Effects of marinating ingredients on physicochemical, microstructural and sensory properties of golek chicken

Marination directly affects the texture and flavor of meat and is important for product yield. This research investigated the effects of various marinating solutions on the physicochemical, microstructural and sensory properties of golek chicken, a popular dish in Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Thailand. Non-marinated meat (Tr1-control) was compared with five marinating treatments: distilled water (Tr2); sodium chloride (Tr3); a mixture of sodium chloride and sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) (Tr4); a mixture of sodium chloride, STPP and citric acid (Tr5); and a mixture of sodium chloride, STPP and sodium bicarbonate (Tr6). Marinating meat in Tr3–Tr6 resulted in higher water-holding capacity and cooking yield, as well as lower shear force value and cooking loss, when compared to Tr1 and Tr2 (p 0.05). Marination in Tr6 increased the pH to 7.86 in raw chicken meat and to 7.02 in golek chicken, resulting in greater water-holding capacity and cooking yield (p 0.05) compared to other marinating treatments. Scanning electron micrographs of raw chicken meat marinated in Tr5–Tr6 clearly showed swelling of muscle fibers due to the absorption of marinating solution; this was also evident in the meat after cooking and grilling at 175 °C for 40 min. The Tr6 marinade produced the highest cooking yield, 112.14% (p 0.05); the second-highest was with Tr5 (110.95%). However, golek chicken obtained from Tr6 had lower hardness and chewiness, as measured by a texture analyzer. When some sensory characteristics of golek chickens were evaluated using a 7-point hedonic scale, it was found that Tr6 had lower overall acceptance scores than Tr5. In addition, the surface of the Tr6-treated meat was slightly dark due to the effect of sodium bicarbonate, which resulted in less acceptable appearance. Therefore, a combination of sodium chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate and citric acid (Tr5) was suggested as the optimal marinating ingredients for the golek chicken process since it improved the textural property of meat after cooking, increased cooking yield (99.58% for Tr1 vs 110.95% for Tr5), and received the highest overall acceptance (p 0.05).