Effect of salt and phosphates during tumbling of turkey breast muscle on meat characteristics. Poultry Science

ABSTRACT Turkey breast muscle was injected with salt and various types of phosphate (sodium tripolyphosphate; 90 % sodium tripolyphosphate and 10 % sodium hexametaphosphate; 75% sodium tripolyphosphate and 25 % sodium hexametaphosphate; 90 % sodium tripolyphosphate and 10 % tetrasodium pyrophosphate) solutions to 3 % of green weight. After injection, breasts were tumbled in a cold room in a laboratory-sized tumbler for 2 hr at 20 rpm with alternate intervals of tumbling for 10 min and 10 min of rest for a total of 1 hr of tumbling. The presence of salt, during tumbling, significantly reduced expressible moisture and cooking losses but did not significantly affect shear values. All of the phosphates used significantly reduced expressible moisture and cooking losses without influencing shear values. Sensory properties (binding ability, juiciness, and flavor) of rolls made from tumbled meat were significantly improved when the breast muscle was tumbled in the presence of salt and phosphates. A combination of sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium hexametaphosphate significantly improved extractability of myofibrillar proteins during the tumbling process as compared to other phosphate sources. These results generally indicated that the presence of both salt and polyphosphates during tumbling improve sensory properties of turkey rolls. (Key words: tumbling, turkey muscle, salt, phosphates