Effect of alternative salt use on broiler breast meat yields, tenderness, flavor, and sodium concentration

Fresh chicken breast fillets were marinated with gourmet-style salts: Himalayan pink salt, Sonoma gourmet salt, sel gus de Guerande, and Bolivian rose salt to evaluate their effects on marination and cook loss yields, tenderness, sensory attributes, and sodium concentration. Fresh chicken breast fillets (48-h postmortem) were vacuum tumbled (137 kPa at 20 rpm for 17 min) in a solution of water, salt, and sodium tripolyphosphate at a level of 20% of the meat weights. Instrumental analyses showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) in meat quality with respect to marination yield, cook yield, or shear-force value. There were also no significant differences (P > 0.05) in sensory descriptors between salt treatments. However, Sonoma gourmet salt showed a tendency (P = 0.0693) to score increased savory note values from panelists, whereas Bolivian rose salt received the lowest score. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in sodium concentrations between salt treatments, but numerically, sel gus de Guerande had the lowest sodium concentration, which could be important in producing reduced sodium products. Understanding different salts and sodium concentrations allows the poultry industry to use gourmet salts in products and maintain overall meat quality and flavor.