GB2085275A - Meat product - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a reformed meat product in which a lean meat material and a fat material are simultaneously extruded through respective extrusion nozzles to obtain a continuous product whereof the fat material is layered onto the meat material. The respective materials for extrusion are prepared from edible animal carcass materials by subjecting the carcass materials to mechanical working in discrete preparatory operations. After being subjected to the extrusion the product is frozen.

Description

SPECIFICATION Meat product The present invention relates to the manufacture of reformed meat products.

The usual method of manufacturing reformed meat products is by extruding a meat "mix" general ly consisting of ground meat with cereal and/or binders. More recently efforts have been directed to obtaining extruded products which stimulate natural cuts of meat, and an apperatus of this purpose is disclosed in PCT-WD 80/00908.

Also known from GB-PS 2036531 is an uncooked meat roll based on compacted meat for example turkey and comprising a meat core and a mobile fat outer layer and wrapping which remains in place during cooking. The product is made by freezing the compacted core in long lengths which are advanced longitudinally through a fat applicator, superficial freezing and wrapping applicator. The fat outer layer in this product is applied continuously in liquid phase onto the frozen core prior to application of the outer wrapping.

It is a primary objective of the present invention to provide an improved method for manufacturing a reformed meat product which is simple to operate, and provides a product of high quality simulating a commercial cut of meat in texture, taste and appear ance.

The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a reformed meat product which comprises simultaneously extruding a lean meat material and a fat material through respective extru sion nozzles to obtain a continuous reformed meat product whereof the fat material is layered onto the meat material, and preparing the respective mate rials for extrusion from edible animal carcass mate rials by subjecting the carcass materials to mecha nical working in discrete preparatory operations wherein after being subjected to a mechanical working -operation and before being subjected to the next operation the material is cooled.

Preferably the fat material contains a proportion of sinew.

The lean meat material and the fat material which are extruded through their respective extrusion nozzles to give a continuous meat product are obtained from edible carcass materials. Beef, pig or lamb carcass materials are employed depending on the final product desired. Often one will wish to use meat recovered through deboning and desinewing operations.

The mechanical working to which the meat mate rial is subjected causes the myosin within the meat to become available at the surface of the discrete meat particles to help the latter to adhere inter se and the fat material to adhere the meat material after extrusion. Unfortunately, the mechanical working of the meat also causes a rise in temperature in the meat which, if not controlled, eventually leads to a loss of desirable meat colour and to discoloration due to chemical changes in the meat pigment. In orderto overcome this problem, the meat and fat materials are heavily chilled after being worked mechanically.Thus, following a deboning and/or desinewing operation, the deboned and/or desinewed material is immediately cooled, preferably to the lowest temperature at which it can be handled by the machinery used to carry out the next operation in the method of the invention. Typically, the meat is cooled by leaving it in a cold store having a temperature of about 26"F (-3"C) for about 24 hours.

Generally, the pieces of lean meat obtained after the desinewing operation will not need to be further reduced in size. If the lean meat is additionally comminuted or ground, it is again cooled. The cooled meat materials are blended, preferably with salt for a suitable time such as 3 to 5 minutes, immediately prior to extrusion. A processing aid such as a polyphosphate may be added with the salt if desired.

The fat material to be extruded in the method of the invention is typically prepared by blending animal fat with communited sinew material, in amounts, of for example, 20% to 80% by weight, and preferably also with salt and a binder.

The lean meat material and the fat material are extruded through their respective extrusion nozzles to produce a continuous meat product having a uniform cross-section. Typically, the lean meat material, and the fat material are co-extruded through respective contiguous non-communicating nozzles comprised within a single extrusion nozzle casing.

The cross-section of the extruded product is determined by the cross-section configurations and the arrangement of the respective extrusion nozzles and may readily be selected to obtain a product which when cut transversely in slices or slabs, simulates a particular conventional cut of meat, such as steak, chops, a roasting joint, bacon etc.

Immediately after the extrusion operation, the continuous meat product is frozen.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a continuous reformed meat product having an integral fat layer which method comprises: 1) freezing sinew material, 2) comminuting the frozen sinew material, 3) blending the comminuted sinew material with animal fat to give a fat phase, 4) preparing a meat phase by comminuting meat, 5) cooling the comminuted meat, 6) subjected the cooled meat to mechanical working in the presence of salt and/or polyphosphate, 7) co-extending the meat phase and the fat phase through an extrusion die to give an extruded meat product having an integral fat layer and 8) immediately freezing the extruded meat product.

The frozen sinews are typically comminuted by grinding followed by chopping with the addition of salt and polyphosphate processing aid. The chopping process causes the temperature of the sinew material to rise, although the temperature should preferably not be allowed to rise above 50 F (10 C) and more preferably not above 32"F (0 C). The comminuted meat is preferably cooled to about 26"F (-3 C). Typically, the cooled comminuted meat is worked by mixing in a blender usually with the addition of salt and binder, e.g. sodium or potassium polyphosphate.

If a product which is free of processing aid and binder additives such as polyphosphates is desired, a further development of the invention provides for this to be achieved by suitable preliminary treatment of the meat and fat materials prior to carrying out the preparatory and extrusion steps specified herein.

This development applies particularly to products obtained from beef carcasses.

The lean meat material is prepared using hot boned beef (within 2 to 6 hours of slaughter and prior to the onset of rigor mortis). The hot boned beef which retains the natural myosin within the meat is mixed with salt to solubilize and extract the myosin, and is then cooled at a temperature of about 26"F (30c) before being subjected to mechanical working in the method.

Similarly the fat material is prepared using hot boned sinews which are mixed with the addition of salt to solubilize and extract the myosin present in the shreds of red meat which remain attached to the sinews, and is then frozen before use.

When the above preliminary treatment of the lean meat material and the fat material is employed, no further salt and no processing aids or binder additives are added at any later stage in the method.

Although the presence of sinew in the fat material is found to give a benecifical effect in the method, the presence of shreds of red meat adhering to the comminuted sinews tends to give the fat material a pinkish, off-white colour which is retained in the final product On cooking, the coloration of the fat layer changes and may become virtually indistinguishable from the cooked lean meat The natural fat on fresh, raw beef on the other hand, has a creamy yellow colour and turns a darker shade when cooked.

The method may therefore be improved, in a still further development of the invention, by using a pre-bleached fat material. Frozen sinew is comminuted in a bowl chopper and hydrogen peroxide is added during the bowl chopping. The addition of hydrogen peroxide tends to cause the temperature of the material to rise, and accordingly the temperature should be regulated so that no overheating occurs. The regulation of the temperature can be effected by controlling the rate of addition of hydrogen peroxide. On the completion of comminution, the mixture is deep frozen at a temperature of about -20"C or colder and held for at least 24 to 48 hours, preferably 48 hours or longer to bleach.

Animal fat material to be mixed with the comminuted sinew is bleached separately by the addition of hydrogen peroxide by an identical process, save that the animal fat need only be chilled to at least -3"C before blending with the sinew, and need not be held at this temperature for any definite period of time.

The pre-bleaching step can be practised in conjunction with the preliminary treatment or independently thereof.

At not time during the performance of the method of the invention should the materials be allowed to stand for substantial periods at room temperature or above. If there is an interruption in the process, due for example to breakdown of an item of the processing machinery, the materials should be stored under cooling conditions in a cold room to await resumption of the process. Ongoing control of temperature of the materials in the described manner at all stages in the process is found to contribute substantially to the provision of a high quality extruded product reproducing the texture, taste and appearance of a conventional cut of meat.

The accompanying drawing is an end view of a frozen cut log produced by the method of the invention and comprising extruded lean meat material 10 and a co-extruded external fat layer 12.

The following examples illustrate the method of the invention. All parts are by weight.

EXAMPLE 1 a) Meat phase 50 parts of beef forequarter muscle meat passed through a 1" plate and cooled at 26"F (-3"C) for 24 hours were blended for 3 minutes with 50 parts minced desinewed beef flank meat cooled at 26"F (30C) for 24 hours. 0.7 parts of salt and 0.2 parts sodium polyphosphate were added to the meat blend by sprinkling and the mix was further blended for 3 minutes.

b) Fat phase 39 parts of sinew from the disinewing operation were frozen and ground. The ground sinews were chopped in a bowl chopper together with 1 part salt and 0.5 parts sodium polyphosphate. The temperature of the chopped sinews after chopping was 000.

The chopped sinews were then blended with a semi-frozen fat mixture comprising 20 parts beef back fact, 20 parts cod fat and 20 parts brisket fat.

The temperature of the fat phase after blending was 5"C.

c) A beef log having an external layer of fat was then prepared by co-extruding the meat phase and the fat phase from a Beehive co-extruder made by Beehive Machinery Inc., Utah, U.S.A. in a proportion of 9:1 by weight per unit time and passing the extruded log through a BOC nitrogen freezing tunnel for 25 minutes at a temperature of from 110C to -130 C. The frozen log was held for 3 hours at a temperature of -3"C before cutting, wrapping and dispatch.

On subsequent cooking of the product, no separation of the fat layer from the lean meat was observed, and shrinkage was well within acceptable limits.

EXAMPLE 2 To produce a beef log containing no sodium polyphospate or other processing aid the meat and sinew used in Example 1 were subjected to the following preliminary treatment: i) hot boned beef forequarter muscle meat and minced desinewed flank meat were mixed with 2% salt and and cooled at 26"F (-3"C) for 24 hours before blending for 3 minutes. No further salt or sodium polyphosphate were added during blending.

ii) Hot boned sinews were mixed with 2% salt and frozen. After freezing, the sinews were ground and blended with a semi-frozen fat mixture as specified in step (b) of Example 1.

iii) The meat phase and fat phase from steps (i) and (ii) above were then co-extruded in accordance with step (c) of Example 1.

EXAMPLE 3 Examples 1 and 2 were repeated with the addition of the frozen sinew during the bowl chopping operation of a neat 35 Vol. solution of hydrogen peroxide in an amount of 100 ml H202 per kilo. The rate of addition of the hydrogen peroxide was controlled to prevent overheating occurring. The mixture was then frozen to -20 C for 48 hours before blending with the fat emulsion. The latter was in turn prepared with the addition of an identical quantity of hydrogen peroxide before being chilled to -3 C and blended with the chopped sinews.

The fat layer in the beef log had a natural, creamy yellow colour when frozen and uncooked, and a darker, creamy yellow colour when cooked resembling that of natural fat.

Claims (10)

1. A method of manufacturing a reformed meat product which comprises the steps of simultaneously extruding a lean meat material and a fat material through respective extrusion nozzles to obtain a continuous reformed meat product whereof the fat material is layered onto the meat material, and preparing the respective materials for extrusion from edible animal carcass materials by subjecting the carcass materials to mechanical working in discrete preparatory operations wherein after being subjected to a mechanical working operation and before being subjected to the next operation the material is cooled.

2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the lean meat material and the fat material are coextruded through respective contiguous noncommunicating nozzles comprised within a single extrusion nozzle casing.

3. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the fat material contains between 20% and 80% by weight comminuted sinew.

4. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the .lean meat material comprises hot boned beef to which salt is added to extract and solubilize the myosin.

5. A method according to Claim 4, wherein the fat material contains comminuted hot boned sinew to which salt is added to extract myosin from the shreds of red meat which remain attached thereto.

6. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the fat material contains sinew, and the sinew is prebleached by the addition thereto of hydrogen peroxide, followed by freezing at -20 C for at least 24 hours.

7. A method according to Claim 6, wherein the remainder of the fat material is also pre-bleached.

8. A method according to Claim 6, wherein the hydrogen peroxide is a 35 Vol. solution in the amount of 100ml. per kilo of sinew.

9. A method of manufacturing a continuous reformed meat product having an integral fat layer which method comprises the steps of: 1) freezing sinew material, 2) comminuting the frozen sinew material, 3) blending the comminuted sinew material with animal fat to give a fat phase, 4) preparing a meat phase by comminuting meat, 5) cooling the comminuted meat, 6) subjecting the cooled meat to mechanical working, 7) co-extruding the meat phase and the fat phase through an extrusion die to give an extruded meat product having an integral fat layer and 8) immediately freezing the extruded meat product.

10. A method of manufacturing a reformed meat product according to Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described.