Effect of Salt Brining and Cooking Procedure on Tenderness and Microbiology of Smoked Cornish Game Hens

Two trials were conducted to determine the effects of cooking procedure and salt brining on the tenderness and microbiology of Cornish hens. Shear values were significantly lower for both light and dark meat from brined Cornish hens. Meat from birds slow-cooked with smoke gave significantly lower shear force values than meat from birds which were oven-roasted. Shear values obtained from light meat were significantly higher than those obtained for dark meat. Brining increased the tenderness of light meat significantly more than it did of dark meat. There was no significant difference in shear values of light and dark meat from brined Cornish hens. No significant difference in shear values was observed for dark meat from birds cooked by any of the three methods; however, light meat from birds cooked slowly with smoke had significantly lower shear values than those from birds which were cooked slowly without smoke or which were oven-roasted. Coliform and total counts were numerically lower on birds brined and slow-cooked with smoke.