2.8. Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) measurements
Samples were fast-thawed in tap water for 4 h before the vacuum was broken, and the samples were wrapped in aluminium foil and cooked at 200 °C in a double-plate grill (Sammic GRS-5, Guipúzcoa, Spain) to an internal temperature of 72 °C. After cooking, chops were placed in a vacuum bag and immediately immersed in an ice bath to stop further cooking until they reached room temperature (20±2 °C). Twelve, 5-cm-long rectangles (1×1-cm2 cross-section) were cut
parallel to the direction of the muscle fibres, and subsequently sheared perpendicular to the muscle fibre direction with a 3 mmthickWarner– Bratzler shear blade attached to a TA-XT2 Texture Analyser (Stable Micro Systems, Godalming, UK) equipped with a 250-N load cell and a crosshead speed of 2 mm/s. The Texture Expert computer software (version 1.20; Stable Micro Systems) was used for data collection, and WBSF values were recorded as the maximum peak force of shearing (expressed in N).