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Abstract
1. Twenty four 22 week‐old large stags were stunned using one of two methods, argon‐induced anoxia (2% residual oxygen) or an electric current (150 mA per bird, 50 Hz). The birds were processed under commercial conditions and carcasses held at 3°C until the breast muscles were filleted at either 3 h after killing or after overnight maturation.
2. The meat samples were frozen at — 40° C and stored at — 20°C until they were thawed at 1°C and cooked at 85°C. They were subjected to sensory evaluation by 10 experienced assessors and instrumental texture measurements were made.
3. Only stunning method had significant effects on the sensory profile and instrumental texture. Breast meat from anoxia‐stunned turkeys was less firm on cutting, more tender and had a more powdery residue on eating than that from electrically‐stunned turkeys. The instrumental texture values confirmed that breast meat from anoxia‐stunned turkeys was more tender than that from the electrically‐stunned turkeys.
4. There was no significant correlation between the subjective tenderness rating and the instrumental texture value.
5. Principal components analysis showed that 59% of total variation was explained by the first two dimensions, the first being a contrast between turkeys that were tender and powdery and those that were firmer and fibrous. When values from individuals were plotted, this dimension was related to the differences between anoxia and electrical stunning, with anoxia‐stunned turkeys at the tender end of the first dimension.
