Development of technology for the production of cooked-smoked poultry products in small enterprises

Smoked meat production is a profitable business, and the question arises of choosing a technology that will allow you to produce quality products. Nowadays, many manufacturers are returning to the classic smoking technology and positioning their products as a traditional item. However, they do not avoid mistakes, because the smoking technology is simple and unpretentious only at first glance. This is especially true for small businesses, which sometimes neglect to comply with the technology and, as a result, the quality of the final product deteriorates. The article highlights the urgent issue of developing an optimal technology for the production of cooked and smoked poultry products in small enterprises. The aim of the work was to establish the optimal parameters of the technology for the production of boiled and smoked chicken products (wings, drumsticks and thighs) in small enterprises using mini equipment. Experimental studies were conducted using chilled meat raw materials using the «ANUKA» mini-smoker. 3 groups of products were formed, at the first stage, group 1 was cooked at 100°C for 10 minutes, group 2-20 minutes, group 3-30 minutes. Then the raw materials were cooled to 20 0C. At the second stage, each group was divided into three subgroups A, B, C. Products from each subgroup were smoked hot (100 0C), subgroup A for 20 minutes, subgroup B for 30 minutes, and subgroup C for 40 minutes. Quality studies were conducted on the following indicators: product yield, mass fraction of salt, readiness for consumption, appearance, external damage and color, consistency, taste and odor. It was found that the yield of smoked meats was within the normal range and amounted to: wings – 80.2-82.9%, drumsticks – 76.0-78.5%, thighs – 74.9-77.7%, regardless of the processing mode. Organoleptic evaluation showed that the total highest score was for products of group 2, subgroup B. They had the maximum score for all indicators. The products of group 3, subgroup A were slightly inferior to them. That is, the optimal time for cooking is 50 minutes. It was found that the products of all groups, which were smoked for 40 minutes, had a slight bitter taste. It was noted that the products of the 3rd group of subgroup C were too dry, and the 1st groups of subgroups A and B were slightly damp and watery, sometimes with a pinkish tint, indicating insufficient heat treatment. There were no significant differences in salt content, and its percentage was at the level of 1.98-2.11%. Therefore, for the production of cooked smoked chicken products in small processing enterprises, the optimal heat treatment would be the following: 20 minutes of cooking and 30 minutes of smoking. This allows to obtain products with high organoleptic characteristics, pleasant presentation and the highest possible yield of the finished product, and smoking for 40 minutes is unacceptable as it significantly worsens the taste of the products.