A method of making a poultry meat brine product

Abstract

The application provides a method for preparing a poultry meat marinated product, comprising: (1) placing poultry meat into a marinade, heating to boiling, and maintaining for 5-8 minutes; (2) cooling to 50-65 DEG C, adding a white peony root polysaccharide solution, stirring uniformly, and maintaining for 10-20 minutes; (3) heating to 88-95 DEG C, and maintaining for 30-40 seconds; (4) taking out the poultry meat, spreading, and cooling to below 50 DEG C; (5) packaging the poultry meat with a packaging bag, quick-freezing, and storing at-18 DEG C. The method adds extra white peony root polysaccharide during marinating, and maintains a low heating temperature (50-65 DEG C). The white peony root polysaccharide is not destroyed at the temperature, can penetrate into the poultry meat, combine with internal water (meat juice) to form a colloidal structure, and be concentratedly distributed between the Achilles tendons and muscle gaps, effectively reducing free flowing water in the poultry meat, and avoiding ice crystals formed at muscle fibers by free flowing water, and destroying the muscle fibers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of food processing and preservation technology, specifically relating to a method for making braised poultry products. Background Technology

[0002] Poultry braised products refer to pre-cooked, sealed-packaged foods that require only simple cooking after opening. Sealed packaging helps extend the shelf life of poultry braised products and facilitates long-distance transportation. After preliminary cooking and good seasoning, poultry braised products only need to be heated thoroughly after opening the package before consumption. They can also be used as ingredients in other dishes, greatly simplifying the cooking process. Poultry braised products are nutritious and have a unique flavor, making them an indispensable part of people's daily lives.

[0003] Currently, most poultry braised products on the market undergo high-temperature sterilization after braising and packaging, followed by flash freezing and storage at -18℃, and are transported via cold chain. However, industry insiders have found through comparison that compared to hot braised foods made from fresh poultry, dishes made from frozen and then thawed poultry braised products show significant differences in flavor and texture: the elasticity of the meat in hot braised foods is inversely proportional to the pre-cooking time; that is, after ensuring the poultry is thoroughly cooked, the longer the cooking time, the more the flavor of the braising liquid penetrates into the meat, but the meat gradually becomes stiff from being elastic. The texture (elasticity) and flavor (whether the braising liquid has penetrated) of dishes made from poultry braised products are not significantly related to the total cooking time (pre-cooking time plus cooking time after opening the package); the flavor penetrates deeply, but the meat is relatively loose. Therefore, the main problem with existing poultry braised products is their poor taste. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for preparing braised poultry products, so as to solve one or more technical problems existing in the prior art and provide at least one beneficial option or create conditions.

[0005] Since the poultry braised products referred to in this invention are not ready-to-eat snacks, they comply with the National Food Safety Standard for Quick-Frozen Rice and Seasoned Foods (GB 19295-2021). Therefore, the storage and sales temperature must be controlled at -18℃ or below, with temperature fluctuations within 2℃. The inventors discovered that the reason why commercially available poultry braised products that comply with similar standards have a relatively loose texture is that the poultry meat is simply cooled after braising and then quick-frozen. This causes large ice crystals to form in the water-rich poultry meat during the quick-freezing process, breaking the muscle fibers. Poultry braised products with damaged muscle fibers will exhibit a loose texture after thawing.

[0006] The first aspect of this invention provides a method for preparing braised poultry products, comprising the following steps:

[0007] (1) Put the poultry into the braising liquid and heat until boiling, then maintain for 5 to 8 minutes;

[0008] (2) Cool down to 50-65℃, add Angelica dahurica polysaccharide solution, stir evenly and maintain for 10-20 minutes;

[0009] (3) Raise the temperature to 88-95℃ and maintain it for 30-40 seconds;

[0010] (4) Remove the poultry meat, spread it out, and cool it to below 50°C;

[0011] (5) Seal the poultry meat in packaging bags, quick-freeze and store at -18℃.

[0012] The described preparation method involves adding additional angelica polysaccharides during the braising process and maintaining a low heating temperature (50-65℃). At this temperature, the angelica polysaccharides are not destroyed and can penetrate into the poultry meat, combining with internal moisture (meat juices) to form a colloidal structure. This structure is concentrated in the Achilles tendon and between muscle fibers, effectively reducing free-flowing water in the poultry meat and preventing the formation of ice crystals at the muscle fibers, which would damage them. The braised poultry products prepared using this method retain the texture and flavor of freshly cooked poultry even after thawing and cooking; the meat is tender, juicy, and has a chewy texture, far superior to similar products on the market.

[0013] Since the rupture of muscle fibers caused by ice crystals formed during low-temperature refrigeration is irreversible, the poultry meat used in the above-mentioned preparation method is preferably obtained from freshly slaughtered live poultry. In a preferred embodiment, the poultry meat in step (1) is obtained by slaughtering, bleeding, removing feathers and internal organs from live poultry, and then treating it with water at 0-4°C to lower the center temperature of the poultry carcass to below 4°C before cutting it.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the ingredients of the braising liquid in step (1) include stock, dark soy sauce, star anise, bitter orange peel, hawthorn, long pepper, licorice, galangal, red cardamom, white cardamom, cloves, amomum tsao-ko, galangal root, amomum villosum, cardamom, dried tangerine peel, costus root, cinnamon, and fennel seeds. Preferably, the braising liquid is prepared by simmering 1000 parts stock, 50-200 parts dark soy sauce, 10-20 parts star anise, 2-6 parts bitter orange peel, 6-12 parts hawthorn, 3-7 parts long pepper, 4-12 parts licorice, 2-6 parts galangal, 1-4 parts red cardamom, 1-4 parts white cardamom, 3-7 parts cloves, 1-5 parts cardamom, 3-6 parts galangal root, 2-8 parts amomum villosum, 1-3 parts cardamom, 3-7 parts dried tangerine peel, 6-10 parts costus root, 5-10 parts cinnamon, and 6-10 parts fennel seeds.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the Angelica dahurica polysaccharide in step (2) is prepared by the following steps:

[0016] (A) Wash, dry and pulverize the Angelica dahurica, extract it with enzyme-containing buffer, inactivate the enzyme, centrifuge, collect the supernatant, concentrate it to obtain the concentrated solution.

[0017] (B) The concentrated liquid was precipitated with alcohol to remove water-soluble impurities to obtain crude Angelica dahurica polysaccharide;

[0018] (C) The protein in the crude polysaccharide of Angelica dahurica is removed by papain + Sevag combination method to obtain the final product.

[0019] Angelica dahurica has a pungent taste and warm properties, and enters the stomach, large intestine, and lung meridians. It has the functions of relieving exterior syndromes and dispelling cold, dispelling wind and relieving pain, clearing nasal passages, drying dampness and stopping leukorrhea, and reducing swelling and draining pus. It is used for colds with headaches, supraorbital neuralgia, nasal congestion and runny nose, rhinitis, sinusitis, toothache, leukorrhea, and sores and swellings. Angelica dahurica is rich in various chemical components. Modern research shows that the fat-soluble chemical components of Angelica dahurica are mainly coumarins, with a content of 0.211% to 1.221%. Its water-soluble components include palmitic acid, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, and β-daucosterin. Compared with some commercially available products that directly use Angelica dahurica slices or powder as a raw material for braising liquid, the Angelica dahurica polysaccharide obtained through the steps described in this invention can extract more effective components, and the purity of the polysaccharide is relatively high. It can lock in more free water, and the aroma-enhancing effect is also more significant.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the amount of Angelica dahurica polysaccharide used in step (2) is equivalent to 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5.1%, 5.2%, 5.3%, 5.4%, 5.5%, 5.6%, 5.7%, 5.8%, 5.9%, 6%, 7%, or 8% of the weight of the poultry meat. Insufficient Angelica dahurica polysaccharide will reduce the formation of colloidal structures and fail to lock in moisture; excessive Angelica dahurica polysaccharide may lead to excessively high viscosity of the braising liquid, affecting the appearance and taste, and may even cause the braising liquid to burn during the heating process.

[0021] The initial boiling process is to quickly cook the surface of the poultry meat, locking in the internal juices and preventing them from escaping. The subsequent braising process is usually completed using an electric jacketed kettle. Because electric jacketed kettles have good heat retention, the cooling rate is relatively slow, making it difficult to cool down quickly. Furthermore, prolonged braising can damage the muscle fibers. Therefore, in the preferred embodiment, step (2) involves adding room temperature braising liquid to achieve rapid cooling.

[0022] After 10-20 minutes of low-temperature braising in step (2), a large amount of Angelica dahurica polysaccharides have seeped into the poultry meat along with the braising liquid. At this point, rapid heating and sterilization are all that is needed to complete the braising process. In a preferred embodiment, the heating rate in step (3) is 15±2℃ per minute.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, air cooling is used simultaneously with spreading the poultry in step (4). Air cooling can increase the cooling rate, causing the poultry meat to shrink slightly and locking in its internal colloidal structure.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, in step (5), the gas inside the packaging bag is first purged, poultry meat is placed inside, and then brine with a hydrogen concentration of 1.3 ppm or higher is injected into the packaging bag. The amount of the brine is equivalent to 5-30% of the weight of the poultry meat. The hydrogen solvent in the brine has high thermal conductivity, which reduces the time of the phase change stage during food freezing, increases the freezing rate of the phase change stage, reduces the ice crystal growth volume, and increases the tendency of ice crystal uniform distribution, thus maintaining the initial quality. At the same time, hydrogen has physiological activities such as anti-oxidation and anti-free radical, and has the ability to reduce the oxidative deterioration of poultry meat and the free radicals generated by cold damage stress during frozen storage. Since the brine containing angelica polysaccharide solution has been cooked for a certain period of time, the oil on the surface of the poultry meat is released into the brine. Hydrogen is a nonpolar molecule and is slightly soluble in water, but the oil in the brine can increase the solubility of hydrogen. Therefore, the brine containing angelica polysaccharide can have better effects.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment, step (5) involves quick-freezing at -30°C for 10 to 12 hours. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to specific examples. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them, and the embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and not for limiting the scope of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Where specific techniques or conditions are not specified in the following embodiments, they are performed according to the techniques or conditions described in the literature in the art or according to the product instructions. All reagents or instruments without specified manufacturers are conventional products that can be obtained commercially.

[0027] Test materials:

[0028] Poultry meat: Using 45-day-old white-feathered Locker chickens as raw material, after slaughter, bleeding, plucking, and removing internal organs, the meat is treated with water at 0-4℃ to lower the core temperature of the carcass to below 4℃. Whole legs are then used to prepare braised chicken legs. Commercially available frozen whole chicken legs were used as parallel experimental samples. Frozen chicken legs were thawed under running water for 10-12 hours.

[0029] Brine A: 100g star anise, 20g dried bitter orange peel, 100g hawthorn, 60g long pepper, 50g licorice root, 20g galangal, 30g red cardamom, 30g white cardamom, 60g cloves, 10g amomum tsao-ko, 60g galangal, 20g nutmeg, 10g amomum villosum, 30g dried tangerine peel, 80g costus root, 100g cinnamon, and 60g fennel seeds. Wash, dry, and coarsely grind them. Put them into a mesh bag, add 10kg of stock and 1kg of dark soy sauce, and simmer for 30 minutes.

[0030] Brine B: 100g star anise, 20g dried bitter orange peel, 100g hawthorn, 60g long pepper, 50g licorice root, 20g galangal, 30g red cardamom, 30g white cardamom, 60g cloves, 10g amomum tsao-ko, 60g galangal, 20g nutmeg, 10g amomum villosum, 30g dried tangerine peel, 80g costus root, 100g cinnamon, 60g fennel seeds, and 50g angelica dahurica. Wash, dry, and coarsely grind them. Put them into a mesh bag, add 10kg of stock and 1kg of dark soy sauce, and simmer for 30 minutes.

[0031] Angelica dahurica polysaccharide solution: Wash, dry, and pulverize 500g of Angelica dahurica herb. Add three times the volume of citrate-sodium citrate buffer containing 0.5% cellulase and with a pH of 4.5. Extract in a 50℃ water bath for 2 hours, then inactivate the enzyme by boiling in a water bath for 10 minutes. Centrifuge at 5000 rpm for 5 minutes and collect the supernatant. Concentrate to obtain a concentrated solution. Slowly add anhydrous ethanol to the concentrated solution until the final ethanol concentration of the mixed solution is 60%. Let it stand at 4℃ for 12 hours, then centrifuge to obtain Angelica dahurica polysaccharide precipitate. Discard the supernatant. Redissolve the Angelica dahurica polysaccharide precipitate in water, centrifuge at 5000 rpm for 10 minutes to remove impurities, add ethanol to the supernatant to a concentration of 60%, let it stand at 4℃ for 12 hours, and centrifuge a third time. Take the precipitate after the third centrifugation as crude Angelica dahurica polysaccharide. Dissolve 1g of crude Angelica dahurica polysaccharide in 200mL of water, heat in a 50℃ water bath with intermittent stirring until completely dissolved, centrifuge at 5000 rpm for 5 minutes to remove impurities, and adjust the pH to 6.5. Papain was prepared into a 50 mg / mL enzyme solution using PBS at pH 6.5. Papain was added to this sugar solution at a ratio of 1g of crude angelica polysaccharide to 20mg of papain. The solution was then heated in a 50°C water bath for 3 hours, followed by enzyme inactivation at 100°C for 10 minutes. After cooling to room temperature, the solution was centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 10 minutes to remove denatured proteins and enzymes. An equal volume of Sevag reagent (chloroform:n-butanol = 4:1) was added to the papain-digested mixture, and the solution was vigorously shaken for 15 minutes. After centrifugation, the liquid separated into three layers; the supernatant was carefully collected.

[0032] Example 1.

[0033] (1) Place thirty whole legs (about 5kg) into an electric jacketed kettle, pour in brine A just enough to submerge the surface of the whole legs, heat to boiling, and maintain for 5 minutes;

[0034] (2) Pour the prepared room temperature brine A into the electric jacketed kettle, reduce the temperature inside the kettle to 60±1℃, add 280g of Angelica dahurica polysaccharide, stir evenly and maintain for 10 to 20 minutes.

[0035] (3) Heat to 90±1℃ at a rate of 15℃ per minute, and then maintain for 30 to 40 seconds;

[0036] (4) Remove the entire leg, lay it flat, and air-cool it down to below 50°C;

[0037] (5) Vacuum seal the cooled leg in a packaging bag, freeze it at -30℃ for 10 to 12 hours, and then transfer it to -18℃ for storage.

[0038] Freshly slaughtered whole leg braised products are designated as sample ①, and quick-frozen whole leg braised products are designated as sample ②.

[0039] Example 2.

[0040] (1) Place thirty whole legs (about 5kg) into an electric jacketed kettle, pour in brine B just enough to submerge the surface of the whole legs, heat to boiling, and maintain for 5 minutes;

[0041] (2) Pour the prepared room temperature brine B into the electric jacketed kettle, so that the temperature inside the kettle drops to 60±1℃, stir evenly and maintain for 10 to 20 minutes.

[0042] (3) Heat to 90±1℃ at a rate of 15℃ per minute, and then maintain for 30 to 40 seconds;

[0043] (4) Remove the entire leg, lay it flat, and air-cool it down to below 50°C;

[0044] (5) Vacuum seal the cooled leg in a packaging bag, freeze it at -30℃ for 10 to 12 hours, and then transfer it to -18℃ for storage.

[0045] Based on Example 1, this example uses traditional braising liquid B for braising without adding any additional angelica polysaccharide. Freshly slaughtered whole leg braised products are designated as sample ③, and quick-frozen whole leg braised products are designated as sample ④.

[0046] Example 3.

[0047] (1) Place thirty whole legs (about 5kg) into an electric jacketed kettle, pour in brine A just enough to submerge the surface of the whole legs, heat to boiling, and maintain for 5 minutes;

[0048] (2) Pour the prepared room temperature brine A into the electric jacketed kettle, reduce the temperature inside the kettle to 60±1℃, add 280g of Angelica dahurica polysaccharide, stir evenly and maintain for 10 to 20 minutes.

[0049] (3) Heat to 90±1℃ at a rate of 15℃ per minute, and then maintain for 30 to 40 seconds;

[0050] (4) Remove the entire leg, lay it flat, and air-cool it down to below 50°C;

[0051] (5) After cooling, the whole leg is packaged together with about 15 mL (5-30% of the weight of a single whole leg) of brine.

[0052] Quick-freeze at -30℃ for 10-12 hours, then transfer to -18℃ for storage.

[0053] Based on Example 1, in step (5) of this example, a brine containing angelica polysaccharide is injected into the packaging bag, and hydrogen gas is also injected under pressure into the brine, with a hydrogen concentration of 1.3 ppm or higher. The freshly slaughtered whole leg braised product is designated as sample ⑤, and the quick-frozen whole leg braised product is designated as sample ⑥.

[0054] Comparative Example 4.

[0055] The braising process uses traditional methods, and the braising liquid B contains angelica root.

[0056] (1) Place thirty whole legs (about 5kg) into an electric jacketed kettle, pour in braising liquid B just enough to submerge the surface of the whole legs, heat to boiling, and braise at 95-100℃ for 20-30 minutes.

[0057] (3) Remove the entire leg, lay it flat, and air-cool it down to below 50°C;

[0058] (4) Vacuum seal the entire leg in a packaging bag, freeze at -30℃ for 10 to 12 hours, and then transfer to -18℃ for storage.

[0059] Freshly slaughtered whole leg braised products are designated as sample number ⑦, and quick-frozen whole leg braised products are designated as sample number ⑧.

[0060] Samples ① through ⑧ were transferred from a -18℃ freezer to a 0–4℃ freezer and allowed to thaw for 12 hours. To simulate actual cooking, after thawing, the samples were unpacked, the braised products were removed, surface moisture was absorbed, and they were heated in a microwave oven at 700W for 3 minutes. After heating, three parallel samples of each type were taken for comprehensive sensory evaluation. Ten experienced industry professionals used scientific and objective methods, employing their eyes, nose, mouth, and hands, to evaluate the food's taste, flavor, color, and overall condition. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0061] Table 1. Sensory Evaluation Table of Braised Chicken Legs

[0062]

[0063]

[0064] Based on the analysis of the experimental results, it can be found that in all examples, using freshly slaughtered whole leg as raw material resulted in a score improvement of 4.6% to 14.3% compared to using quick-frozen whole leg as raw material. The most significant improvement was observed in Examples 1 and 2. Since Examples 1 and 2 used essentially the same braising method, the main difference lay in the content of angelica polysaccharides in the braising liquid. Therefore, the freshness of the raw material and whether it had been subjected to quick-freezing that damaged the muscle fibers significantly affected the final quality. The reason why the score difference between samples ⑤ and ⑥ in Example 3 was not as significant as that in Examples 1 and 2 may be due to the marginal effect of the reviewers' senses, making it difficult to clearly distinguish between the two when the scores were high. In Example 4, because sample ⑦ used the same quick-freezing method after braising as sample ⑧, the destruction of the muscle fibers in both samples by ice crystals affected the final quality score.

[0065] Furthermore, based on overall condition and taste, the sample with a high content of angelica polysaccharide in the braising liquid retained more meat juice, had better elasticity, and the meat was relatively delicate and tender. Sample No. 5, which was packaged with the braising liquid injected, was superior to all other samples in all sensory evaluations except for the possibility of skin displacement and slippage due to the braising liquid solidifying on the entire leg surface.

Claims

1. A method for preparing braised poultry products, characterized in that, Including the following steps: (1) After slaughtering, bleeding, removing feathers and internal organs of live poultry, treat them with water at 0~4℃ to reduce the core temperature of the poultry carcass to below 4℃, cut them into pieces, put the poultry meat into the brine, heat it to boiling, and maintain it for 5~8 minutes. (2) Add room temperature brine and quickly cool it to 50~65℃, add Angelica dahurica polysaccharide solution, the amount of Angelica dahurica polysaccharide solution is equivalent to 2~8% of the weight of poultry meat, stir evenly and maintain for 10~20 minutes; (3) Raise the temperature to 88~95℃ and maintain it for 30~40 seconds; (4) Remove the poultry meat, spread it out, and cool it to below 50°C; (5) Remove the gas from the packaging bag, put in the poultry meat, and inject 5-30% of the weight of the poultry meat into the packaging bag. The brine injected into the packaging bag contains Angelica dahurica polysaccharide solution and hydrogen gas is injected into the brine under pressure with a hydrogen concentration of more than 1.3 ppm. After quick-freezing, store at -18°C. The Angelica dahurica polysaccharide solution described in step (2) is prepared by the following steps: (A) Wash, dry and pulverize the Angelica dahurica, extract it with buffer containing cellulase, inactivate the enzyme, centrifuge, collect the supernatant and concentrate it to obtain the concentrate. (B) The precipitate obtained after removing water-soluble impurities by alcohol precipitation of the concentrated liquid is crude angelica polysaccharide; (C) Dissolve the crude polysaccharide of Angelica dahurica at a ratio of 1g of crude polysaccharide to 200mL of water, and then use papain to hydrolyze it and Sevag method to remove protein to obtain Angelica dahurica polysaccharide solution.

2. The method for preparing a poultry braised product according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ingredients of the braising liquid in step (1) include stock, dark soy sauce, star anise, bitter orange peel, hawthorn, long pepper, licorice, galangal, red cardamom, white cardamom, cloves, amomum tsao-ko, galangal, amomum villosum, amomum villosum, dried tangerine peel, costus root, cinnamon, and fennel.

3. The method for preparing a poultry braised product according to claim 2, characterized in that, The braising liquid in step (1) is made by simmering 1000 parts of stock, 50-200 parts of dark soy sauce, 10-20 parts of star anise, 2-6 parts of bitter orange peel, 6-12 parts of hawthorn, 3-7 parts of long pepper, 4-12 parts of licorice root, 2-6 parts of galangal, 1-4 parts of red cardamom, 1-4 parts of white cardamom, 3-7 parts of cloves, 1-5 parts of amomum tsao-ko, 3-6 parts of galangal, 2-8 parts of nutmeg, 1-3 parts of amomum villosum, 3-7 parts of dried tangerine peel, 6-10 parts of costus root, 5-10 parts of cinnamon, and 6-10 parts of fennel seeds.

4. The method for preparing a poultry braised product according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step (3), the heating rate is 15±2℃ per minute.

5. The method for preparing a poultry braised product according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step (4), air cooling is used while the material is being spread out.

6. The method for preparing a poultry braised product according to claim 1, characterized in that, Step (5) Quick-freeze at -30℃ for 10~12 hours.

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