Effect of microwave drying on the brittleness quality of pork chip snacks: Perspectives on drying kinetics and microstructural traits

Ready-to-eat pork-based snacks have gained widespread popularity among consumers. The aim of this study was to investigate the brittleness quality of pork chip snacks (PCS) produced by microwave drying (MD) from the perspective of drying kinetics and microstructural traits. Changing microwave intensity and slice thickness significantly affected the colour and texture quality of the final PCS. The MD process of PCS presented a long heating-up phase and a short hindered drying phase, and the model of Midilli et al. described the drying kinetics well. The hindered drying phase dominated the ripening process and the formation of brittleness quality of PCS, and the temperature above 157.3 °C may cause an undesirable colour appearance. The microstructural characteristics showed that the formation of many large pores in PCS promoted the brittleness quality, while excessive temperature caused the tissue to melt with fewer pores to reduce brittleness. Overall, for fresh pork slices, it is recommended to produce PCS with a thickness of 3.5 mm at 4 W/g for 22 min to achieve a desirable brittleness quality. This study may provide a reference for the production of meat snacks such as PCS.