Broiler Tenderness: Effects of Postchill Deboning Time and Fillet Holding Time

Abstract

The tremendous increase in volume of new products containing broiler breast meat has caused many processors to abbreviate the traditional postmortem aging period necessary to ensure ultimate tenderness in the cooked meat. Differences in the tenderness of broiler breast muscle were examined by varying the time prior to deboning breast muscle (0, 1, or 24 hours postchill) and by holding the deboned muscles at refrigerated temperature for various times prior to freezing (0, 12, or 24 hours). Removing breast muscles immediately postchill resulted in the toughest meat. Muscles left on the carcass for 1 hour postchill were less tough than the muscles removed immediately postchill, and the muscles removed after 24 hours were the most tender.