Indian Journal of Poultry Science

The aim of this study was to standardize the meat level and type of meat suitable in development of meat finger chips (MFC) using turkey and spent hen meat. Meat level was standardized using spent hen meat at three different levels viz. 80, 70 and 60% in the formulation. The type of meat suitable for development of MFC was optimized based on following treatments viz. T₁= turkey meat 100%, T₂= spent hen meat 100%, T₃= turkey meat 75% + spent hen meat 25%, T₄= turkey meat 50% + spent hen meat 50%, and T₅ = turkey meat 25% + spent hen meat 75%. The product samples were prepared using cold extrusion techniques following microwave method of cooking. All the products were evaluated for various physico-chemical characteristics and sensory attributes. It has been observed that cooking yield and emulsion stability were decreased and moisture, protein and fat contents were increased (P < 0.05) with the increase of meat level. The emulsion and cooked product pH remained nearly unchanged. As expected the redness (a-value) and yellowness (b-value) increased and decreased, respectively with increase in meat levels. In regards to sensory attributes, the products containing 70% meat exhibited significantly higher scores for all attributes except meat flavour intensity. Amongst the products of different meat types, T₁ sample had highest cooking yield & protein content but lowest fat content as compared to other samples. T₁ samples also exhibited higher emulsion stability, emulsion and cooked product pH but they did not differ significantly (p>0.05) amongst the treatment groups. Similar trends were also observed in WAI and WSI. The redness (a-values) did not differ significantly while yellowness (b-values) was highest in the products with more chicken meat (T₂). With regards to sensory attributes, all the samples were well acceptable by the sensory panellists. Amongst them, T₄ samples exhibited significantly higher (p<0.05) scores for texture, crispiness, after taste and overall acceptability compared to others. So, based on different physico-chemical and sensory quality characteristics it is concluded that formulation containing 70% meat mince at 50:50 ratio of turkey and spent hen meat was most suitable in preparation of poultry meat finger chips.