Application of high pressure to chicken meat batters during heating modifies physicochemical properties, enabling salt reduction for high-quality products

•The quality of low-salt chicken batter was improved by heating under 200 MPa.•The pressure instead of salt was a determinant factor on pressurized samples.•Heating under pressure formed a fibrous network inside muscle fibers.

The effect of heating under pressure (HUP) conditions (0-400 MPa, 75 °C, 30 min) and sodium chloride (0-2.0 g/100 g) on the appearance, texture, water-loss, sensory attributes and microstructure was investigated. The results showed that the application of pressure had a major effect on HUP-treated samples, but the effects of salt on HUP-treated samples were much less obvious than on those found for heat-only samples. Regardless of salt content, the application of HUP treatment at 200 MPa improved the gel qualities, resulting in a glossy, rigid gel with low-water loss and high acceptability, while treatment at 400 MPa resulted in coarse, loose gels with high water loss and low acceptability. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the samples indicated that high pressure contributed to the disruption of myofibrils and the formation of a finely stranded gel network both within and outside muscle fibers. These findings indicated that high pressure, rather than salt, was the main factor affecting the quality of chicken meat batter when heated under high pressure. Application of HUP at a specified pressure was an excellent process for producing low-salt comminuted meat products; but excessive high-pressure resulted in inferior quality.