because the primary focus of this study was to compare the marination performance of whole breast fillets and fillet portions, it was necessary to maintain the identification of the individual pieces throughout the entire process. Using a slower vacuum-tumbling speed minimized the loss of identification tags during marination.
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MARINATION PERFORMANCE OF BREAST MEAT Table 1. Marination and cooking performance of whole breast fillets and fillet sub-samples (cranial and caudal) from fresh and frozen-thawed broiler breast meat (lsmeans). Fillet Treatment Trait
Sample Type
Marinade Uptake % 15 min
Marinade Uptake % 30 min
Marinade Uptake % 45 min
Marinade Retention %
Cook Loss %
Final Yield % (cooked)
a–d
Fresh
Frozen
Factor Significance Sample Type mean y
Trt
Sample
Trt × Sample
0.0001
NS
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
5.86 5.34 7.16 6.12
6.24 5.59 7.14 6.32
6.05 5.47z 7.15x
NS
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
8.28a,b,c 5.47d 7.40b,c 7.05y
9.00a,b 7.31c 9.74a 8.69x
8.64x 6.39y 8.57x
0.0258
9.68a,b 7.88c,d 9.90a,b 9.15
9.91x 7.21z 9.09y
NS
SEM = 0.38 0.0001
0.0218
SEM = 0.49
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
10.14a 6.54d 8.28b,c 8.32
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
85.7 86.3 86.7 86.3
86.5 87.3 92.2 88.7
86.1 86.8 89.4
NS
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
10.5 11.9 11.8 11.4
10.4 11.9 11.3 11.2
10.5y 11.9x 11.6x
NS
Whole Cranial Caudal Trt mean
96.7a 92.3c 93.8b 94.3
96.6a 93.4b,c 95.9a 95.3
96.6x 92.9z 94.9y
NS
0.0001
0.0041
SEM = 0.50 0.0728
NS
SEM = 1.6 0.0001
NS
SEM = 0.3 0.0001
0.0107
SEM = 0.6
lsmeans within interaction effects with different superscripts significantly differ (P < 0.05). lsmeans within main effects with different superscripts significantly differ (P < 0.05).
x,y,z
Final product quality is not only influenced by marinade uptake but also by the ability of the breast meat to retain the marinade throughout storage and cooking. Salt and phosphate in the marinade function to increase the water-holding capacity of the meat and enhance moisture retention and product yield. In the current study, the average marinade retention during 24 h of cold storage after vacuum-tumbling was approximately 87% and was similar between fresh and frozen-thawed samples (Table 1). There was a trend (P = 0.0728) for marinade retention to be higher in sub-samples than intact fillets. Cook loss was greater in both the cranial and caudal sub-samples than the intact fillets (Table 1). The cranial and caudal sub-samples exhibited similar cook loss. Similar to marinade uptake, differences in the cut and exposed surface areas between intact fillets and sub-sample portions may have influenced the amount of moisture lost during cooking. In non-marinated broiler breast meat it has been shown that frozen storage can increase cook loss (Lee et al., 2008). In this study, however, freezing-thawing prior to marination did not impact average cook loss values for either intact fillets or sub-samples. It is likely that the salt and phosphate in the marinade increased breast meat cook yield and may have masked inherent differences in cook loss due to prior freezing and thawing. The overall processing performance of the samples in this study were estimated by calculating the final cooked product yield. This calculated variable simulta-
neously accounted for differences in marinade uptake, marinade retention, and cook loss. Final product yield exhibited a significant interaction effect (P = 0.0107) between freezing-thawing and sub-sampling treatments (Table 1). Freezing-thawing caused an increase in the final product yield of the cranial and caudal sub-samples but not the intact fillets. This was likely due to the increased marinade uptake in the frozen-thawed subsamples compared to the fresh sub-samples. Final product yield, however, was greatest in intact fillets and lowest in cranial sub-samples. In order to determine how representative the marination performance of Pectoralis major sub-samples were of similar properties in the entire muscle, it was important to not only look at the absolute values of the measurements but also the correlations between the data. Thus, correlation analysis was utilized to determine the strength of the relationships between the intact fillets and fillet sub-samples. With regards to the processing variables, the strength of the relationships between the intact fillets and fillet sub-samples were influenced by freezing-thawing (Table 2). The correlations between marinade uptake levels in intact fillets and cranial sub-samples were stronger in fresh samples (r = 0.64 to 0.78) than frozen-thawed samples (r = 0.39 to 0.59). However, the correlations between marinade uptake levels in intact fillets and caudal sub-samples were stronger in frozen-thawed samples (r = 0.79 to 0.82) than fresh samples (r = 0.46 to 0.63). Correlations
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BOWKER AND ZHUANG Table 2. Correlations between whole breast fillets and fillet sub-samples (cranial and caudal) for marination and cooking performance. Pearson Correlation Coefficients Fillet Treatment
Trait
Whole Fillet Versus Cranial Sub-Sample
Whole Fillet Versus Caudal Sub-Sample
Cranial Sub-Sample Versus Caudal Sub-Sample
Marinade Uptake % 15 min
Fresh Frozen
0.64∗∗∗ 0.39∗
0.50∗ 0.80∗∗∗
0.91∗∗∗ 0.72∗∗∗
Marinade Uptake % 30 min
Fresh Frozen
0.78∗∗∗ 0.59∗∗∗
0.63∗∗ 0.82∗∗∗
0.85∗∗∗ 0.79∗∗∗
Marinade Uptake % 45 min
Fresh Frozen
0.71∗∗∗ 0.44
0.46 0.79∗∗∗
0.76∗∗∗ 0.56∗
Marinade Retention %
Fresh Frozen
0.09 0.47∗
0.17 0.80∗∗∗
0.41 0.69∗∗∗
Cook Loss %
Fresh Frozen
0.06 0.67∗∗∗
0.06 0.73∗∗∗
0.40 0.72∗∗∗
Final Yield % (cooked)
Fresh Frozen
0.34 0.86∗∗∗
0.08 0.83∗∗∗
0.70∗∗ 0.87∗∗∗
∗
P < 0.01,
∗∗
P < 0.001,
∗∗∗
P < 0.0001
between marinade uptake levels in cranial sub-samples and caudal sub-samples were stronger in fresh samples (r = 0.76 to 0.91) than frozen-thawed samples (r = 0.56 to 0.79). For marinade retention, cooking loss, and final product yield, correlations between intact fillets and sub-samples were generally greater in frozen-thawed samples than fresh samples.
CONCLUSIONS Data from this study demonstrate that both subsampling and freezing-thawing prior to marination influence the processing and cooking performance of broiler breast meat. With short vacuum-tumbling times (15 min), the marinade uptakes of the whole breast fillets were more similar to the cranial sub-samples than the caudal sub-samples. With longer vacuumtumbling, however, marinade uptakes of caudal subsamples were more similar to the whole muscles. In both fresh and frozen-thawed samples, vacuum-tumbling beyond 30 min did not lead to further marinade absorption. Freezing-thawing fillets prior to sub-sampling and marination tended to slow the rate of marinade absorption in sub-samples but did not have a strong effect on the marination or cooking properties of the breast meat. In both fresh and frozen-thawed samples, cook loss values were greater in sub-samples than intact breast fillets. Freezing-thawing strongly influenced the relationships between performance of the sub-samples and whole breast fillets. In fresh samples, the marination properties of the intact fillets were more closely related to the cranial sub-samples. In frozen-thawed samples, however, the marination properties of the intact fillets were more closely related to the caudal sub-samples. Although breast fillets are often frozen-thawed prior to marination and sub-samples from the Pectoralis major muscle are frequently utilized for research purposes, the interpretation and comparison of subsequently collected data on the marination and cooking characteristics of
broiler breast fillets should account for these variations in sample handling. From an industry perspective, these data demonstrate that breast meat can be frozenthawed prior to portioning and vacuum-tumbling marination without negatively impacting marinade absorption, marinade retention, or cook loss, but also suggest that the portioning of breast fillets prior to vacuumtumbling marination can potentially lower cooked product yield.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank Elizabeth Barton and Candace McKinney (USDA-ARS) for their technical assistance in completing this research.
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