FR2763217A1 - Processing scraps of ham or other meat into new food product - Google Patents

Abstract

Industrial preparation of a food product based in dried meat comprises: (i) forming blocks from dried meat which has been dried, cooled and compressed at a pressure of 2 bars to give homogeneous air-free matter; (ii) maintaining the temperature at - 5 to - 10 deg C; (iii) cutting into ultrafine slices with a thickness of less than 7/10 (preferably 2/10) mm; and (iv) shaping the slices under pressure.

Description

The present invention relates to a process for the industrial preparation of a food product from dried meat. It also relates to the new product obtained from said process.

The invention applies in particular, but not exclusively, to the reconstitution of dry ham from cut slices, in particular the cuffs and heels frequently designated by the generic term of hock.

The invention starts from the observation that the significant development of the self-service formula for all delicatessen products gives rise to significant quantities of offcuts (or co-products) which can be classified in the following three categories - the starters which are difficult to exploit because they are the
mostly covered with grease added during the
drying, - false slices which may eventually find use in
salads after reduction for example in the form of dices or in the form
matches, - heels or hocks whose use remains problematic in view of their
high collagen content.

Furthermore, we know that it has already been proposed by a patent FR No. 86 02793 of February 28, 1986, filed in the name of the Applicant, a process for shaping fresh meat comprising slicing blocks of fresh meat cooled in sheets. ultrafine and the conformation in press with a continuous form or ribbon of these sheets to reconstitute portions of the roast, cutlet, steak or similar genre having a flaky texture which gives them a hold and taste qualities close to those of a non-muscle reconstructed.

However, this process specifically designed to process fresh meat for the purpose of reconstituting a piece of fresh meat intended to undergo cooking did not seem suitable for treating dried meat for the following reasons - the preparation of blocks of cooled meat appears unsuitable for
dry meat scraps due in particular to their consistency and
inability to aggregate to form a homogeneous block, - at a thickness comparable to that of fresh meat leaves,
sheets of dried meat have a stiffness a priori too great
relative to the flexibility that would be suitable for obtaining good
reconstitution, - it was not certain that the reconstituted product had a consistency and
taste qualities acceptable to the consumer.

The invention therefore provides a method for solving these problems and overcoming this prejudice.

According to the invention, this process comprises the following stages - the production of blocks from pieces of dried, cooled and
compressed at a relatively high pressure, of the order of 2 bars of
so as to obtain a relatively homogeneous material free of pockets
air, - maintaining the temperature of these blocks at a temperature between
around 5 and 10 C, - slicing of the blocks in ultra-thin sheets less than 7/10 thick
mm, preferably equal to 2/10 of mm, - the shaping under pressure of the sheets so as to obtain a product
to the desired shapes and dimensions.

Advantageously, the shaping of the sheets is carried out without a binder.

However, they may receive, by spraying, binders and / or flavorings.

Similarly, the shaping of the portions may be obtained by a process of the type described in patent FR No. 9113610 of November 4, 1991, filed in the name of the Applicant, which involves an extruder comprising two helical screws with parallel axes , with threads opposite to each other and driven in rotation in opposite directions such that the threads are wound towards each other, these screws opening into two respective outlet nozzles which each have a section going in decreasing in the direction of advance of the sheet material.

In this case, at the outlet of the nozzles, a bread is obtained at a temperature of -3 to -5 ° C. which, by slicing, makes it possible to obtain slices of products of a thickness equivalent to a slice of dry ham with a consistency sufficient to withstand low handling.

In the case where the slices are made using dry ham scraps, the taste of the product obtained is perfectly similar to the taste of a slice of dry ham.

 It should be noted that due to the consistency of the sheets of dried meat, the walls of the former and, in particular, of the twin-screw extruder will preferably be coated with a layer of an anti-friction material such that, for example. example, a fluocarbon compound (PTFE, FEP ....).

Of course, other forming means may be used such as, for example, vacuum pressing molding devices.

With regard to the preparation and slicing process, this process can be carried out by means of an installation of the type described in patent FR No. 92 01003 of January 30, 1992, filed in the name of the Applicant, in which the pieces of dried meat, previously refrigerated in a refrigeration tunnel, are pressed into breads or blocks in which the temperature of the meat is brought, by cooling and stabilization operations, to a value of the order of -8 C. These breads are then brought and guided along a predetermined axis, to a slicing station comprising a rotary disc moved in circular translation through the bread in a plane perpendicular to said axis, integral with a circular rotating plate.

The tray is located in a plane parallel to the plane of the discs and at a distance from it sufficiently large so that the front face of the loaves remains constantly free from any support on the tray. The latter is in continuous rotation around its axis and drives the disc (s) in continuous circular translation around said axis. The advance of the loaves caused by the feeding means is predetermined to define the thickness of the leaves.

As previously mentioned, this thickness should be as thin as possible and, in any case, less than 0.7 mm.

Advantageously, the stabilization of the temperature of the blocks can be carried out in a rotary magazine comprising barrels into which the loaves are successively brought, each of them being ejected by feeding means guided towards the slicing machine at the end of a delay corresponding to a store rotation cycle.

The advantage of the previously described slicing method is that by allowing the production of sheets much less than 0.5 mm, it makes it possible to solve the problem due to the presence in the pieces of meat, of large collagen membranes and therefore to treat in particular the shanks of dry ham.

Of course, the invention is not limited to a single type of dried meat:
Thus, this meat can just as well consist of dry ham obtained at the end of a process comprising a phase of keeping in brine and a drying phase as smoked meats, smoked meats or even meat dried without brining.

Claims (12)

Claims  1. Process for the industrial preparation of a food product from dried meat, characterized in that it comprises: - the production of blocks from pieces of dried, cooled meat and  compressed at a relatively high pressure, of the order of 2 bars of  so as to obtain a relatively homogeneous material free of pockets  air, - maintaining the temperature of these blocks at a temperature between  about -5 "and 10 C, - slicing of the blocks in ultra-thin sheets of thickness less than 7/10  mm, preferably equal to 2/10 of mm, - the shaping under pressure of the sheets so as to obtain a product  to the desired shapes and dimensions.  2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the dried meat consists of dry ham.  3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the above pieces consist of slices of sliced dry ham.  4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the cutting slices include the starters and / or the hocks.  5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shaping of the sheets is carried out without binder.  6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, prior to shaping, the sheets receive a binder or flavors by spraying.  7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shaping of the portions is carried out in an extruder comprising two helical screws of parallel axes, with threads opposite to each other and driven in rotation in opposite directions such that the threads wind towards one another, these screws opening into two respective outlet nozzles which each have a section which decreases in the direction of advance of the sheet material.  8. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that the walls of the extruder are coated with an anti-friction layer.  9. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that the breads obtained at the outlet of the extruder are at a temperature of -3 "to -5" C.  10. Method according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises slicing the breads once stiffened so as to obtain slices of a thickness equivalent to that of a slice of ham.  11. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pieces of meat comprise dried meat with or without brining, smoked meat and / or smoked meat.  12. Food product consisting of ultrafine sheets of dried meat shaped under pressure.