CA1110102A - Process for the preparation of bacon analogue and the like - Google Patents
Process for the preparation of bacon analogue and the likeInfo
- Publication number
- CA1110102A CA1110102A CA292,958A CA292958A CA1110102A CA 1110102 A CA1110102 A CA 1110102A CA 292958 A CA292958 A CA 292958A CA 1110102 A CA1110102 A CA 1110102A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- fat
- lean
- component
- meat
- process according
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A bacon analogue and similar multi-phased meat products which can duplicate the texture, appearance and content of natural bacon and other multi-phased meat pro-ducts is obtained by preparing a comminuted fat component which is treated with a curing pickle and preparing a separate comminuted lean component which may be mixed with optional additives such as flavoring, seasoning and pre-servatives and thereafter extruding the comminuted fat and lean components through a predetermined forming die to unite the fat and lean components to form a bacon analogue or other such multi-phased meat product. This multi-phased meat analogue may then be placed in pans and heated, smoked and cured and then be cooled, sliced and packaged and thereafter be ultimately used and cooked like natural multi-phased meat products.
A bacon analogue and similar multi-phased meat products which can duplicate the texture, appearance and content of natural bacon and other multi-phased meat pro-ducts is obtained by preparing a comminuted fat component which is treated with a curing pickle and preparing a separate comminuted lean component which may be mixed with optional additives such as flavoring, seasoning and pre-servatives and thereafter extruding the comminuted fat and lean components through a predetermined forming die to unite the fat and lean components to form a bacon analogue or other such multi-phased meat product. This multi-phased meat analogue may then be placed in pans and heated, smoked and cured and then be cooled, sliced and packaged and thereafter be ultimately used and cooked like natural multi-phased meat products.
Description
Z
Field o the Invention -This invention rela-tes to a new bacon analogue and similar multi-phased meat products and a novel process for forming the bacon analogue and rela-ted multi-phased meat products in the invention. More particularly, a bacon analogue formed in accordance with the invent:ion exhibits the -texture, appearan~e and taste of natural bacon while maintaining the lean and fat boundary cohesion and integrity when fried or otherwise cooked like bacon obtained from pork bellies.
~escri tion of the Prior Art P _ Sausage meat type oroducts have been available which were formed in a(~slab and sliced in a shape similar to the conventional bacon slices but which do not duplicate the appearance or texture of natural bacon. ~arious vegetable protein compositions have been developed and marketed which simulate the texture and taste o~ the bacon strip but which generally have not duplicated the shape or have exhibited phase separation when fried or otherwise prepared as natural bacon. These meat-like preparations utilizing vegetable proteins have required various binders to maintain the integrit~ of the lean and non-lean portions of a bacon-like product.
,.
Field o the Invention -This invention rela-tes to a new bacon analogue and similar multi-phased meat products and a novel process for forming the bacon analogue and rela-ted multi-phased meat products in the invention. More particularly, a bacon analogue formed in accordance with the invent:ion exhibits the -texture, appearan~e and taste of natural bacon while maintaining the lean and fat boundary cohesion and integrity when fried or otherwise cooked like bacon obtained from pork bellies.
~escri tion of the Prior Art P _ Sausage meat type oroducts have been available which were formed in a(~slab and sliced in a shape similar to the conventional bacon slices but which do not duplicate the appearance or texture of natural bacon. ~arious vegetable protein compositions have been developed and marketed which simulate the texture and taste o~ the bacon strip but which generally have not duplicated the shape or have exhibited phase separation when fried or otherwise prepared as natural bacon. These meat-like preparations utilizing vegetable proteins have required various binders to maintain the integrit~ of the lean and non-lean portions of a bacon-like product.
,.
-2-~ Iowever, such products are not composed of real meat and it is obvious from the looks and taste o these . products tha~ they are not bacon and that they do not resemble bacon except in some cases~ for the size and shape of the slice.
It has long been a goal of the meat processing industry to prod~lce a bacon analogue which w:ill duplicate the appearance, taste and handling characteristics of natural bacon but which can be formed from natural meat products alone or in conjunction with other protein sources to yield bacon from products other than pork bellies and which can maintain a consistent lean to fat ratioO The bacon analogue produced should further exhibit a phase- :
boundary integrity similar to natural bacon and be able to thereafter be processed, cured, cooked and used in the same manner as conventional bacon.
SUl~RY OF T~IE INVENTION
The present invention obviates the limitations and disadvantages of prior art simulated product~;by providing a bacon slab analogue cornposed of natural meat cuts from pork, bee~ ish and other protein sources that can be processed, packaged and thereafter used in the same .:
manner as conventional bacon while exhibiting an appearance, taste and texture similar to natural bacon.
More particularly, the novel bacon and other multi-phased meat products formed in accordance with the process of the present invention maintain the lean and fat phase-boundary conslstency when fried and cooked in the manner ordinarily : 30 -, ~3-: ~ .
%
employed for natural meat products. In addition to maintaining the advantages of the natural meat product, the bacon analogue of the present invention may further be improved upon by compounding the bac~n analogue in a pred.etermi:ned fat to lean mixture and texture and otherwise specifically formulating it to both reduce and control the ratio of vegetable fat to animal fat and protein content of the bacon analogue. More specifically~
a meat analogue co~prises:
(a) at least one comminuted fat component having a particle size of less than 10 mm consisting essentially of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish, or mixtures thereof;
(b) at least one comminuted lean component having .-a particle s.ize of less than 10 mm conslsting essential:Ly of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef r lamb, ;
poultry, fish, or mixtures thereo~; and (c) a binding amount of a salt soluble protein extracted from said fat component binding saia fat and ~ean components into discrete fat and lean areas having an area greater than the particle size of said comminuted lean particles when said fat and lean components are bound to each other to ..
form said meat analogue, wherein said fat and lean areas are essentially uniform in shape throughout said meat analogue.
~ur~hermore a bacon analogue comprises: :~
Sa~ a comminuted at component composed of a raw medt selected from the group conslsting of pork, bee, lamb, poultry, fish or a mixture of sai~ raw meat and vegetable .~
protein with said mixture having about 75~ ~y weight raw meat, :.;
said fat componen~ additionally comprising therein a curing pickle comprised of:salt~ coloring agent and bacteriostat;
: . _ 4 _ .:
',r1 ~. . ..
(b) a comminuted lean component composed of a raw meat selected from the group consisting o pork, beef, lamb, poultry, and vegetable proteins or mixtures thereof; and (c) said soluble protein extracted from a fat meat component, said salt soluble protein binding said fat and lean components when said components are joined at 21 temperature in the range of about 40F. to 55~. at preselected locations.
~ nother aspect o~ the invention consists Q~ the process of forming the bacon analogue and similar multiphased ~meat products which consists of the steps of preparing a comminuted fat appearing mixture of beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish and other such natural meats or vegetable protein or a combination of one or more of the foregoing, passing the fat appearing mixture under pressure through a die and extruding the lean appearing mixture under pressure at preselected locations within said die to simulate the orientation o~ fat and lean components of a natural bacon slab, and processing the resultant slab. More specifically, such process aspect of the invention comprises the steps of:
(a) preparing a comminuted fat component of edible materials wherein at least one member or mixture thereof is a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry and ~egetable protein;
(b) curing said fat component with a pickle cure comprising a salt solution until salt soluble proteins are removed to produce a salt soluble protein bind;
(c~ preparing a comminuted lean meat component wherein at least one member or mixture thereof is a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry and vegetable protein; and - 4a -, ;....
'~ .
(d) extruding said fat component ln the temperaturerange of about ~0F to 55F and said lean component at a temperature sufficiently low to provide an extrudable mixture which maintains the in-tegrity of a salt soluble protein bind while separately extruding said fa-t and lean components under pressure through pre-selected locations within a die to simulate the orientation of fat and lean components of a natural meat slab to produce a resultant meat slab.
The advantages of the present invention include the formation of bacon and meat analogues prepared from real meat which when utili~ed in the process of the present invention can be formulated to duplicate the appearance, texture, consistency and, of course, the taste of the natural ~ ~`
meats~ The processing of the raw meat mixtures - ~b -. . .
and particularly the fat component increases the natural binding ability of the novel product which exhlbits an excellent binding of the layer and is hence, capable of being cooked, fried, sliced and otherwise processed in the same manner as corresponding cuts of meat obtained from natural sources.
Another aspect of the invention is the ability to utilize conventional curing, seasoning and preserving materials for the mixture.
An object of the invention is to provide a pro-cess which produces a bacon analogue in which the propor-tion o lean meat to fat can be controlled as desired.
Another object of the invention is to provide a process in which a portion o bee~, porkr lamb, poultry, ~ish and other such natural meats or vegetable protein which can be, if desired, incorporated with the pork product~
normally utilized and which may be used to control the `
flavor, texture, and within the llmits the animal to vegetable oil and fat content and cost characteristics of the bacon analogue.
A fur-ther object of the invention is to provide a process which enables other portions of the animal to be utilized in the manuacture o a product which is similar to natural bacon.
~ further object of the invention is to provide a process which is economical in production and provides a protein rich bacon analogue which maintains the texture, z taste and consistency of bacon after cooking.
Other such objects and advan-tages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the specification in conjunction with the appended drawings which illustrate a slice of the novel bacon analogue of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF T~E DR~WINGS
Figure 1 is a front elevational view depicting one arrangement of fat to lean meat for a slice of the bacon analogue produced in accordance ~ith the invention;
and Figure 2 is a front elevational ~iew of a slice of the bacon analogue produced according to the invention depicting an alternative arrangement of fat and lean meats.
In the drawings like charac.ters of reference indicated corresponding parts in Figures 1 and 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to Fig. 1, reference character 10 illustra-tes a bacon slice analogue of substantially rectangular configuration having a portion 11 formed rom a comminuted fat mixture and hav.ing areas of lean meat 12 formed therein, said areas of lean meat being formed rom a comminuted lean meat mixture. Similarly, in Fi.g. 2 an alternative configuration is depicted of a lean meat portion 12 in relation to the co~minuted ~at mixture portion r,' ~ ~
,: ', . ' 11 obtained by modification of the configuration of the extrusion die.
It will be immediately recognized and understood by those skilled in the art that the areas of lean appearing meat may be varied as to size, quantity and shape as desired and other phase or lean to fat striations are contemplated by the invention not only for bacon but other multi-phased meat products, all of which are within the scope o~ the present invention.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention a bacon analogue is preyared by extruding a comminuted ~at meat component or mixture treated with a curing pickle and a comminuted lean meat mixture which by employing the novel extrusion process of the invention, produces a meat slab resembling a pork belly havin~ fat and lean layers as in- ~;
dicated by reference characters 11 and 12 as heretofore discussed. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the advantages of the present invention are not dependent upon vegetable and dairy binders or other agents to maintain the phase cohesion but rather upon the extrusion and curing processes of the present invention.
The novel bacon analogue and its respective fat and lean phases or layers is formulated from comminuted at and comminuted lean mixtures prepared ~rom pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish and other such natural meats or vegetable protein or mixtures thereof.
In the specification and claims of the invention i-t will be understood that the terms "fat", "fa~ mixture", "fat appedring mixture" or "fat component" includes pure fat ~110 ~ 2 or meats'with a hi~h fat content or a mixture o various meats and fats whîch is in an uncooked and/or cured con-dition prior to thermal treatment, "Lean", "lean component", "lean mixture"',,`'lean appearing mixture~ or "lean meat" is a mixture of predominantly lean meat with or without fat addition and also in an uncooked and~ox cured condition prior to thermal treatment. .Furthermore, these terms are relative to one another such that the ~at ~ixture is richer in fat content in proportion to the lean mixtu.re.- In this regard, it should be'noted that the fat and lean components can be Eormed from any meat such as pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish and other such natural meats and combined~ within limits, with a ~egetable protein or mixture thereof to y.ield extru- ~ ' ' dahle comminuted fat and lean components~ The percent by L5 weight limitation of ve~etable protein'to naturaI meat~in-the comminuted fat component is about 25~ by wei~ht to 75%
'by weight and in the lean component~ the natural vegetable ' protein may be exclus.iveIy employed with the pre~erred range being about 1~ to 75% by weight Yegetable protein by weight ~ to 99% to 25% by weight natural meat protein by weight~ .
It will of course be recognized by those skilled in the art .
that with increased propoxtions of vegetable proteins, addi~
, tional ~laYoring, coloring and other such additives are employed.
While various meats such as beef, poultry and fish' ~5 ~ I . may ad~antageously be em ~ yed including parts o the pork -a~imal in the preparation of a bacon analogue in accordance with the invention, it has been found that 80% by weight lean boneless pork butts provides the preferred ingredient for the lean meat component and pork jowls and back fat m:ixture s~f about 70% by 1~ weight,jowls ~o 30~ b~ weight back fat produces a preferable fat meat mixture, '"~
.
' In the preferred application of the invention the pork is fresh or a combination of fresh pork with a lirnit of 30~
by weight frozen or 50% by weight defrosted pork which is utilized in the fat meat comminuted component.
The fat component which has generally already been ground is mixed and treated with a curing pickle in a conventional mixer. The curing pickle applied to the comminuted ~at may contain spices and other optional ingredients which may, of course, be varied depending upon the desired taste and appearance of the final product. The essential ingredients of the curing pic~le are salt and a coloring agent and bacteriostat such as sodium nitrite. One such suitable curing pickle generally employed which is not to be considered limiting, may be composed of approximately the following:
7~ - 8% by weight of salt 5% - 6% by weight of sugar 0.5% by weight of sodium er.ythorbate 0.1% - 0.2% by weight of soluble spices :~ 20 0.05% sodium nitrite Maximum protein extraction may be accomplished du~ing the mixing step if the temperature of the mix is ma.in-tained reasonably high enough to perform this task but not too high to create smearing. The preerred time of protein . extraction is about 15 minutes when a tempera-ture of about 45F to 50F is utilized or the mi~ing step and curing pickle treatment of the at meats. One skilled in the art will recognize that the time and temperature is interdependent and ~ that the higher the fat content in the fat component the longer :; 30 , .
;l, ,~
,~
and/or higher the extrac~ion temperature and times whichj of course~ is limited by t'he smearing property of the fat component.
This temperature and time'parameter is particularly important since'the pickle'cure of the fat meat component is belieYed to remove salt soluble proteins which then act as the natural bindin~ a~ents of'the meat tissues. As heretofore discussed the present inven~ion achieYes its ad~antages of multi-phase and layer integrity without the addition or - necessity of vegetable and dairy binding agents. The natural 10 , binding of the proteins in the layers,of the at and lean components result r~m the extrusion process as will here-inafter be described and the process of treating the pro-teins with the pickle cure.
After mixing and treatment with the curing pickle lS the comminuted fat meat mixture is transferred from the mixer to a vacuum silent cutter which is conventional in operation.
, The temperature of the fat meat components is taken and the amount of dry ice is calculated and added in an amount necessary to provide an extrudable mixture whil,e the silent ~0 cutter is slowly rotating thereby yielding a fairly stiff emulsion. Typically ~h~ reduction of temperature to provide an extrudable mixture ls in the ranye of about 34F to 40F which assists in the process by maintaining the integrity of the' salt soluble protein bind~ This temperature ran~e of course Z5 varies with the precise fat content of the fat content of the components but is recognized by those skilled in the art as the - temperature at which a fat emulsion exhibits the tendency to create smearing.
Once the temparature of about 34F to 40F is attained, the interior is placed under a vacuum and the '' silent ~ut~er is speeded up to chop the,meats to a f:ine , emulsion. As hereto~ore disGussed~ the lowering of the ,. ', ' . ,, temperature and ~ts maintenance at that leYel is important to prevent further breakdown o proteins that in conjunction with the novel extrusion process asslst i.n the binding action of the pickle treated proteinsO As soon ac, the chopping is-complete, a further period of t.ime under vacuum is allowed while the silent cutter blades are stopped~ to ensure that all carbon dioxide, air and other gases have escaped from the emulsion. The vacuum is released and the fat meats are now ready for the extruslon step, If the fat meats are not being extruded immediately~ they should be stored in a cooler so that they can maintain the fairly stiff emulsion desired for the extruding step. While higher and lower extrusion ~emperatures may be employed, the maximum advantages of the ; ~ present invention are achieved by utilizing an extruding temperature which is kept at a minimum of about 40F and a maximum of about ~F. Although the example for the prepara-tion of the fat appearing meats is for pork other mea-ts such as beef, lamb, ~oultry, fish and vegetable protein may be substituted in all or part, with only slight modification to the procedure.
As heretofore discussed, the basic formula for the lean meats is beef, pork, lamb~ poultry, fish and other such meats and ~egetable protein, or mixtures thereof. Optionally, other ingredients or similar ingredients as were introduced to the fat meat component, may be introduced into the comminuted ; lean mixture including but not limited to water, salt, cane or beet sugar, monosodium glutamate,, liquid smoke, spices, erythorbic acid a~d sodium nitrite~ The lean meats are mixed with the selected optional ingredients and commin~lted in a : ~?,0 manner similar to the fat component except a.silent cutter --11 , , . .
~.
` ~llO~!IZ
is generally not necessary and the lean meat component is placed in a yacuum hlender or mixer, Therea~ter the air .
and other gases are release~ and the temperature adjusted to form an extrudable fluid which is generally in the range of about 40F to 55F. It should be noted that during the . mixing step of the lean meats~ the temperature of the mix must be high enough to keep the lean ~eats rather soft relative to the fat meats so as to produce a suitable pattern during extru- :
sion for if the lean meats are too cold,.they will not extrude properly. Similar to the process with respect to the fat .
mixture, i~ the lean meats are not being extruded ~nmecliately, .
they should be kept in at a temperature close to t~e tem- . .
perature they were at the time of mixing~ In the foregoing .
, discussion ~or the preparation o~ the lean appearing meats from a pork sourcet beef, lamhj~poultry, fish and other such .
meats or vegetable protein may be subs~ituted in all or part, with only slight modification to the procedure. .
The lean meats ~nd fat meats mixtures are placed :
in separate hoppers in an extrusion machine, and extruded ..
~0 through dies of a desired ~at-to-lean con~iguration for the final product. It.will be recognized by those skilled ~
- in the art that the fat and lean hoppers should be kept :-filled at all times during extrusion and that the die .
parts should be kept clean. Optimum results are.achieved -in the present inventlon when the pump pressure on the fat mixture is maintained at a sliyhtly higher pressure than the :~
lean pump pressure~ Generallyl these pressure differentials are modified to accomc)date the extrudability of the respective fat and lean components and range from abou~ 1 to 10 psi. The ..
two mixtures are extruded through a die and past mold heads :
to be extruded in a ribbon-like strip with the lean and fat meat mixtures being layered in shapes similar to that illustrated in the drawings and as they leave the extruding die head. The ribbon of layered mixture is placed in pans shaped to form a uniform slab after heat processing. Slabs that may be used in this process are similar to those illustrated and described in Canadian patent application Serial No.
267,282.
The extruded bacon analogue is then placed in pans and loaded onto conventional conveying equipment and are placed into a batch or continuous t~pe smokehouse in a manner which is well known to those skilled in the art.
The product is then conveniently and optionally smoked in a conventional manner and heat processed at a schedule of increasing temperatures until an internal temperature of between 148F and 156F is reached with the ideal temperature being 150F. The slabs are then removed from the pans and cooled to a temperature ideal for slicing the slab into strips similar to bacon.
When using pork, poultry, fish or vegetable protein for the lean meats the curing of the mixtures should be from 1 to 3 days depending upon the ingredien-ts of the mix-tures. No curing period is required when beef is used in the lean meat mixture.
The following examples are for the purpose of further illustrating the preparation of the novel product and process of the invention and in the following examples all percentages are by weight.
In this Example, 51% by weight pork jowls along with 23% by weight pork back fat was employed as the fat meat component along with 8% salt, 6% sugar, 0.5% sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium glutamate, 0.2% liquid smoke, to prepare a comminuted pickle fat co~ponent with the remaining pe~cent water all of the foregoing proportional percentages being by weight. First, the meat was ground ~ -through a fine pla-te in a conventional grinder along with the above ingredients which compose the curing pickle.
The resulting mass is mixed for approximately 15 minutes at a temperature o 50F. The resulting mixture was trans-ferred to a silent cutter and dry ice was added to drop the temperature to 34F and chopped for a period of two minutes. The resultan-t fat component in the form o an emulsion at a temperature of 40F is removed from the cutter and is ready for extrllsion.
In this Example, beef, 66% by weight boneless carcass beef, is ground through a fine plate into a mixture of 10% by weight fat meats as prepared in Example I. To this mixture was added the following ingredients all of which are expressed in percen-ts by weight, 8% salt, 6% sugar, 0.5% sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium glutamate, 0.2%
liquid smoke to prepare a comminuted lean component. The ~' ''.
meat and ingredients are ground and mixed 2 minutes on and 2 minutes off for a period of 10 minutes under a vacuum.
The vacuum i5 removed and the resultant mass is mixed suf-ficiently to obtain a sa-tisfactory bind but not over mixed to produce too tighk a bind. The resulting mixture is at about 52F and is ready for extrusion~
In this Example the fat meat component of Example 1 was extruded with the lean meat component of Example 2.
During the extrusion process, the lean meat is at a tem-perature of 50F with the same pressure at the beginning of the extrusion process. The resulting ribbon-like slab is inspected for the desired lean to fat con~iguration o the resulting product and the pressure adjusted to maintain this fat lean ratio. The resulting slab is cured, smoked and thereaf-ter sliced and fried to yield a delicious bacon slice that did not separate upon fry-ouk.
In this Example, 51% by weight pork jowls along with 23% by weight pork back fat was employed as the at meat component along with 8% salt, 6% sugar, 0.5% sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium ~lutama~e, 0.2% li~uid smoke to prepare a comminuted pickle fat component with the re-maining percent water, all of the foregoing proportional percentages being by weight. First, the meat was ground through a ine plate in a conventional grinder along with ~,:,....
the above ingredients which compose the curing pickle.
The resulting mass is mixed ~or approximately 15 minutes at a temperature of 50F. The resulting mixture was trans-ferred to a silent cutter and dry ice was acLded to drop the temperature to 34F and chopped or a period of 2 minutes. The resultant at component in the form of an emulsion at a temperature o 40F is removed from the cutte~ and is ready for extrusion.
In this Example pork bu-tts trimmed to 80% lean are combined with ~ salt, 6% sugar, 0.5~ sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium glutamate, 0.2% li~uid smoke to prepare a comminuted lean component. The meat and ingredients are ground and mixed 2 minutes on and 2 minutes off Eor a period of 10 minutes under a vacuum. The vacuum is removed and the resultant mass is mixed sufficiently to obtain a satisfactory bind but not over mixed to produce too tight a bind. The resulting mixture is at about 52F and is read~
for extrusion.
In this Example the fat meat component of Example 4 was extruded with the lean meat component of Example 2.
During the extrusion process, the lean meat is at a tem-perature of 50F with the same pressure at the beginning of the extrusion process. The resulting ribbon-like slab ' .
, . .
. . . . , :, . ., . : . ~ :
is inspected for -the desired lean to fat configuration of the resulting product and the pressure adjusted to maintain this fat lean ratio. The resulting slab is cured, smoked and thereafter sliced and fired to yield a delicious bacon slice that did not separate upon fry-out.
In this Example, 50% by weight ham fat was combined with 22% pinic trimmings and 3% soya concentrate. Eirst, the meat was ground through a fine plate in a conventional grinder along with 8% salt, 6% sugar, 0.5% sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium glutamate, 0.2% liquid smoke with water which constitutes the remaining percent to form a curing pickle.
The ~esulting mass is mixed Eor approximately 15 minutes at a temperature of 50F. The resulting mixture was trans-~erred to a silenb cutter and dry ice was added to drop the temperature to 3~F and chopped for a period of ~ minutes.
The resultant fat component in the form of an emulsion at a temperature of 40F is removed from the cutter and is ready for extrusion.
EX~LE 8 In this Example, beef, 66% by weight boneless carcass bee~, is ground through a fine plate into a mixture of 10~ by weight fat meats as prepared in Example 1. To this mixture was added the following ingredients all of which are expressed in percents by weight, 8% salt, 6~ sugar, 0.5% sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium glutamate, 0.2%
liquid smoke to prepare a comminuted lean component. The , .
meat and ingredients are ground and mixed 2 minutes on and 2 minutes off for a period of lO minutes under a vacuum. -The vacuum is removed and the resultant mass is mixed su~ficiently to obtain a satisfactory bind but not over mixed to produce too tight a bind. The resulting mixture is at about 52F and is ready for extrusion.
In this Example the fat meat componen-t of Example l was extruded with the lean méat component of Example 2.
During the extrusion processl the lean meat is at a temperature of 50F with the same pressure at the beginning of the extrusion process. The resulting ribbon-like slab is inspected for the desired lean to fat configuration of the resulting product and the pressure adjusted to maintain this fat lean ratio. The resulting bacon product had more delicate bacon flavor and less fry-out and had maintained the layer striation integrity.
While the comminuted lean pork and beef and vegetable mixtures have been described by way of example, it will be recognized that lamb, poultry, fish and other such ~eats can be used as either the lean meat component or fat component. After processing the bacon slab analogue, it has been found that between 24F and 28F is a convenient temperature for the slicing and enables the slices to be consistent and also they can be handled readily and easily.
' . . .
.
.~ :
, : , :
The slices have an uncooked appearance remarkably close to bacon and are consistent in terms of percenta~e lean to percentage fat and in the distribution of the lean throughout the slice~
Liquid smoke may be used in the mixture to produce a bacon analogue flavor which is equivalent to bacon when cooked and the fry-out is substan-tially less than bacon and the fried appearance substantially better inasmuch as the slice does not twist or curl but fires ~lat probably due to the higher lean content.
The invention has been discussed with particular reference to bacon analogues formed by the process of the invention utilizing novel conditions to insure cohesion of the layers in the same manner as in natural bacon before and after cooking. For example, it-will be recogniæed by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be modified to produce other similar multiphased meats such as corned bee~, back bacon and other such multi-phased meats in the application of the in~ention. It will be further appreciated that substitutions and modifications may be made in the process by those skilled in the art without de-partin~ from the scope of the invention. Consequently, these and various other modifications and substitutions may be made with the spirit and saope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
--19-- .
~yl.
It has long been a goal of the meat processing industry to prod~lce a bacon analogue which w:ill duplicate the appearance, taste and handling characteristics of natural bacon but which can be formed from natural meat products alone or in conjunction with other protein sources to yield bacon from products other than pork bellies and which can maintain a consistent lean to fat ratioO The bacon analogue produced should further exhibit a phase- :
boundary integrity similar to natural bacon and be able to thereafter be processed, cured, cooked and used in the same manner as conventional bacon.
SUl~RY OF T~IE INVENTION
The present invention obviates the limitations and disadvantages of prior art simulated product~;by providing a bacon slab analogue cornposed of natural meat cuts from pork, bee~ ish and other protein sources that can be processed, packaged and thereafter used in the same .:
manner as conventional bacon while exhibiting an appearance, taste and texture similar to natural bacon.
More particularly, the novel bacon and other multi-phased meat products formed in accordance with the process of the present invention maintain the lean and fat phase-boundary conslstency when fried and cooked in the manner ordinarily : 30 -, ~3-: ~ .
%
employed for natural meat products. In addition to maintaining the advantages of the natural meat product, the bacon analogue of the present invention may further be improved upon by compounding the bac~n analogue in a pred.etermi:ned fat to lean mixture and texture and otherwise specifically formulating it to both reduce and control the ratio of vegetable fat to animal fat and protein content of the bacon analogue. More specifically~
a meat analogue co~prises:
(a) at least one comminuted fat component having a particle size of less than 10 mm consisting essentially of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish, or mixtures thereof;
(b) at least one comminuted lean component having .-a particle s.ize of less than 10 mm conslsting essential:Ly of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef r lamb, ;
poultry, fish, or mixtures thereo~; and (c) a binding amount of a salt soluble protein extracted from said fat component binding saia fat and ~ean components into discrete fat and lean areas having an area greater than the particle size of said comminuted lean particles when said fat and lean components are bound to each other to ..
form said meat analogue, wherein said fat and lean areas are essentially uniform in shape throughout said meat analogue.
~ur~hermore a bacon analogue comprises: :~
Sa~ a comminuted at component composed of a raw medt selected from the group conslsting of pork, bee, lamb, poultry, fish or a mixture of sai~ raw meat and vegetable .~
protein with said mixture having about 75~ ~y weight raw meat, :.;
said fat componen~ additionally comprising therein a curing pickle comprised of:salt~ coloring agent and bacteriostat;
: . _ 4 _ .:
',r1 ~. . ..
(b) a comminuted lean component composed of a raw meat selected from the group consisting o pork, beef, lamb, poultry, and vegetable proteins or mixtures thereof; and (c) said soluble protein extracted from a fat meat component, said salt soluble protein binding said fat and lean components when said components are joined at 21 temperature in the range of about 40F. to 55~. at preselected locations.
~ nother aspect o~ the invention consists Q~ the process of forming the bacon analogue and similar multiphased ~meat products which consists of the steps of preparing a comminuted fat appearing mixture of beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish and other such natural meats or vegetable protein or a combination of one or more of the foregoing, passing the fat appearing mixture under pressure through a die and extruding the lean appearing mixture under pressure at preselected locations within said die to simulate the orientation o~ fat and lean components of a natural bacon slab, and processing the resultant slab. More specifically, such process aspect of the invention comprises the steps of:
(a) preparing a comminuted fat component of edible materials wherein at least one member or mixture thereof is a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry and ~egetable protein;
(b) curing said fat component with a pickle cure comprising a salt solution until salt soluble proteins are removed to produce a salt soluble protein bind;
(c~ preparing a comminuted lean meat component wherein at least one member or mixture thereof is a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry and vegetable protein; and - 4a -, ;....
'~ .
(d) extruding said fat component ln the temperaturerange of about ~0F to 55F and said lean component at a temperature sufficiently low to provide an extrudable mixture which maintains the in-tegrity of a salt soluble protein bind while separately extruding said fa-t and lean components under pressure through pre-selected locations within a die to simulate the orientation of fat and lean components of a natural meat slab to produce a resultant meat slab.
The advantages of the present invention include the formation of bacon and meat analogues prepared from real meat which when utili~ed in the process of the present invention can be formulated to duplicate the appearance, texture, consistency and, of course, the taste of the natural ~ ~`
meats~ The processing of the raw meat mixtures - ~b -. . .
and particularly the fat component increases the natural binding ability of the novel product which exhlbits an excellent binding of the layer and is hence, capable of being cooked, fried, sliced and otherwise processed in the same manner as corresponding cuts of meat obtained from natural sources.
Another aspect of the invention is the ability to utilize conventional curing, seasoning and preserving materials for the mixture.
An object of the invention is to provide a pro-cess which produces a bacon analogue in which the propor-tion o lean meat to fat can be controlled as desired.
Another object of the invention is to provide a process in which a portion o bee~, porkr lamb, poultry, ~ish and other such natural meats or vegetable protein which can be, if desired, incorporated with the pork product~
normally utilized and which may be used to control the `
flavor, texture, and within the llmits the animal to vegetable oil and fat content and cost characteristics of the bacon analogue.
A fur-ther object of the invention is to provide a process which enables other portions of the animal to be utilized in the manuacture o a product which is similar to natural bacon.
~ further object of the invention is to provide a process which is economical in production and provides a protein rich bacon analogue which maintains the texture, z taste and consistency of bacon after cooking.
Other such objects and advan-tages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the specification in conjunction with the appended drawings which illustrate a slice of the novel bacon analogue of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF T~E DR~WINGS
Figure 1 is a front elevational view depicting one arrangement of fat to lean meat for a slice of the bacon analogue produced in accordance ~ith the invention;
and Figure 2 is a front elevational ~iew of a slice of the bacon analogue produced according to the invention depicting an alternative arrangement of fat and lean meats.
In the drawings like charac.ters of reference indicated corresponding parts in Figures 1 and 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to Fig. 1, reference character 10 illustra-tes a bacon slice analogue of substantially rectangular configuration having a portion 11 formed rom a comminuted fat mixture and hav.ing areas of lean meat 12 formed therein, said areas of lean meat being formed rom a comminuted lean meat mixture. Similarly, in Fi.g. 2 an alternative configuration is depicted of a lean meat portion 12 in relation to the co~minuted ~at mixture portion r,' ~ ~
,: ', . ' 11 obtained by modification of the configuration of the extrusion die.
It will be immediately recognized and understood by those skilled in the art that the areas of lean appearing meat may be varied as to size, quantity and shape as desired and other phase or lean to fat striations are contemplated by the invention not only for bacon but other multi-phased meat products, all of which are within the scope o~ the present invention.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention a bacon analogue is preyared by extruding a comminuted ~at meat component or mixture treated with a curing pickle and a comminuted lean meat mixture which by employing the novel extrusion process of the invention, produces a meat slab resembling a pork belly havin~ fat and lean layers as in- ~;
dicated by reference characters 11 and 12 as heretofore discussed. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the advantages of the present invention are not dependent upon vegetable and dairy binders or other agents to maintain the phase cohesion but rather upon the extrusion and curing processes of the present invention.
The novel bacon analogue and its respective fat and lean phases or layers is formulated from comminuted at and comminuted lean mixtures prepared ~rom pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish and other such natural meats or vegetable protein or mixtures thereof.
In the specification and claims of the invention i-t will be understood that the terms "fat", "fa~ mixture", "fat appedring mixture" or "fat component" includes pure fat ~110 ~ 2 or meats'with a hi~h fat content or a mixture o various meats and fats whîch is in an uncooked and/or cured con-dition prior to thermal treatment, "Lean", "lean component", "lean mixture"',,`'lean appearing mixture~ or "lean meat" is a mixture of predominantly lean meat with or without fat addition and also in an uncooked and~ox cured condition prior to thermal treatment. .Furthermore, these terms are relative to one another such that the ~at ~ixture is richer in fat content in proportion to the lean mixtu.re.- In this regard, it should be'noted that the fat and lean components can be Eormed from any meat such as pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish and other such natural meats and combined~ within limits, with a ~egetable protein or mixture thereof to y.ield extru- ~ ' ' dahle comminuted fat and lean components~ The percent by L5 weight limitation of ve~etable protein'to naturaI meat~in-the comminuted fat component is about 25~ by wei~ht to 75%
'by weight and in the lean component~ the natural vegetable ' protein may be exclus.iveIy employed with the pre~erred range being about 1~ to 75% by weight Yegetable protein by weight ~ to 99% to 25% by weight natural meat protein by weight~ .
It will of course be recognized by those skilled in the art .
that with increased propoxtions of vegetable proteins, addi~
, tional ~laYoring, coloring and other such additives are employed.
While various meats such as beef, poultry and fish' ~5 ~ I . may ad~antageously be em ~ yed including parts o the pork -a~imal in the preparation of a bacon analogue in accordance with the invention, it has been found that 80% by weight lean boneless pork butts provides the preferred ingredient for the lean meat component and pork jowls and back fat m:ixture s~f about 70% by 1~ weight,jowls ~o 30~ b~ weight back fat produces a preferable fat meat mixture, '"~
.
' In the preferred application of the invention the pork is fresh or a combination of fresh pork with a lirnit of 30~
by weight frozen or 50% by weight defrosted pork which is utilized in the fat meat comminuted component.
The fat component which has generally already been ground is mixed and treated with a curing pickle in a conventional mixer. The curing pickle applied to the comminuted ~at may contain spices and other optional ingredients which may, of course, be varied depending upon the desired taste and appearance of the final product. The essential ingredients of the curing pic~le are salt and a coloring agent and bacteriostat such as sodium nitrite. One such suitable curing pickle generally employed which is not to be considered limiting, may be composed of approximately the following:
7~ - 8% by weight of salt 5% - 6% by weight of sugar 0.5% by weight of sodium er.ythorbate 0.1% - 0.2% by weight of soluble spices :~ 20 0.05% sodium nitrite Maximum protein extraction may be accomplished du~ing the mixing step if the temperature of the mix is ma.in-tained reasonably high enough to perform this task but not too high to create smearing. The preerred time of protein . extraction is about 15 minutes when a tempera-ture of about 45F to 50F is utilized or the mi~ing step and curing pickle treatment of the at meats. One skilled in the art will recognize that the time and temperature is interdependent and ~ that the higher the fat content in the fat component the longer :; 30 , .
;l, ,~
,~
and/or higher the extrac~ion temperature and times whichj of course~ is limited by t'he smearing property of the fat component.
This temperature and time'parameter is particularly important since'the pickle'cure of the fat meat component is belieYed to remove salt soluble proteins which then act as the natural bindin~ a~ents of'the meat tissues. As heretofore discussed the present inven~ion achieYes its ad~antages of multi-phase and layer integrity without the addition or - necessity of vegetable and dairy binding agents. The natural 10 , binding of the proteins in the layers,of the at and lean components result r~m the extrusion process as will here-inafter be described and the process of treating the pro-teins with the pickle cure.
After mixing and treatment with the curing pickle lS the comminuted fat meat mixture is transferred from the mixer to a vacuum silent cutter which is conventional in operation.
, The temperature of the fat meat components is taken and the amount of dry ice is calculated and added in an amount necessary to provide an extrudable mixture whil,e the silent ~0 cutter is slowly rotating thereby yielding a fairly stiff emulsion. Typically ~h~ reduction of temperature to provide an extrudable mixture ls in the ranye of about 34F to 40F which assists in the process by maintaining the integrity of the' salt soluble protein bind~ This temperature ran~e of course Z5 varies with the precise fat content of the fat content of the components but is recognized by those skilled in the art as the - temperature at which a fat emulsion exhibits the tendency to create smearing.
Once the temparature of about 34F to 40F is attained, the interior is placed under a vacuum and the '' silent ~ut~er is speeded up to chop the,meats to a f:ine , emulsion. As hereto~ore disGussed~ the lowering of the ,. ', ' . ,, temperature and ~ts maintenance at that leYel is important to prevent further breakdown o proteins that in conjunction with the novel extrusion process asslst i.n the binding action of the pickle treated proteinsO As soon ac, the chopping is-complete, a further period of t.ime under vacuum is allowed while the silent cutter blades are stopped~ to ensure that all carbon dioxide, air and other gases have escaped from the emulsion. The vacuum is released and the fat meats are now ready for the extruslon step, If the fat meats are not being extruded immediately~ they should be stored in a cooler so that they can maintain the fairly stiff emulsion desired for the extruding step. While higher and lower extrusion ~emperatures may be employed, the maximum advantages of the ; ~ present invention are achieved by utilizing an extruding temperature which is kept at a minimum of about 40F and a maximum of about ~F. Although the example for the prepara-tion of the fat appearing meats is for pork other mea-ts such as beef, lamb, ~oultry, fish and vegetable protein may be substituted in all or part, with only slight modification to the procedure.
As heretofore discussed, the basic formula for the lean meats is beef, pork, lamb~ poultry, fish and other such meats and ~egetable protein, or mixtures thereof. Optionally, other ingredients or similar ingredients as were introduced to the fat meat component, may be introduced into the comminuted ; lean mixture including but not limited to water, salt, cane or beet sugar, monosodium glutamate,, liquid smoke, spices, erythorbic acid a~d sodium nitrite~ The lean meats are mixed with the selected optional ingredients and commin~lted in a : ~?,0 manner similar to the fat component except a.silent cutter --11 , , . .
~.
` ~llO~!IZ
is generally not necessary and the lean meat component is placed in a yacuum hlender or mixer, Therea~ter the air .
and other gases are release~ and the temperature adjusted to form an extrudable fluid which is generally in the range of about 40F to 55F. It should be noted that during the . mixing step of the lean meats~ the temperature of the mix must be high enough to keep the lean ~eats rather soft relative to the fat meats so as to produce a suitable pattern during extru- :
sion for if the lean meats are too cold,.they will not extrude properly. Similar to the process with respect to the fat .
mixture, i~ the lean meats are not being extruded ~nmecliately, .
they should be kept in at a temperature close to t~e tem- . .
perature they were at the time of mixing~ In the foregoing .
, discussion ~or the preparation o~ the lean appearing meats from a pork sourcet beef, lamhj~poultry, fish and other such .
meats or vegetable protein may be subs~ituted in all or part, with only slight modification to the procedure. .
The lean meats ~nd fat meats mixtures are placed :
in separate hoppers in an extrusion machine, and extruded ..
~0 through dies of a desired ~at-to-lean con~iguration for the final product. It.will be recognized by those skilled ~
- in the art that the fat and lean hoppers should be kept :-filled at all times during extrusion and that the die .
parts should be kept clean. Optimum results are.achieved -in the present inventlon when the pump pressure on the fat mixture is maintained at a sliyhtly higher pressure than the :~
lean pump pressure~ Generallyl these pressure differentials are modified to accomc)date the extrudability of the respective fat and lean components and range from abou~ 1 to 10 psi. The ..
two mixtures are extruded through a die and past mold heads :
to be extruded in a ribbon-like strip with the lean and fat meat mixtures being layered in shapes similar to that illustrated in the drawings and as they leave the extruding die head. The ribbon of layered mixture is placed in pans shaped to form a uniform slab after heat processing. Slabs that may be used in this process are similar to those illustrated and described in Canadian patent application Serial No.
267,282.
The extruded bacon analogue is then placed in pans and loaded onto conventional conveying equipment and are placed into a batch or continuous t~pe smokehouse in a manner which is well known to those skilled in the art.
The product is then conveniently and optionally smoked in a conventional manner and heat processed at a schedule of increasing temperatures until an internal temperature of between 148F and 156F is reached with the ideal temperature being 150F. The slabs are then removed from the pans and cooled to a temperature ideal for slicing the slab into strips similar to bacon.
When using pork, poultry, fish or vegetable protein for the lean meats the curing of the mixtures should be from 1 to 3 days depending upon the ingredien-ts of the mix-tures. No curing period is required when beef is used in the lean meat mixture.
The following examples are for the purpose of further illustrating the preparation of the novel product and process of the invention and in the following examples all percentages are by weight.
In this Example, 51% by weight pork jowls along with 23% by weight pork back fat was employed as the fat meat component along with 8% salt, 6% sugar, 0.5% sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium glutamate, 0.2% liquid smoke, to prepare a comminuted pickle fat co~ponent with the remaining pe~cent water all of the foregoing proportional percentages being by weight. First, the meat was ground ~ -through a fine pla-te in a conventional grinder along with the above ingredients which compose the curing pickle.
The resulting mass is mixed for approximately 15 minutes at a temperature o 50F. The resulting mixture was trans-ferred to a silent cutter and dry ice was added to drop the temperature to 34F and chopped for a period of two minutes. The resultan-t fat component in the form o an emulsion at a temperature of 40F is removed from the cutter and is ready for extrllsion.
In this Example, beef, 66% by weight boneless carcass beef, is ground through a fine plate into a mixture of 10% by weight fat meats as prepared in Example I. To this mixture was added the following ingredients all of which are expressed in percen-ts by weight, 8% salt, 6% sugar, 0.5% sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium glutamate, 0.2%
liquid smoke to prepare a comminuted lean component. The ~' ''.
meat and ingredients are ground and mixed 2 minutes on and 2 minutes off for a period of 10 minutes under a vacuum.
The vacuum i5 removed and the resultant mass is mixed suf-ficiently to obtain a sa-tisfactory bind but not over mixed to produce too tighk a bind. The resulting mixture is at about 52F and is ready for extrusion~
In this Example the fat meat component of Example 1 was extruded with the lean meat component of Example 2.
During the extrusion process, the lean meat is at a tem-perature of 50F with the same pressure at the beginning of the extrusion process. The resulting ribbon-like slab is inspected for the desired lean to fat con~iguration o the resulting product and the pressure adjusted to maintain this fat lean ratio. The resulting slab is cured, smoked and thereaf-ter sliced and fried to yield a delicious bacon slice that did not separate upon fry-ouk.
In this Example, 51% by weight pork jowls along with 23% by weight pork back fat was employed as the at meat component along with 8% salt, 6% sugar, 0.5% sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium ~lutama~e, 0.2% li~uid smoke to prepare a comminuted pickle fat component with the re-maining percent water, all of the foregoing proportional percentages being by weight. First, the meat was ground through a ine plate in a conventional grinder along with ~,:,....
the above ingredients which compose the curing pickle.
The resulting mass is mixed ~or approximately 15 minutes at a temperature of 50F. The resulting mixture was trans-ferred to a silent cutter and dry ice was acLded to drop the temperature to 34F and chopped or a period of 2 minutes. The resultant at component in the form of an emulsion at a temperature o 40F is removed from the cutte~ and is ready for extrusion.
In this Example pork bu-tts trimmed to 80% lean are combined with ~ salt, 6% sugar, 0.5~ sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium glutamate, 0.2% li~uid smoke to prepare a comminuted lean component. The meat and ingredients are ground and mixed 2 minutes on and 2 minutes off Eor a period of 10 minutes under a vacuum. The vacuum is removed and the resultant mass is mixed sufficiently to obtain a satisfactory bind but not over mixed to produce too tight a bind. The resulting mixture is at about 52F and is read~
for extrusion.
In this Example the fat meat component of Example 4 was extruded with the lean meat component of Example 2.
During the extrusion process, the lean meat is at a tem-perature of 50F with the same pressure at the beginning of the extrusion process. The resulting ribbon-like slab ' .
, . .
. . . . , :, . ., . : . ~ :
is inspected for -the desired lean to fat configuration of the resulting product and the pressure adjusted to maintain this fat lean ratio. The resulting slab is cured, smoked and thereafter sliced and fired to yield a delicious bacon slice that did not separate upon fry-out.
In this Example, 50% by weight ham fat was combined with 22% pinic trimmings and 3% soya concentrate. Eirst, the meat was ground through a fine plate in a conventional grinder along with 8% salt, 6% sugar, 0.5% sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium glutamate, 0.2% liquid smoke with water which constitutes the remaining percent to form a curing pickle.
The ~esulting mass is mixed Eor approximately 15 minutes at a temperature of 50F. The resulting mixture was trans-~erred to a silenb cutter and dry ice was added to drop the temperature to 3~F and chopped for a period of ~ minutes.
The resultant fat component in the form of an emulsion at a temperature of 40F is removed from the cutter and is ready for extrusion.
EX~LE 8 In this Example, beef, 66% by weight boneless carcass bee~, is ground through a fine plate into a mixture of 10~ by weight fat meats as prepared in Example 1. To this mixture was added the following ingredients all of which are expressed in percents by weight, 8% salt, 6~ sugar, 0.5% sodium erythorbate, 0.4% monosodium glutamate, 0.2%
liquid smoke to prepare a comminuted lean component. The , .
meat and ingredients are ground and mixed 2 minutes on and 2 minutes off for a period of lO minutes under a vacuum. -The vacuum is removed and the resultant mass is mixed su~ficiently to obtain a satisfactory bind but not over mixed to produce too tight a bind. The resulting mixture is at about 52F and is ready for extrusion.
In this Example the fat meat componen-t of Example l was extruded with the lean méat component of Example 2.
During the extrusion processl the lean meat is at a temperature of 50F with the same pressure at the beginning of the extrusion process. The resulting ribbon-like slab is inspected for the desired lean to fat configuration of the resulting product and the pressure adjusted to maintain this fat lean ratio. The resulting bacon product had more delicate bacon flavor and less fry-out and had maintained the layer striation integrity.
While the comminuted lean pork and beef and vegetable mixtures have been described by way of example, it will be recognized that lamb, poultry, fish and other such ~eats can be used as either the lean meat component or fat component. After processing the bacon slab analogue, it has been found that between 24F and 28F is a convenient temperature for the slicing and enables the slices to be consistent and also they can be handled readily and easily.
' . . .
.
.~ :
, : , :
The slices have an uncooked appearance remarkably close to bacon and are consistent in terms of percenta~e lean to percentage fat and in the distribution of the lean throughout the slice~
Liquid smoke may be used in the mixture to produce a bacon analogue flavor which is equivalent to bacon when cooked and the fry-out is substan-tially less than bacon and the fried appearance substantially better inasmuch as the slice does not twist or curl but fires ~lat probably due to the higher lean content.
The invention has been discussed with particular reference to bacon analogues formed by the process of the invention utilizing novel conditions to insure cohesion of the layers in the same manner as in natural bacon before and after cooking. For example, it-will be recogniæed by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be modified to produce other similar multiphased meats such as corned bee~, back bacon and other such multi-phased meats in the application of the in~ention. It will be further appreciated that substitutions and modifications may be made in the process by those skilled in the art without de-partin~ from the scope of the invention. Consequently, these and various other modifications and substitutions may be made with the spirit and saope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
--19-- .
~yl.
Claims (40)
1. A process for producing bacon analogue and other multi-phased meat products comprising:
(a) preparing a comminuted fat component of edible materials wherein at least one member or mixture thereof is a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry and vegetable protein;
(b) curing said fat component with a pickle cure comprising a salt solution until salt soluble proteins are removed to produce a salt soluble protein bind;
(c) preparing a comminuted lean meat component wherein at least one member or mixture thereof is a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry and vegetable protein; and (d) extruding said fat component in the temperature range of about 40°F to 55°F and said lean component at a temperature sufficiently low to provide an extrudable mixture which maintains the integrity of a salt soluble protein bind while separately extruding said fat and lean components under pressure through pre-selected locations within a die to simulate the orientation of fat and lean components of a natural meat slab to produce a resultant meat slab.
(a) preparing a comminuted fat component of edible materials wherein at least one member or mixture thereof is a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry and vegetable protein;
(b) curing said fat component with a pickle cure comprising a salt solution until salt soluble proteins are removed to produce a salt soluble protein bind;
(c) preparing a comminuted lean meat component wherein at least one member or mixture thereof is a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry and vegetable protein; and (d) extruding said fat component in the temperature range of about 40°F to 55°F and said lean component at a temperature sufficiently low to provide an extrudable mixture which maintains the integrity of a salt soluble protein bind while separately extruding said fat and lean components under pressure through pre-selected locations within a die to simulate the orientation of fat and lean components of a natural meat slab to produce a resultant meat slab.
2. The process according to claim 1 in which the steps of preparing a comminuted fat component and a comminuted lean component additionally comprises the addition of color, flavor and preservative ingredients to said comminuted fat appearing component prior to extruding said component to form a cohesive meat analogue.
3. The process according to claim 1, further comprising the step of maintaining the temperature of the comminuted fat component at a range of about 45°F to 50°F
during said pickle cure.
during said pickle cure.
4. The process according to claim 1 further comprising the step of comminuting said fat mixture under a vacuum in a silent cutter at a temperature in the range of about 34°F to 40°F.
5. The process according to claim 4 which further comprises the step of adding dry ice to said silent cutter to maintain said temperature in the range of about 34°F to 40°F.
6. The process according to claim 4 which further comprises the step of comminuting said fat mixture for a period of time greater than 15 minutes.
7. The process according to claim 4 which further comprises the step of removing the majority of gases such as air and carbon dioxide, from the fat component prior to extruding same.
8. The process according to claim 1 which further comprises the step of comminuting said lean component in a vacuum mixer.
9. The process according to claim 8 which further comprises the step of comminuting said lean component at a temperature in the range of about 40°F to 55°F.
10. The process according to claim 9 which further comprises the step of removing the majority of gases such as air and carbon dioxide, from the lean component prior to extruding same.
11. The process according to claim 1 which further comprises the step of maintaining a temperature in the range of about 40°F to 55°F during said extrusion of said fat and said lean components.
12. The process according to claim 11 which further comprises maintaining about 1 to 10 p.s.i. greater pump pressure differential on said fat component than on said lean component during said extrusion.
13. The process according to claim l which further comprises maintaining said fat component in a slightly greater consistency than said lean component during said extrusion.
14. The process according to claim 1 wherein the curing pickle further comprises a coloring agent and a bacteriostat.
15. The process according to claim 14 wherein said coloring agent and bacteriostat is sodium nitrate.
16. The process according to claim 1 wherein said curing pickle additionally comprises a mixture of water, sugar, sodium erythorbate, spices and sodium nitrite.
17. The process of claim l which further comprises the step of adding flavoring, coloring and spices to said lean component.
18. The process according to claim 17 wherein the said additives comprise a mixture of water, salt, sugar, sodium erythorbate, spices and sodium nitrite.
19. The process according to claim 1 which additionally comprises the step of curing said slab by passing the slab through a smokehouse and raising the internal temperature of said slab from between 148°F and 156°F and then cooling the slab.
20. The process according to claim 1 which additionally comprises the step of slicing said resultant meat slab at a temperature of about 24°F to 28°F.
21. A process for producing bacon analogue comprising:
(a) mixing a fat component wherein a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish or a mixture of said raw meat and vegetable protein with said mixture having about 75% by weight raw meat;
(b) curing and extracting salt soluble proteins from said fat component with a pickle cure comprised of salt, coloring agent and bacteriostat to remove salt soluble proteins and produce a salt soluble protein bind;
(c) comminuting said fat component in a silent mixer under vacuum at a temperature in the range of about 34°F to 40°F to form an extrudable comminuted fat component;
(d) preparing an extrudable comminuted lean component from a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish or a mixture of said raw meat and vegetable protein in a vacuum mixer wherein said lean meat component contains a lower fat content in comparison to said fat component;
(e) extruding said extrudable comminuted fat component at a temperature in the range of about 40°F to 45°F and said extrudable comminuted lean component at a temperature in the range of about 40°F to 55°F through preselected locations within a die to simulate the orientation of fat and lean com-ponents of a natural bacon slab to produce a resultant meat slab.
(a) mixing a fat component wherein a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish or a mixture of said raw meat and vegetable protein with said mixture having about 75% by weight raw meat;
(b) curing and extracting salt soluble proteins from said fat component with a pickle cure comprised of salt, coloring agent and bacteriostat to remove salt soluble proteins and produce a salt soluble protein bind;
(c) comminuting said fat component in a silent mixer under vacuum at a temperature in the range of about 34°F to 40°F to form an extrudable comminuted fat component;
(d) preparing an extrudable comminuted lean component from a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish or a mixture of said raw meat and vegetable protein in a vacuum mixer wherein said lean meat component contains a lower fat content in comparison to said fat component;
(e) extruding said extrudable comminuted fat component at a temperature in the range of about 40°F to 45°F and said extrudable comminuted lean component at a temperature in the range of about 40°F to 55°F through preselected locations within a die to simulate the orientation of fat and lean com-ponents of a natural bacon slab to produce a resultant meat slab.
22. The process according to claim 21 wherein said extrudable lean component is a mixture in the range of about 1 to 75% by weight vegetable protein to 99% to 25% natural meat.
23. The process according to claim 21 wherein said fat component comprises pork meat selected from the group of pork meats consisting of pork jowls and back fat and mixtures thereof.
24. The process according to claim 23 wherein said fat meat component is a pork meat mixture of 70% by weight pork jowls and 30% by weight back fat.
25. The process according to claim 23 wherein said pork meat is fresh pork combined with less than 30% by weight frozen pork.
26. The process according to claim 23 wherein said pork meat is fresh pork combined with less than 50% by weight defrosted pork.
27. The process according to claim 21 wherein said coloring agent and bacteriostat is sodium nitrite.
28. The process according to claim 21 wherein said curing pickle additionally comprises sugar, sodium erythorbate, soluble spices and sodium nitrite.
29. The process according to claim 21 wherein said curing and extraction of said salt soluble proteins with said pickle cure is greater than 15 minutes at a temperature in the range of about 45°F to 50°F.
30. The process according to claim 21 additionally comprising the addition of dry ice to achieve and maintain said temperature ranges in forming said extrudable fat and lean components.
31. The process according to claim 21 additionally comprising adding water, salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, liquid smoke, spices, erythorbic acid and sodium nitrite to said lean component.
32. The process according to claim 21 which additionally comprises maintaining the temperature of said fat component in the range of about 40°F to 45°F and maintaining said lean component at a slightly higher temperature during extrusion of said fat and lean components.
33. The process according to claim 32 which further comprises maintaining about 1 to 10 p.s.i. great pump pressure on said fat component than on said lean component during said extrusion.
34. A process as in claim 21 comprising the step prior to extrusion of extracting the lean component with a pickle cure comprised of a salt solution until salt soluble proteins are removed to produce a salt soluble protein bind.
35. A bacon analogue comprised of:
(a) a comminuted fat component composed of a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish or a mixture of said raw meat and vegetable protein with said mixture having about 75% by weight raw meat, said fat component additionally comprising therein a curing pickle comprised of salt, coloring agent and bacteriostat;
(b) a comminuted lean component composed of a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, and vegetable proteins or mixtures thereof; and (c) said soluble protein extracted from a fat meat component, said salt soluble protein binding said fat and lean components when said components are joined at a temperature in the range of about 40°F. to 55°F. at preselected locations.
(a) a comminuted fat component composed of a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish or a mixture of said raw meat and vegetable protein with said mixture having about 75% by weight raw meat, said fat component additionally comprising therein a curing pickle comprised of salt, coloring agent and bacteriostat;
(b) a comminuted lean component composed of a raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, and vegetable proteins or mixtures thereof; and (c) said soluble protein extracted from a fat meat component, said salt soluble protein binding said fat and lean components when said components are joined at a temperature in the range of about 40°F. to 55°F. at preselected locations.
36. The bacon analogue of claim 35 wherein said coloring agent and bacteriostat is sodium nitrite.
37. The bacon analogue of claim 35 wherein said curing pickle additionally comprises sugar, sodium erythorbate, soluble spices and sodium nitrite.
38. The bacon analogue of claim 35 further comprising water, salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, liquid smoke, spices, erythorbic acid and sodium nitrite.
39. A meat analogue comprising:
(a) at least one comminuted fat component having a particle size of less than 10 mm consisting essentially of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish, or mixtures thereof;
(b) at least one comminuted lean component having a particle size of less than 10 mm consisting essentially of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish, or mixtures thereof; and (c) a binding amount of a salt soluble protein extracted from said fat component binding said fat and lean components into discrete fat and lean areas having an area greater than the particle size of said comminuted lean particles when said fat and lean components are bound to each other to form said meat analogue, wherein said fat and lean areas are essentially uniform in shape throughout said meat analogue.
(a) at least one comminuted fat component having a particle size of less than 10 mm consisting essentially of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish, or mixtures thereof;
(b) at least one comminuted lean component having a particle size of less than 10 mm consisting essentially of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish, or mixtures thereof; and (c) a binding amount of a salt soluble protein extracted from said fat component binding said fat and lean components into discrete fat and lean areas having an area greater than the particle size of said comminuted lean particles when said fat and lean components are bound to each other to form said meat analogue, wherein said fat and lean areas are essentially uniform in shape throughout said meat analogue.
40. A multiphased meat analogue comprising:
(a) at least one comminuted fat component having a particle size of about 1 to 10 millimeters consisting essentially of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish, or mixtures thereof, (b) at least one comminuted lean component having particle size of about 1 to 10 millimeters consisting essentially of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish, or mixtures thereof, and (c) a binding amount of a salt soluble protein extracted from said fat and lean components binding said fat and lean components by each other to form said multiphased meat analogue, wherein said fat and lean components are essentially uniform in shape throughout said meat analogue.
(a) at least one comminuted fat component having a particle size of about 1 to 10 millimeters consisting essentially of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish, or mixtures thereof, (b) at least one comminuted lean component having particle size of about 1 to 10 millimeters consisting essentially of raw meat selected from the group consisting of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, fish, or mixtures thereof, and (c) a binding amount of a salt soluble protein extracted from said fat and lean components binding said fat and lean components by each other to form said multiphased meat analogue, wherein said fat and lean components are essentially uniform in shape throughout said meat analogue.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA292,958A CA1110102A (en) | 1977-12-13 | 1977-12-13 | Process for the preparation of bacon analogue and the like |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA292,958A CA1110102A (en) | 1977-12-13 | 1977-12-13 | Process for the preparation of bacon analogue and the like |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1110102A true CA1110102A (en) | 1981-10-06 |
Family
ID=4110271
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA292,958A Expired CA1110102A (en) | 1977-12-13 | 1977-12-13 | Process for the preparation of bacon analogue and the like |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1110102A (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2016094371A1 (en) * | 2014-12-09 | 2016-06-16 | Kraft Foods Group Brands Llc | Bacon products and methods of making same |
| CN115517360A (en) * | 2022-09-30 | 2022-12-27 | 陕西科技大学 | Plant-based meat analogue and preparation method thereof |
-
1977
- 1977-12-13 CA CA292,958A patent/CA1110102A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2016094371A1 (en) * | 2014-12-09 | 2016-06-16 | Kraft Foods Group Brands Llc | Bacon products and methods of making same |
| ES2652446R1 (en) * | 2014-12-09 | 2018-02-12 | Kraft Foods Group Brands Llc | BACON PRODUCTS AND ELABORATION METHODS OF THE SAME |
| US11304426B2 (en) | 2014-12-09 | 2022-04-19 | Kraft Foods Group Brands Llc | Bacon products and methods of making same |
| CN115517360A (en) * | 2022-09-30 | 2022-12-27 | 陕西科技大学 | Plant-based meat analogue and preparation method thereof |
| CN115517360B (en) * | 2022-09-30 | 2024-02-23 | 陕西科技大学 | Plant-based artificial meat and preparation method thereof |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US4305965A (en) | Bacon and meat analogues | |
| US4196222A (en) | Process for the preparation of meat and bacon analogues | |
| US2346232A (en) | Meat process | |
| US4728524A (en) | Restructured meat products and methods of making same | |
| Huffman et al. | Effect of salt concentration on quality of restructured pork chops | |
| US4904496A (en) | Low-fat processed meat products | |
| US4057650A (en) | Bacon-like meat product of reduced fat content | |
| US20020048623A1 (en) | Composite meat product and method for the manufacture thereof | |
| US3997672A (en) | Bacon processed product | |
| US3100710A (en) | Meat product and method for producing said product | |
| CA1110102A (en) | Process for the preparation of bacon analogue and the like | |
| US3285752A (en) | Method of preparing a poultry product | |
| US2874060A (en) | Manufacture of sausage and ground meat products | |
| US4156027A (en) | Low temperature sausage product and process | |
| IE45790B1 (en) | Process for the preparation of bacon analogue and the like | |
| DE3107576A1 (en) | Freeze-dried meat | |
| US2478520A (en) | Bacon substitutes | |
| RU2208347C2 (en) | Meat product (versions) and method of producing the same | |
| JPH0310660A (en) | Preparation of ham and sausage | |
| US3486910A (en) | Process for producing a precooked dehydrated meat product | |
| US3503755A (en) | Method of preparing a poultry product | |
| KR102582704B1 (en) | A Sausage using heme-like moleculesand erithadenine | |
| KR102618001B1 (en) | A Sausage using heme-like molecules | |
| US3311478A (en) | Process for preparing a dried meat product | |
| EP3308654A1 (en) | Composition of firm, crisp, aromatic sausages, and method for producing the same |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |