2.5.6. Sensory Evaluation

The sensory attributes, including appearance, flavor, texture, juiciness, and overall acceptability, of meat nuggets were evaluated using an eight-point descriptive scale, where 8 = excellent and 1 = extremely poor [28]. The purpose of the experiments was clearly explained to the panelists without disclosing the much about samples' identity. The panelists evaluated the sample based on a sensory preformed provided after coding with number and warming in a microwave oven for 1 min. Water was provided to the panelists to rinse their mouths during evaluation.

#### *2.6. Lipid Oxidation in Meat Products*

### 2.6.1. Peroxide Values

The peroxide values (PV) of the nugge<sup>t</sup> samples were determined following the procedure described by Koniecko [29] with slight modifications. Briefly, for filtrate preparation, anhydrous sodium sulfate and chloroform was used to blend the meat sample (5 g). 2 mL of saturated potassium iodide solution were added to a mixture of 25 mL filtrate and 30 mL glacial acetic acid. After proper mixing for about 2 min, 100 mL of distilled water and 2 mL of fresh 1% starch solution were added and the mixture was titrated immediately with 0.1 N sodium thiosulphate until the end point was reached (the non-aqueous layer turned colorless). The PV of the meat sample was calculated and expressed in meqO2/kg of the sample.

#### 2.6.2. Thiobarbituric Acid Reacting Substances

The measurement of thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) was carried out to measure the lipid oxidation in the meat nugge<sup>t</sup> during storage [30]. Briefly, the TCA extract was prepared after triturating samples with 20% pre-cooled TCA (25 mL). To 3 mL TCA extract (filtrate), 3 mL of TBA reagen<sup>t</sup> (5 mM) was added and then cooled in running tap water after boiling in a thermostatically controlled water bath at 70 ◦C for 35 min. Similarly, a blank was prepared by adding and properly mixing 3 mL of 10% TCA and 3 mL of the 5mM TBA reagent. Then, absorbance was recorded at a 532 nm. The TBARS value was expressed as mg malonaldehyde (MDA) per kg of meat sample.
