The Effect of Short-Term Tumbling and Salting on the Quality of Turkey Breast Muscle

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of short-term tumbling on quality of whole turkey carcasses. Twenty hen turkeys at 18 weeks of age were slaughtered and randomly allotted into two main treatments (tumbled and nontumbled). The main units were further treated in a split plot design resulting in the left breast of each bird being injected with a 7% chilled sodium chloride solution (3% of breast weight) and the right breast was unsalted. Tumbling time was 30 min using a custom designed 50-gal tumbler set at 20 rpm. Chemical composition of all treatments was not significantly different. Tumbling did not significantly affect moisture content or water holding capacity of the breast muscle. Cooking losses were significantly lower and pH of the cooked muscle was significantly higher in tumbled carcasses as compared to the non-tumbled treatment. Salt injection significantly lowered shear values and improved the water holding capacity of the breast muscle, whereas tumbling had no significant influence on these parameters in the breast muscle.