Physico chemical and organoleptic characteristics of Muscovy drake meat as influenced by cooking methods

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the effect of various cooking methods -grilling, deep frying, pan frying and roasting on quality attributes of Muscovy drake meat. A total of one hundred and eighty (180) Muscovy drakes fillets weighing between 118-130 g were used in a completely randomized design. Cooked samples were analyzed for proximate composition and physical characteristics. Organoleptic characteristics were evaluated using a nine-point hedonic scale. Deep fried meat samples had the highest (P<0.05) cooking loss (52.37%), while pan and deep fried meat samples had the highest shear force values of 4.10 and 3.91 kg/cm 3 , respectively in comparison to values of 2.68 and 2.64 kg/cm 3 for roasted and grilled samples. The water holding capacity (WHC) of the meat was not affected significantly (P>0.05). The moisture content varied from 71.64% in the raw meat to 35.57% in deep fried fillets. Protein and ash content increased across the treatments after cooking. Pan fried (13.95%) and roasted duck fillets (13.92%) had higher fat than the raw sample (12.92%). Except for colour, other organoleptic parameters were not affected significantly. The use of deep frying method should be minimized since it resulted into meat with the least nutrient composition.