Mass transfer dynamics during brining of rabbit meat

Abstract

As a traditional processing method, brining is a preliminary, critical and even essential process for many traditional rabbit meat products in China. The aim of this work was to investigate mass transfer of rabbit meat brined in different salt concentration. Rabbit meat (Longissimus dorsi) was brined for 24 h in 5 brine solutions (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% NaCl [w/w]). Results indicated that mass transfer and kinetics parameters were significantly affected by the brine concentration during brining. When brine concentration increased, the total and water weight changes decreased, whereas the sodium chloride weight changes increased. Higher brine concentrations resulted in a higher degree of protein denaturation and consequently gave lower process yields. Samples treated with higher brine concentrations obtained lower brining kinetic parameter values for total weight changes and water weight changes, whereas they acquired higher values for sodium chloride weight changes.