The Effects of Holding Time and Added Salt on pH and Functional Properties of Chicken Meat

Abstract

The effects of salt addition and three postmortem holding times on the pH, water binding, and emulsifying capacities of broiler and hen breast and leg meat were determined. Broilers and hens were processed in a pilot plant; the skinless meat was stripped from uneviscerated, nonchilled carcasses; and initial pH values of breast and thigh muscles were made within 20 min postmortem. The four sublots of ground meat — breast without salt, breast with salt, leg without salt, and leg with salt — were held at 2 C, and samples were drawn at 1.5, 4, or 24 hr postmortem. Initial broiler breast muscle pH was lower than hen breast muscle, and breast muscle pH was lower than leg muscle pH for both classses. There were only small pH differences noted for the holding times. Salt addition significantly elevated the pH of breast meat but not of leg meat. Salt significantly improved the water-binding capacity of both meat types with the most pronounced increase noted for hen leg meat. Longer holding times in the presence of salt did not improve the water-binding capacity. Emulsifying capacity was significantly affected by holding time with less oil emulsified at 4 hr postmortem. Broiler meat emulsified significantly more oil than hen meat.