Replacement of chicken skin with canola oil in chicken nuggets

ABSTRACT: This study developed chicken nuggets with emulsions with different percentages of canola oil (CO) to replace the chicken skin and evaluating the quality of the final product and the effect of frying. The experiment was set up in a 5x5 factorial scheme with the replacement of skin with different percentages of CO (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) and storage periods (0, 45, 90, 135,and 180 days), and parameters such as pH and oxidation were evaluated. It was considered a 5x2 factorial scheme (replacement of skin with CO and different sample conditions (raw and fried in CO)) for the analyses of the centesimal composition, fatty acid profile, atherogenic (AI), and thrombogenic (IT) indices. The sensory analysis evaluated the chicken nuggets at time zero. The pH values ranged from 6.62 to 6.86, as an effect of frying, there was an increase in lipid content with increasing levels of substitution (T0-raw: 5.36% and fried: 12.11%; T100-raw: 7.93% and fried: 15.43%) and a decrease in moisture content in relation to the raw sample. There was a decrease in AI (T0%-raw vs. T100%-fried, 0.39 vs. 0.10) and IT (T0%-raw vs. T100%-fried, 0.61 vs. 0.18) with CO addition and frying, and lipid oxidation increased with storage. The ω6/ω3 ratio decreased and the PUFA/SFA increased with the replacement of chicken skin with CO, but there was no difference in the sensory analysis. Even though chicken nuggets are prone to lipid oxidation, it is possible to improve their nutritional value either by adding CO to the meat mixture or by frying them.