The Influence of Marination, Weight, and Cooking Technique on Tenderness of Broilers

Two experiments were conducted to ascertain the effect of cooking methods, weight of broiler, and marination on tenderness and cooked yield of breasts and thighs. In the first experiment, broilers without giblets (WOGS) weighing 750 to 825 g were compared to WOGS weighing 1350 to 1700 g and cooked by two methods. In the second experiment, WOGS were aged 3 or 16 hr before being subjected to a marination treatment. Marination treatments consisted of injection with 5% phosphate solution or soaking in a solution containing 4% monosodium glutamate (MSG) and 4% salt (NaCl). Nonmarinated WOGS were aged 3 to 16 hr before cooking. Breast and thigh parts were cooked to an internal temperature of 82 C before freezing with carbon dioxide. Breaded and steamed broiler parts had lower values and higher cooked yields than corresponding parts cooked in water. Smaller WOGS (750 to 825 g) had the lowest shear values for thighs but the highest values for the breast. Broilers aged 16 hr prior to marination had the most tender breast and thighs and the highest percent cooked yield. Aging for only 3 hr produced the highest shear value, which indicated that these parts were the least tender. Marination of breasts and thighs for 3 hr yielded shear values equal to those from parts aged for 16 hr, but not marinated. These data suggest marination of broiler parts is one method of reducing the aging time required to achieve tenderness in breast and thigh muscles.