Effect of Cooking Time on the Quality of Low-Temperature Ready-to-Eat Duck Breast Meat

This study aimed to investigate the effect of different cooking times (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120 min) at 85 ℃ on the quality of low-temperature ready-to-eat duck breast meat. The results showed that with increasing cooking time, the cooking loss of ready-to-eat duck breast meat was significantly increased (P < 0.05), while the yield, centrifugal loss, compression loss, moisture content, pH, and L* value were significantly decreased (P < 0.05), which could be verified by the changes of water distribution. Moreover, the tenderness was firstly increased and then decreased with increasing cooking time, and the optimal interior color, cross-sectional compactness and flavor were obtained after cooking for 80 min (P < 0.05). In addition, the results of cluster analysis showed that cooking time, especially at a cooking time of 80 min, had a significant up-regulatory effect on the proportion of immobilized water (P₂₁) and bound water (P_2b), a* value, b* value and sensory parameters (flavor, cross-sectional compactness, and internal color) of duck breast meat. In conclusion, the optimal quality of ready-to-eat duck breast meat was obtained by cooking at 85 ℃ for 80 min.