Consumers increasingly seek clean-label meat products with improved nutrition and stability. We evaluated a collagen hydrolysate–cranberry mixture (CH-CR) as a functional additive in cooked sausages. Two formulations—control and CH-CR—were assessed for fatty acid profile; lipid and protein oxidation during storage; antioxidant capacity ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, and half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50); amino acid composition; and instrumental color. Relative to the control, CH-CR produced a more favorable lipid profile: lower saturated fatty acids (SFAs) 23.9% vs. 28.0%, higher monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) 53.2% vs. 49.3%, slightly higher polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) 23.3% vs. 22.7%, a higher PUFA/SFA ratio of 0.97 vs. 0.81, and a lower omega-6/omega-3 (n-6/n-3) ratio of 13.5 vs. 27.1, driven by higher alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) 1.6% vs. 0.8%, with trans fats <0.1%. Storage studies showed attenuated oxidation in CH-CR: lower peroxide value (PV) at day 10 8.1 ± 0.4 vs. 9.8 ± 0.5 meq/kg and lower thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) at day 6 0.042 ± 0.004 vs. 0.055 ± 0.006 mg MDA/kg and day 10 0.156 ± 0.016 vs. 0.590 ± 0.041 mg MDA/kg); the acid value at day 10 was similar. Antioxidant capacity increased with CH-CR FRAP 30.5 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g vs. not detected; DPPH inhibition was 29.88% vs. 10.23%; IC50 56.22 vs. 149.51 µg/mL. The amino acid profile reflected collagen incorporation—higher glycine+proline+hydroxyproline 2.37 vs. 1.38 g/100 g and a modest rise in indispensable amino acids (IAAs) 5.72 vs. 5.42 g/100 g, increasing the IAA/total amino acid (TAA) ratio to 0.411 vs. 0.380. CH-CR samples were lighter and retained redness better under light, with comparable overall color stability. Overall, CH-CR is a natural strategy to improve fatty acid quality and oxidative/color stability in sausages.

Sustainability concerns are driving greater interest in valorizing agri-food by-products as ingredients in meat products. This study aimed to optimize a cooked turkey sausage formulation incorporating apple pomace powder (APP), turkey skin (TS), and iced water (IW) and to evaluate their effects on physicochemical, textural, and sensory properties. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied with APP (1–5%), TS (20–30%), and IW (15–30%) as independent variables. The responses evaluated were pH, cooking yield, color parameters (L*, a*, and b*), hardness, and overall acceptability. Numerical optimization identified a formulation containing 4.45% APP, 23.19% TS, and 15.73% IW, with predicted values of pH 5.63, cooking yield 87.21%, lightness (L*) 73.78, redness (a*) 4.81, yellowness (b*) 11.35, hardness 51.21 N, and overall acceptability 6.59. Experimental validation showed that the measured responses were generally consistent with the RSM predictions, although a larger deviation was observed for b*. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that PC1 and PC2 explained 51.66% and 28.89% of the total variance, respectively, accounting for 80.55% cumulatively. PCA provided an exploratory representation of relationships among the measured responses, with PC1 primarily contrasting pH and lightness with cooking yield, redness, and yellowness, while hardness and overall acceptability were more strongly associated with PC2. Overall, the results demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating APP and TS into cooked turkey sausage and identify an optimized formulation that balances by-product incorporation with physicochemical, textural, and sensory responses.