Sulfur Supplementation Potentiates the Formation of Meat Aroma Compounds in Thermally Treated Chicken Carcass Hydrolysate

Chicken carcass is a side stream of poultry processing and can be transformed into chicken sauce via hydrolysis and heat treatment. However, the sauce has weaker meaty aroma intensity due to deficiency of sulfur-containing (S-containing) amino acids. In this study, three different S-containing precursors (cysteine, onion, and djenkol bean) were selected for supplementation into chicken carcass hydrolysate to boost the generation of meaty aroma compounds. Cysteine was found to promote the formation of key meaty volatiles like 2-methyl-3-furanthiol and 2-furfurylthiol. Supplementation of onion or djenkol beans increased the formation of furfuryl methyl sulfide with fresh garlic or onion character aroma. The stable djenkolic acid in djenkol beans likely hindered their effectiveness as a precursor to volatile sulfur compounds. Headspace-solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME–GC–MS) and HS–GC–ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) detected a total of 60 and 49 volatiles, respectively, notably heat-generated aroma-active compounds 1-octen-3-ol, hexanal, and benzaldehyde. This study presents a promising approach to transforming low-value poultry side streams into flavorful condiments.