Abstract:The effect of three chilling methods on the development of rigor mortis and meat quality in yellow-feather chicken carcasses was examined. The rate of lactic acid production by the muscles of non-chilled chicken carcasses was higher, which led to a rapid decrease in the pH of the chicken meat, and onset of rigor mortis around 4 hours later. At a low temperature (4 ℃), the delay in the onset of rigor mortis was obviously confirmed by the decrease in the rate of lactic acid production in chicken muscles and pH. The rate and magnitude of elasticity of the non-chilled chicken carcasses were much higher (p<0.05) than those of the chilled chicken carcasses. At a later stage of storage, combined chilling showed a slight increase in the elasticity of the chicken carcasses (p>0.05) than iced-water chilling. During the storage, the decreasing rate and amplitude magnitude of shear force of the breast meat were much higher than those of the legs. Especially, the shear force of the non-chilled chicken breast dropped down from 59.55±2.71 N/mm2 to 36.73±1.61 N/mm2 within 4 hours. Meanwhile, there was no obvious change in the shear force of the legs. The content of soluble proteins in the non-chilled chicken breast and legs was obviously higher (p<0.05) than that of the non-chilled chicken carcass sample, and the soluble protein content of chicken carcasses subjected to combined chilling was slightly higher than that of water-cooled chicken carcasses. Thus, the main iced-water soaking method was considered as the reason for the loss of the soluble protein and flavor of non-chilled chicken.
