Effect of high intensity ultrasound on the gelation properties of wooden breast meat with different NaCl contents

•High intensity ultrasound (HIU) improved the gelation properties of WB meat batter.•Particle size of HIU-WB decreased with 1% NaCl, whereas increased with 2% NaCl.•HIU altered the secondary structure of WB meat batter.•WB (1% NaCl) obtained a similar WHC with NOR (2% NaCl) after HIU at 100% amplitude. The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of different high intensity ultrasound (HIU) amplitudes on the gelation properties of wooden breast (WB) meat batter prepared with 1% and 2% NaCl. Results indicated that HIU effectively enhanced the water holding capacity (WHC) of WB at 1% and 2% NaCl, and enabled WB to obtain better WHC than the normal. The thermal stability of WB was affected by HIU, and the difference of G′end between WB and normal was reduced at 2% NaCl. HIU continuously decreased the particle size of WB at 1% NaCl, whereas opposite trends were observed at 2% NaCl. In addition, HIU transformed α-helix structure of WB to random coil at 1% NaCl, whereas to β-sheet structure at 2% NaCl. Overall, HIU can be utilized to improve the gelation properties of WB meat with the potential to produce low- and common-salt gel-type meat products.