The Effect of Water Soaking, Brining and Cooking Procedure on Tenderness of Broilers

Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of salt brining time, water soaking, and cooking procedures on the tenderness of broilers. In all experiments there were no significant differences in shear values of meat from birds that were either smoked or oven-roasted. Meat from birds that were soaked in salt brine 16 or 32 hours before either smoking or oven-roasting had significantly lower shear force values than meat from unbrined birds. There were no significant differences in shear values between light and dark meat from birds brined for either 16 or 32 hours while shear values for light meat were significantly higher than dark meat from unbrined birds. When broilers were either unbrined or soaked for 32 hours in brine or tap water, the meat from water soaked birds had numerically higher shear force values than meat from unbrined birds. Meat from both water soaked and unbrined birds had significantly higher shear force values than meat from brined birds. Microbiological examination of broilers after smoking showed low levels of total aerobes and an absence of coliforms.