Effect of tumbling marination on marinade uptake of chicken carcass and parts quality

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of marination on marinade uptake of chicken carcasses and to determine the meat quality of carcass parts. In total, 45 eviscerated chicken carcasses were divided into three marinating treatments: no marination, marination in water, marination in non-phosphate and low-salt solution (NPLS). The study showed that the marinade uptake of chicken carcasses was higher than 4.0% for NPLS marination and than 3.5% for water marination when compared with the non-marinated treatment. However, raw chicken meat yield after cut-up was not significantly different (p≥0.05) among treatments. Carcasses marinated in NPLS solution presented higher water-holding capacity (WHC). The results showed that NPLS marination may reduce cooking loss and expressible water of chicken meat after cooking. Based on the Warner-Bratzler Shear (WBSF) results, NPLS marination had a stronger effect on textural quality of cooked breast meat than thighs and drumsticks. However, no significant differences of texture profile analysis (TPA) parameters were observed (p≥0.05). In the sensory evaluation, NPLS marination influenced the sensory quality of cooked meat, particularly texture and appearance attributes, but not the taste and aftertaste attributes of cooked meat. It is concluded that NPLS marination effectively increased carcass weight, despite its effects on meat quality varied according to the anatomical location of the parts.