Interaction of heat transfer methods, storage temperature and packaging atmosphere on quality of processed chicken meat

This research investigated the combined effects of cooking methods (household griddle (C1), household conventional oven (C2), industrial oven (C3), storage temperature (refrigeration /freezing) and packaging system (aerobic and vacuum), on quality of chicken burgers. The results show that refrigeration storage favours the retention of moisture content and the juiciness of chicken burgers, but the application of vacuum (RV) was the best option to maintain the juiciness and moisture content (p < 0.05) of the samples prepared in an industrial oven with forced-air convection. The highest protein content was observed in the samples that were frozen in vacuum packaging (FV), and the lipid content was highest in the samples chilled in conventional packaging (RC) at 1 atm. Regardless of the cooking method used and the internal pressure of the packages (<= 1 atm), refrigerated storage contributed to the best scores (p < 0.05) for color and flavor attributes. The treatments that presented the highest sensory acceptance index were the frozen samples in vacuum packaging prepared in the industrial oven, conventional oven, and grill (90%, 82.66%, and 74.33%, respectively).