Effect of Marination Method and Holding Time on Physicochemical and Sensory Characteristics of Broiler Meat

The influence of holding time on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of broiler meat marinated using three different marination techniques was examined in this study. The experimental design was 4 x 3 factorial arrangement of treatments evaluating four marination methods (un-marinated control, injection, immersion and tumbling) and three holding times (4, 8 and 12 h). A total of 84 deboned chicken thigh meat samples (average weight ± SD, 50 ± 5 g) obtained from 32-days old broiler chickens was marinated using a commercial marinade mixture and allocated into treatment combinations. Meat samples were analysed for uptake of marinade, pH, water holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss, cooking yield, marinade loss, shearing force value (SFV) and meat colour. Cooked meat samples from marinated treatments were evaluated for sensory properties. Tumbling and injection marination significantly improved (P<0.05) the marinade uptake. Holding marinated meat for 8 h improved the pH (P<0.05) and SFV (P<0.05) compared with its un-marinated counterpart. Increasing holding time from 4 to 12 h had no effect (P>0.05) on SFV of meat marinated by tumbling. Meat held for 12 h after immersion marination has resulted the highest (P<0.05) marination loss (8.12%). In all three marination methods, holding marinated meat for 8 h increased the pH, WHC and cooking yield and minimized the cooking loss, drip loss and SFV. In tumbling marination, increasing holding time from 4 to 8 h had no influence (P>0.05) on cooking yield, cooking loss and drip loss. Immersion method significantly increased (P<0.05) the darkness (-L*) of chicken thigh meat. Immersion and tumbling methods equally (P>0.05) contributed to the yellowness (b*) of meat. Holding meat for 8 h after immersion (15.53) and 12 h after tumbling (13.97) significantly (P<0.05) increased the redness (a*) in chicken thigh. The sensory attributes of the meat samples tended to increase with the increasing holding time (P<0.05) from 4 h to 8 h. The highest and the lowest score for the overall acceptability were obtained by the meat marinated by the injection and immersion methods, respectively. The present study concluded that holding marinated chicken thigh meat for 8 h improves (P<0.05) pH, WHC, cooking yield and meat tenderness and minimizes cooking loss, drip loss and SFV. Chicken thigh meat marinated by immersion method maximally contributes to the development of the physicochemical parameters assessed than tumbling and injection methods. The sensory evaluation suggests that holding injection marinated meat for 8 h attracts consumers the most.