Abstract: Inoculated fermentation, curing and air drying involved in the processing of fermented air-dried goose from whole goose carcass were optimized by one-factor-at-a-time and orthogonal array design method. The optimal fermentation conditions were determined as follows: fermentation for 36 h at 25 ℃ with an inoculum size of 1.5 × 107 CFU/g. The optimized product showed a pH of 5.23 and a shear force of 13.68 N. The sensory scores for its color, taste and smell, swallowing, chewiness and overall acceptability were 5.3, 5.9, 5.7, 5.9 and 5.9, respectively, Therefore, a high consumer acceptance was achieved.

Key words: fermentation, goose meat, preparation process