CA1213170A - Meat product and manufacturing process - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An uncooked ground beef meat product comprising frozen particles of ground, extruded, frozen and comminuted meat. The meat product is produced by a process including the steps of grinding, extruding the ground product into strands, quick freezing the strands, and breaking the strands into small particles in the frozen state in a size range on the order of .750 to .125 inches linear dimension. The meat product may be stored in a frozen state and portions subdivided from a bulk quantity without exposing the unused portion to thawing.
Thaw times for the portions to be cooked are substantially reduced and fluid and weight loss in the meat product up to the cooking step is virtually nil.

Description

STDI\~ 'r;' E, ,~R~SS ~IAIL I,~BEL NO~:
B4G30 , ~2I3~70 RVT/~lE~ 1mm STD~I B4630 7/8/83 1\3EAT PRODUCT AND MANUFACTURING PROCESS

E~ACJ~GRO~lND O~ T}IE INVENTION
Field of the Invention The present invention pertains to a comminuted ground bcef or hamburger type meat product in frozen particle or pcllet form made by a process w hich produces a flowable product having relativeIy little fluid loss and which may be subdivided into portions of any preselected size without thawing the entire original quantity from which the portions are obtained.
Background So-called gxound or finely chopped beef and other edible meats are widely used in a great variety of food products for human consumption. Ground beef has become a staple food item found in virtually every domestic refrigerator and foodstore, and is included in a wide variety of dishes served in restaurants and institutional food servicing systems. The conventional method of producing ground beef comprises primarily the operation of grinding raw meat, which may be fresh or previously frozen, followed by packaging the ground meat as a somewhat cohesive mass in various size loaves or blocks ~vhich are then frozen for preservation purposes until required for use in cool;ing one of the myriad of dishes using such meat products.
There are several longstanding problems in connection with the use of conventional frozen ground beef meat products. I~'~ost grocery stores supply refrigerated or frozen ground beef in a homogeneous mass of various sizes, such as in one, two or five pound packages. If the mass is frozen by the store or by the consumcr it must be thawed at least partially or completely by the user cven when ~ 5 STDM

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preparing dishes that do not require the entire contents of the package. Similarly, restaurants and institutional food preparers use larger frozen blocks of ground beef which require partial or complete thawing of large cohesive masses or quantities of beef in order to separate a lesser portion required for the preparation of a selected dish. After the required portion of thawed meat is separated from the original loaf or block of meat the portion not used for cooking is normally refrozen to preserve it for future use.
One of the problems v~ith using conventional frozen ground beef in the manner described above is the unnecessary spoilage which often occurs during thawing. The partial or complete thawing of a cohesive mass of ten, five or even one pound weight requires considerable time in order to obtain the portion of meat to be used in the preparation of a particular food item. It is difficult, if not impossible, to control the thawing process to prevent unwanted thawing of thé portion of the mass which will not be used, and the unused thawed portion must then be refrozen until needed. Since thawing time is difficult to control and is increased with the size of the loaf or block of meat, the meat may stand too long at ambient temperature thereby increasing spoilage of the portion to be used as well as the portion to be refrozen for future use.
Another problem occurs because conventional slow freezing or refreezing of thawed meat by the consumer causes the meat cells to rupture, resulting in substantial fluid loss upon thawing. This is particularly true when the freezing time exceeds approximately two hours. Sincc conventional home, institutional and restaurant freezers are not adapted for quick freezing of foodstuffs, the normal time required for freezing or refreezing relatively large quantities of ground STDr,l RVT / MEM: Imm ~z~ 7~

beef is so long that the meat is substantially damaged, thus reducing the quality of the product vhen it is finally cooked. The meat is damaged because the slow freezing process causes the formation of rclatively jagged and irregular shaped ice crystals as water and otl-er liquids freeze within the cells. These sharp crystals rupture the meat tissue cells, resultin~ in substantial loss of fluids from the product when it is thawed prior to cooking. This loss of fluid degrades the quality of the meat in regard to its taste, texture and nutritional value.
This fluid loss also reduces the weight of the precooked as well as the cooked product, which can be particularly important in commercial meat preparation operations. Moreover, the slow freezing meat is exposed much longer to ambient atmospheric conditions promoting bacteria growth, which can also damage the meat before it is completely refrozen.
Accordingly, the slow thaw time, the slow freezing and refreezing times, and the other inconveniences associated with providing packaged ground beef in relatively large cohesive masses have been detrimental to the popularity, nutritional value, and safety of this widely used meat product.
Apart from the process for preparing ground beef as described above, several processes or methods are lcnown for the production of comminuted beef and other types of meat products.
Grinding or other comminuting operations are performed on relatively large pieces of meat after removal from the animal carcass, followed by various freezing operations to provide a comminuted end product. For example, U.S . Patent 3 ,047 ,398 to D. B . ~att teaches one known type of meat preparation process in which the mcat is comminutcd into r elatively small particles prior to quick freezing the particles for STD~
RVT/~iEM:lmm ~21;~L7i3 storage. This process is unattractive for several reasons. First, comminution to produce relatively small uncooked and unfrozen particles results in substantial fluid loss prior to freezing. Moreover, by forming small particles prior to hard freezing a substantial surface area ` 5 of the meat is exposed to temperatures at or above the freczing temperature, resulting in extensive taste and texture de~radation. It is also very difficult to maintain the particles separated from each other prior to hard freezing so that large clumps are not formed during the freezing process. These problems severely limit production rates and reduce the commercial viability of the process.
Thus, prior to the present invention, it was u~idely believed in the meat processing industry that the loss of fluids and the attendant degradation of meat ~uality from ground or otherwise comminuted meat, primarily beef products, could not be avoided. As described above, this degradation is especially pronounced for processes involving comminution and then freezing the comminuted product, regardless of freezing time.
One ~vay to red~lce this degradation is by cooking the meat product prior to freezing and storage, such as in the preparation of pizza toppings. Typically, the ground meat is extruded into relatively thin elongated strands which are cooked, then frozen and comminuted for use as pizza toppings. Of course cooking cannot be used in the preparation of raw meat products. In fact, many of the factors which are important in the preparation of cooked ground meat products are not of great consideration in the preparation of ra~v ground ment products. For example, precooked and frozen pizza-type meat toppings have been developed primarily to minimize preparation time of tlle cnd product. That factor is not usually asiimportant to the purchaser of a STD;~]

RVT/l\iE~l:lmm :~21~170 raw ground l~eef product as the factors of palatability and nutrition.
~loreover, precooked meat may not be readily snaped into patties or other forms and is, therefore, not usable in the preparation of many meat dishes.
In summary, bccause of various problems in conveniional methods of producing, packaging and using ground beef, meat processors have not been able to produce an uncooked, frozen ground beef product capable of maintaining essentially all of its moisture and texture, havin~ a very low thaw time, and being easily subdivided into small portions for cooking. The present invention overcomes substantially all of these prior disadvantages. The present invention yields a unique, superior product made by a process which is relatively inexpensive, utilizes primarily conventional meat processing equipment, and provides several advantages to the user.
St~MMARY OF THE IN~7ENTION
The present invention provides an improved meat product produced from raw meat cuts which are ground or otherwise comminuted, e~truded into elongated homogeneous strands whicil are quick frozen and then broken or cut into small particles or pellets to form freely 10wable or pourable portions which, upon being thawed, do not e~hibit significant loss of fluids and maintain a high quality of taste and texture. As used herein, the terms "flowable or "pourable" refer to a characteristic of small discrete particles which may be handled by pouring or being made to flow from one container to anothcr.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invcntion there is provided a ground beef type meat product which is substantially flowable or pourable and comprises a pelletized or comminuted mass which may be conveniently subdivided into portions of sclected sizc STDI~I ~?~

R V T / l~l Er~l: lmm 12~3~170 7l7l83 while in the frozen or unfrozen state. In this way only the portion of meat to be actually cool;ed or otherwise used in the preparation of a food itcm is subject to the thawing process and the remainder of the pacl~aged quarltity of meat may be immediately replaced in frozen storage to prevent unwanted thawing.
In accordance with another aspcct of the present invention there is provided an improved meat product wherein uncooked beef or other edible animal flesh is taken from a hot deboning operation upon slaughtering of the animal or taken from previously slaughtered and preserved cuts of meat and processed into a frozen particle having a maximum linear dimension of approximately .750 to 1.0 inches and a minimum linear dimension of approxirnately .125 to . 375 inches. Pellets or particles at the lower end of this size range, in particular, have been found to be storable without a substantial increase in the amount of space occupied for a given weight quantity of meat, wherein the freezing and thawing times required to completely freeze the particles, ~nd to completely thaw the particles is substantially reduced, and where the meat product is flowab!e to facilitate the subdividing of selected portions of the product without requiring the thawing of a large cohesive mass. The formation of relatively small particles or pellets from frozen e~truded strands wherein the cross-sectional area of the strands is small enough such that the freezing time of the strands is less than two hours, and preferably on the order of twenty minutes or less, substantially reduces the damage to the cellular structure of the meat resulting in minimal loss of fluids from the quantity of meat upon thawing for use. The cross-sectional area of the strands is also, however, maintained large enough to prevcnt -loss of fluids from the meat during the e~trusion process.

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In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention there is provided a beef or similar cdible meat product which is prepared by cutting elongated frozen strands of ground and e,~truded meat into particles or pellets having a somewhat irre~ular and easily distortable sllape so that, upon thawing a preselccted portion or quantity of meat, the thawed portion may be shaped into virtually any desired configuration.
In accordance with still a further aspect of the present invention there is provided an improved process for manufacturing a meat product, v~lherein sa d product comprises a quantity of flowable or pourable discrete particles and which quantity may be subdivided into selected portions prior to cooking. The process of the present invention preferably comprises the steps of providing selected size cuts of raw meat from a hot deboning operation or from a stored quantity of meat, comminuting the meat by a cutting or coarse grinding operation followed by a further grinding operation, if needed, to reduce the meat to a particle size which may be extrudable, maintaining substantially all of any fluids separated from meat tissue during unfrozen comminution in contact with the meat being processed, e~ctruding the ground meat into elongated strands, quick freezing the strands and breaking or CUttillg the strands into particles of frozen meat which are flo~vable and whereby preselected portions of meat may be easily subdivided from an aggregate amount of the particles while the particles are frozen.
In accordance with a further aspect of the process of tlle present invention it has been discovered that the cutting and griTlding operations may be conducted in such a way that the cellular structure of the meat is left relatively undamaged and any fluids released from the meat tissue during the cutting and grinding operations is retained S TDI~
B 4 6 3 0 ~ Yn RVT/~IEl\l:lmm ~L~-7/~l83 and sul~stantially reabsorbed by the comminuted meat as it processed to the formation of frozen particles thereby resulting in a ncgligible loss of fluid from the mass of meat bcfore formation of the final size particles and upon thawing of the particles.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the process of the present invention extruded strands or "ropes" of uncooked meat are frozen rapidiy in at least less than two hours time and preferably less than twenty minutes elapsed time from commencement of the freezing process to thorough freezing of the strands, said strands then being comminuted to form frozen meat particles which exhibit negligible fluid loss when thawed.
The process of the present invention also provides for the ormation of frozen particles of previously comminuted, extruded and frozen meat strands, which particles are somewhat irregularly shaped and are easily distorted upon being thawed to facilitate the formation of cohesive shaped meat products such as patties and other compacted or shaped articles which remain intact during and following a cooking process .
The process and product of the present invention provides several advantages in the art of meat processing and production7 A
surprising result and advantage derived from the present invention is the provision of a ground beef or similar edible animal meat product having a negligible loss of natural fluids and weight prior to cooking.
Since the meat product is comminuted, then extruded, and is furnished in a final form as a comminuted flowable and separable ~ulk matcrial, the final end product may be custom blended or mixed ~ith any proportion of lean/fat meat in accordance with the customcr's or user's specifications.

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Flowability and ease of separating portions of the meat product from a lar~er stored quantity reduces the need to thaw large quantities of material which must then be refrozen or otherwise disposed of. This feature is particularly advantageous for restaurant and institutional food preparers whereby adjustments in the quantity of thawed meat and prepared meat can be made in accordance with demand without refreezing or otherwise disposing of unused meat portions. The flowability of the meat product is also advantageous for use in conjunction with dishes such as casseroles, soups, pizzas and other dishes requiring a ground or granular meat product.
The minimal thaw time and the minimal free~ing time required for the product also is particularly advantageous in regard to extcnsion of product shelf life reducing the time from withdrawal of the product from storage to finish cooking, and in regard to minimizing product taste and texture degradation.
The reduced or essentially negligible loss of fluids and cell rupture of the meat improves the cooking yields of the meat product and substantially improves the taste and texture of the cooked product as compared with conv~ntional ground meat products. r~loreover, the unused portions of the product do not require removal from the storage container or package and thereby have considerably less exposure to ambient temperatures.
The abovenoted advantages and sDlient features of the present invention as well as additional superior aspects thereof will be further appreciated by those skilled in the art by reading the detailed description whicl) follows.

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R~7T /~;Er,l: Imm 7 l7 l83 BRIEF DESCRII'TION OF TIlE DP~A~lNG
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for prer~aring the meat product of the present invention in accordance with the process of the present invention; and Figure 2 is a pcrspective view showing a quantity of the meat product in a storage container and a separated portion of the meat product .
DESCP.IPTION OF T~IE P~EFERP.ED EMBODI~E~TS
The present in~rention is directed to the provision of an improved meat product characterized generally as ground beef or hamburger. Although a typical product in accordance with the pl~esent invelltion and derived from the process of the present invention utilizes a raw material comprising raw beef cuttings having a lean meat content in the range of 70% to 90~ of the total weight of the product, with the balance of the weight being in the form of beef fat, those sl;illed in the art will appreciate that the product and process of the present invention may utilize lean and fat meat of different proportions, blends of beef and other animal flesh, or meats comprising all meat of another particular type, such as pork or poultry. The product and process descrlbed herein, however, relates primarily to a ground beef product commonly referred to as hamburger having a lean meat content of 70% to 90% by weight and a fat content of 3096 to 10%, respectively. The raw material provided for the process of the present invention typically may comprise previously cut and frozen pieces of beef carcass which have been substantially deboned. The product and process of the prescnt invention also contemplates the use of a raw or input material comprising meat from a so called hot deboning process ~vllerein the animal carcass is processed to strip the meat from the bone virtually STDM ~f~ ~
B4630 ~ ' RVT /~lEI~1 Imm 1 l33 ' ~1213~70 immediately after slaughtering the animal and the meat is then introduced dircctly to the process of the present invention.
The process for obtaining a preferrcd product in accordance with the present invention will now be described in conjunction with Fi~ure 1 of the drawing. The process contemplates the use of known pieces of equipment which will be described in general terms herein. It will be understood that the equipment used in the process may, except as noted herein, be obtained from commercial sources or by other means known to those skillcd in the art.
Referring to Figure 1, there is illustrated in schematic form a system for producing the meat product of the present invention, which system is generally designated by the numeral 10. Certain porticns of the l~rocessing system 10 ma~r take various forms but typically the system comprises an input conveyor mechanism 12 which is adapted to receive quantities of meat cuttings from suitable storage containers, not shown. The conveyor 12 may be one of various types but is preferably a single screw or auger type conveyor. The conveyor 12 is adapted to convey relatively large cuttings of raw beef either from a hot deboning process or from bulk quantities which have been previously stored at refrigeration temperatures typical for relatively short term preservation of raw meat. The conveyor 12 is arranged to discharge meat to a powered cutting apparatus 16 of the rotating cylindrical bo~.vl type having a powered multi bladed rotary CUttillg knife 18 and a movable discharge dam 19. The cutting apparatus 16 may be of a type manufactured by Kraemer-Grebe of Y~allau, West Germany, as their model SM500. The cutting apparatus 16 receives raw meat cuttings in a rotating bowl 17 which passes the meat through the cutting Xnifes 18 as a result of one or more revolutions of the bowl wherein the meat is S T D
R~Tl~lEr~l lmm ~ "~
, l7 1 83 thorou~hly cut or chopped into particle sizes typically in the range of .750 ;nch maximum linear dimension. The cutting operation provided by the apparatus 16 may also be accomplished by a so called coarse grinding step wherein the relatively large chunks or cuts of meat may be reduced to a particlc size which will permit the performance of a furtller grinding operation on the meat. The temperature of the mcat at the point of cutting by the cutting apparatus 16 is typically in the range of 34~ to 40F.
Meat particles cut by the cutting apparatus 16 are discharged from such apparatus by moving the dam 19 into the path of the meat cuttings in the bowl 17 whereby the cuttings are forced into a discharge chute 15 for delivery to suitable conveying means 20 for transport to a second cutting or grinding operation carried out by a grinder apparatus 22. The grinder apparatus 22 is of a conventional type such as an apparatùs made under the trademark BUTCIIER BOY
(modél AU S6) by Lasar Manufacturing Company of Los Angeles, California. The grinding apparatus 22 is preferably provided with an auger type conveyor which forces the comminuted meat through an orifice plate upstream of which a plurality of rotating knives are provided for cutting the meat into smaller particles as it is forced through the orifices in the aforementioned plate. The fine grinding or comminuting operation performed by the grinder apparatus 22 preferably utilizes an orifice plate having .125 inch diameter orifices so that particles appro~imately .125 inches in diameter are discharged from the apparatus 22.
The meat product eY~pelled from the grincler apparatus 22 is conveyed by suitable conveyor means or discharged directly to a receiving hopper 26 for a pump 28. The pump 28 may be one of ST Dr~l f,~
B~630 RVT/~IE~I: Imm ~21317V

several types of pumps ~vhich are adapted to force fincly ground meat substantially continuously through a discharge line 30 and tllrough an e~trusion head or horn 32. The pump 28 may be a model 629 mnnufactured by ~,larlen Research Company, Overland Park, l~ansas.
The e~trusion llead comprises a generally nozzle shaped or flared housing 34 w hich is adapted to support an orifice plate 36 having a plurality of spaced apart orifices throu~h which the ground meat may be extruded at a pressure provided by the pump in a range sufficient to provide substantially continuous strands 37 of meat as the extrudate discharged from the head 32. In a preferred arrangement in accordànce ~vith the present invention the extrusion head 32 is provided ~ith an extrusion plate 36 having a plurality of spaced apart orifices of appro~imately .375 inches diameter. The orifices are arranged in five generally horizontal rows and spaced on 1.50 inch centers and are preferably circular in shape.
Although the extrusion orifices specified above are preferred for a product comprising primarily a hamburger type product of the lean and fat proportions specified herein, it is contemplated in accordance with the present invention that the extrudate emanating from the orifice head 32 may have a cross-sectional diameter in the range of from .125 to .750 inches . Certain limiting factors in regard to the overall cross-sectional area of the e:;trudate or strands 37 which preferably limits the dimension to appro~imately .50 inches ma~imum pertain to reduction in the freezing time for the strands, and in the strength of the downstream cutting or frozen particle breal;in,, equipment. It is also indicated that in processing raw beef an orifice size of about .375 inches diamcter is an optimal minimum size wllich .~ill not result in clogging of the orifices due to connected tissuc in the S T D l RVT /~IEI~I: lmm ~I Z:1.317~

meat particlcs and which also prevents loss of fluids from the cell structure of the meat.
The extrudate from the head 32, comprising the elongatcd strands 37, is deposited on a conveyor system 42 which cxtends to a S freezing apparatus, genel ully designatecl by the numeral 44 . The freezing apparatus may take several forms and is preferably a space saving spiral ascension type freezer utilizing refrigerated air as the heat transfer medium for extracting heat frorn the strands deposited on the conveyor 44. The conveyor 44 is preferably a continuous flexible belt or chain link type conveyor and may be provided in the form of two separate conveyor elements 45 and 4G operating at different relative surface speeds so that material discharged from the conveyor 45 onto the conveyor 46 will be spread out somewhat to reduce the density of material sufficient to assure that prompt freezing occurs and to prevent the formation of a coagulated mass which may interfere with conveyor operation .
With the discharge of . 375 inch diameter rope or strand onto the conveyor 46, it has been determined that a freezing time in the range of S minutes to 20 minutes may be accomplished utilizing airblast or forced air circulation over the conveyor at a tempcrature of thc forced air heat exchange medium in the range of 0F to -40~F. The temperature of the strands 37 emanating from the extruder head 32 is typically in the range of 90F to 50F and the strands are thereby easily formed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the type of freezing apparatus described may be replaced by other freezing equipment such as liquid nitrogen immersion freezing apparatus, liquid carbon dioxiàe spray type apparatus or other apparatus capable of a heat exchange rate which will provide for complete freczing of the B 4 ~ 3 0 ~ ~``
R~7T/l~lEI~I: lmm 7/7/83 J~Z:1~17~

stranded meat in a period of time less than tulo hours and preîcrably in the ran~e of 20 minutes or less.
The schem:ltic diagram of ~igure 1 ~also illustrates the conveyor scction 46 emerging from the freezin~ apparatus 44 and arranged to dischar~e frozen contiguous and side-by-side strands of meat product into a hopper 50 of a delumping or comminuting apparatus 52. The comminuting apparatus 52 is preferably of a type not unlike a hammermill having a pluralit y of radially extending rotating fingers or hammers 53 mounted on a driven shaft 57 and spaced between respective sets of stationary fingers or hammers 55. The spacing of the hammers 53 and 55 is such that in passing the frozerl strands 37 through the apparatus 52 the strands will be broken or comminuted into particle sizes in the range of about 3 inches ma~imum length. As shown in Figure 1 a second stage of comminution or particlization of the meat product of the present invention is provided by an apparatus 54 comprising a dicing machine of a type commercially available such as one made by Urschel Laboratories of Valparaisc Indiana as their model J-A. The particlizing or comminutingr apparatus 54 is preferably set to provide a major portion of particles having a maximum linear dimension in the range of approximately .375 inches to 1.0 inches. Although particle sizes smaller than .375 inches may be obtained the ~lowability of smaller particles is not particularly enhanced and the amount of damage to the~ cell structure of the meat is increased with the smaller the particle formed. On the other hand the largrer size particles reduce the pourability or flowability of the material and consequently its handlingr characteristics. The larger size particles arc also l~ss attractive for use in providing shapcd products such as hamburger S TD~

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patties and when useà in certain t~pes of dishes such as casseroles and as pizza tOppillgs, for e~ample.
The comminution of the frozen strands by a two stage or two step process as described also provides particles which are somewhat irregular in shape and seem to adhere to each other particularly well in forming shaped meat products from thawed particles.
~fter discharge from the dicing apparatus 54 the meat product in its frozen state may be packaged in suitable containcrs such as clear plastic bags 56 shown in Figures 1 and 2 wherein a quantity of the meat product of the present invention is contained and is generally designated by the numeral 58. Figure 2 also illustrates a small subdivided portion 60 of the meat product 58, the size of which may be preselected to be of virtually any size down to the seiection of a single particle .
As the meat product 58 is packaged, it may be immediately stored at a temperature of less than 32F and preferably in the range of 0F, indefinitely, and may be easily taken from storage or, ~vhile in storage, subdivi(led into portions ~vhich may be thawed at ambicnt temperatures in a relatively short period of time. In fact, in sprcading of a single layer of particles of the meat procluct 58 onto a tray or plate at a normal ambient temperature irl the range of 72I; to 80F \vill result in complete tha~ving of the product particles in less than approximately 10 to 15 minutes. This tha~ving time is, of course, attractive to enable the formation of various méat products such as hamburgers, meatloaves, and other shaped products preparatory to cool;ing. The subdivided portions of meat may also l>e coolced ~vithout a full thawing process since exposure to cooking ~empcrature ~vill rcsult STD~
F: V T / r~] E~l: lmm ~Zl;~70 l7 l83 in a ver~r rapid tha~1 and then the physical and chemical c:hangcs associated with exposure to coolcing temperatures.
The meat product 58 prcpared in accordance with the aforedescribed process has provided some surprising and unexpected results. The pourability or flo\,vability of the prbduct at temperatllres belo~v 32F is excellent and is not unlil~e that of a purely granular solid material. Even in the range of temperatures up to normal ambient or room temperature the product 58 is highly flowable to facilitate subdividing or handling of selccted size portions of the product. A
more remarkable or surprising result is the negligible loss of fluid from the product in the manufacturing process and as a result of tha-~ing the particles of the finished product 58. Such fluids, sometimes referred to as blood, actually includes some blood and a larger portion of a watery serumlike liquid which is present as part of the meat composition prior to processing.
The virtually total retention of fluids in the meat is believed to result not only from the rapid freezing time but the particular sequence and the parameters of the process steps wherein any fluid released from the cell structure of the meat as it is being processed is maintained in contact ~1ith the mass of meat being processed up to and including the extrusion step. The fluids separated from the comminuted particles prior to extrusion are reabsorbed by the meat tissue during extrusion. The rapid freezing process that occurs immediately after the extrusion step also reduces the tendency for the separation of any ~luids and the reduced meat cell structural damage also aids in retention of fluids and without altering the meat texture. r.loreover, the two stage comminution of the frozen strands is also bclicved to cause less cell structural damage than prior art processcs. This fluid retention is STDM
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particularly important in regard to the retention of nutritional substances such as liquid pl oteinDceous materials and other substances and in regard to improved taste, te~;ture, weight control and cooking characteristics of the meat.
Althouvh an impl oved process of providing t7~e q~nique rneat product of the present invcntion has been been described herein in conjunction ~ith the description of the resulting ~rodl3ct i~self, those skilled in the art will recognize that ccrtain steps in the o~er~ll process may be modified. I;or e~;ample, the steps associated with providing material sufficiently comminuted to permit extrusion through the extrusion head 32 may involve more than a cutting and grinding step such as, for example, coarse and fine grindin~ step~ in succession.
Other types of comminuting apparatus may also be used to reduce the particle size of the meat introduced to the pump 28. It is indicated that the minimum particle size suitable for a~oiding loss of fluid and yet providi~g a flowable and palatable end product without extensive connective tissue is in the range of . 375 inches linear dimension, although a minimum particle size of appros~imately .125 inches linear dimension may be acceptable.
Although preferred embodiments of a process and a product in accordance with the present invention ha~e been described in detail herein those sl;illed in the art will recognize that various substitutions and modifications may be made in the process and the meat product without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as recited in the appended claims.
~Vhat we claim is:

Claims (21)

1. A meat product produced from raw meat cuts which are ground, extruded into elongated homogeneous strands, said strands being frozen and comminuted to form particles, said particles comprising the smallest discrete particle size of said meat product formed subsequent to grinding said meat cuts whereby fluid loss from said meat product is minimized during the formation of said particles.

2. The meat product set forth in Claim 1 wherein:
said particles have a maximum linear dimension in the range of approximately .125 to .750 inches.

3. A meat product comprising a quantity of frozen particles of ground beef and the like, said particles being formed by comminuting elongated frozen strands of said ground beef wherein a majority of said particles in a given quantity of said meat product have approximate maximum linear dimensions of .750 inches and minimum linear dimensions of .125 inches.

4. An uncooked meat product comprising discrete frozen particles formed from ground and extruded meat having a negligible loss of natural fluids subsequent to grinding said meat and upon thawing said particles.

5. The meat product set forth in Claim 4 wherein:
extrudate formed by extrusion of said meat is of sufficiently large cross-sectional area to result in negligible loss of fluids as a result of extrusion.

6. The meat product set forth in Claim 4 wherein:
extrudate formed by extrusion of said meat is sufficiently mall in cross-sectional area to have negligible cell rupture of said meat upon freezing said extrudate.

7. A meat product comprising a selected blend of lean meat in the range of 70% to 90% by weight and fat formed by comminuting uncooked deboned meat, extruding said comminuted meat to form elongated strands, freezing said strands, and comminuting the frozen strands to yield a quantity of frozen particles a majority of which have a maximum linear dimension of approximately .375 inches, said frozen particles being irregular in shape and being separable from one another in the frozen state to form a flowable quantity of meat product, and said particles being deformable and adherent to each other in the unfrozen state to form a substantially cohesive mass prior to cooking said mass.

8. A meat product comprising a quantity of frozen somewhat irregular shaped particles separable from one another and flowable to provide for subdividing said quantity of particles into portions of said meat product of preselected size, said meat product being formed by, providing cuts of uncooked meat free of bones, comminuting said cuts of meat into particle sizes not less than approximately .125 inches minimum linear dimension, said comminution including grinding said particles to produce a homogeneous mass, forcing said mass through means to extrude said mass into a plurality of elongated strands of indeterminate length, freezing said strands immediately upon formation of said strands, comminuting said strands while frozen into particles having a maximum linear dimension of approximately .125 to .750 inches, and placing preselected quantities of said particles in containers while maintaining said particles frozen so that said particles are separable from each other to provide for obtaining said portions of said meat product of preselected size.

9. The meat product set forth in Claim 8 wherein:
said meat product is composed of lean n eat and fat in the range of approximately 70% minimum lean meat and 30% maximum fat by weight, respectively.

10. A process for manufacturing an uncooked meat product comprising a quantity of discrete pourable particles, which quantity may be subdivided into preselected portions prior to cooking; said process comprising the steps of:
providing cuts of raw meat substantially free from bones;
comminuting said cuts of meat to produce an extrudable mass of ground meat;
passing said mass through an extruder to produce elongated strands of meat;
quick freezing said strands; and comminuting said strands into particles of frozen uncooked meat which are pourable and whereby preselected portions of meat may be subdivided from an aggregate amount of said particles while said particles are frozen.

11. The process set forth in Claim 10 wherein:
said strands are formed closely spaced and contiguous with each other prior to freezing said strands.

12. The process set forth in Claim 11 wherein:
said strands are frozen by passing said strands on conveyor means through a chamber and bathing said strands with a heat exchange fluid at a temperature in the range of 0°F to -40°F for a predetermined period of time.

13. The process set forth in Claim 12 wherein:
said period of time to freeze said strands is not greater than approximately two hours.

14. The process set forth in Claim 12 wherein:
said period of time to freeze said strands is not greater than approximately twenty minutes.

15. The process set forth in Claim 11 wherein:
the step of freezing said strands is carried out by conveying said strands through a chamber and flowing refrigerated air over said strands at a temperature of said air in the range of 0°F to -40°F.

16. The process set forth in Claim 10 wherein:
the step of comminuting said frozen strands includes breaking said frozen strands into multiple frozen pieces having a maximum linear dimension of approximately three inches.

17. The process set forth in Claim 16 wherein:
the step of comminuting said strands includes cutting said frozen pieces by passing said frozen pieces through a dicing apparatus to reduce the size of said frozen pieces to frozen particles, the majority of which have a maximum linear dimension in the range of approximately .125 inches to .750 inches in any given batch of said meat product.

18. The process set forth in Claim 10 wherein:
said meat product is composed of lean meat and fat in the range of approximately 70% minimum lean meat and 30% maximum fat by weight, respectively.

19. A process for manufacturing a meat product characterized by a quantity of frozen somewhat irregular shaped particles separable from one another and pourable to provide for subdividing said quantity of particles into portions of said meat product of preselected size, said process comprising the steps of:
providing cuts of uncooked meat free of bones;
comminuting said cuts of meat into particle sizes not less than approximately .125 inches minimum linear dimension said comminution including grinding said particles to produce a homogeneous mass;
forcing said mass through means to extrude said mass into a plurality of elongated strands of indeterminate length;
freezing said strands immediately upon formation of said strands;
comminuting said strands while frozen into frozen particles of meat having a maximum linear dimension of approximately .125 to .750 inches; and placing preselected quantities of said particles in containers while maintaining said particles frozen so that said particles are separable from each other to provide for obtaining said portions of frozen meat product of preselected size.

20. The process set forth in Claim 19 wherein:
the step of comminuting said strands includes breaking said strands into pieces in the range of approximately 3.0 inches maximum linear dimension and then comminuting said pieces to provide said particles .

21. The process set forth in Claim 19 wherein:
fluid separated from comminution of said meat prior to extrusion is commingled with said meat to be reabsorbed during extrusion.