Abstract:With Xinjiang Duolang sheep as the research object，natural air thawing method，pickling thawing method，and low-temperature humidification thawing method were used to thaw frozen Duolang mutton，and the color，pH value，cooking loss，thawing loss，dripping loss，shear force，texture properties，nutritional quality，sensory evaluation，total number of colonies，and number of coliforms of mutton were examined.Thus，the effects of the three thawing methods on the quality of mutton were compared.The results showed that with the prolongation of the thawing time，the color of the mutton was significantly improved by the pickling thawing method and low-temperature humidification thawing method.The pH value of the mutton by the pickling thawing method was the best.The effect of the natural air thawing method on the shear force of the mutton was the best，and both the pickling thawing method and low-temperature humidification thawing method had significant effects on the total number of colonies of mutton（P＜0.05）.The pickling thawing method and low-temperature humidification thawing method had significant effects on the cooking loss，thawing loss，dripping loss，texture properties，nutritional quality，and sensory evaluation of mutton（P＜0.05）.All three thawing methods were not contaminated by coliform bacteria.The pickling thawing method had more advantages than the natural air thawing method in terms of various indexes and overall acceptability，and the meat quality was better when defrosting mutton at 4 ℃and 80% humidity.