EFFECTS OF BROILER BREAST MEAT FIBER DIRECTION, DICING, AND POSTMORTEM DEBONING TIME ON ALLO-KRAMER SHEAR

In an attempt to evaluate the effect of breast meat sample orientation and preparation, broiler breast meat was deboned at 1 or 24 hr post-m ortem (Experiment 1) or at 0.5, 1, 4, and 24 hr post-mortem (Experimen t 2), cooked, and sheared in an Allo-Kramer (AK) shear cell. In Experi ment 1 meat samples were placed with surface muscle fibers either perp endicular to the blades (90 degrees), at a 45 degrees angle to the bla des (45 degrees), or parallel to the blades (0 degrees). In Experiment 2, samples were either sheared intact (at 90 degrees) or diced into c ubes prior to shearing. Results suggest that either altering the angle of shear from other than perpendicular to the surface fibers (90 degr ees) or that dicing a sample significantly (and inaccurately) lowers A K shear values of broiler breast meat, especially for samples from mea t deboned early.