MXPA99003491A - Method of dry curing and processing fully cooked bacon derived from pork bellies - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods of curing and processing pork bellies into fully cooked bacon have been developed that eliminates both injection of liquid pickle solution or other liquid marinating processes and the need for smokehouse treatment. The method of the present invention employs a single heating step that both fully cooks a dry cure seasoning coated pork belly and achieves the necessary weight reduction to meet the regulatory product definition for fully cooked bacon.

Description

METHOD TO CURE AND PROCESS TOTALLY COOKED BACON FROM PUERCO PANCETA DESCRIPTION Technical Field The present invention is generally related to curing and processing pork belly, to produce bacon and, in particular, to a new method for processing pork belly in fully cooked bacon without the need to use smokehouse treatment.

Antecedents of the Invention The term "bacon" broadly defines a category of cured and processed pork belly. Commonly, pork bellies are cured and processed into bacon into strips or circular bacon. Bacon weight and yield is defined by a federal regulation. For example, in order for pork bellies to be labeled "raw" bacon, cured pork belly must have a weight that does not exceed the weight of the belly without a curing process. Similarly, in order for pork bellies to carry the legend of "cooked" or "pre-cooked" bacon, pork bellies must have a yield of not more than 40% of the weight of uncooked pork bellies, For example, a 60% reduction in the initial weight of pork bellies, also known as "green weight", is required. The traditional process for curing pork bellies involves the infusion of a brine solution or a dry healer into the pork bellies. The infusion of the brine creates a weight of infusion or maceration that exceeds the green weight. Depending on the manufacturing capacity and the preferences of the customer, the weight of maceration can fluctuate between 105% to 115% of the green weight. To comply with the regulatory definitions of the product, either cooked or raw bacon, a certain degree of weight loss equal to or greater than the added weight of the injected brine solution must occur, for example: the final weight must be equal or less than the portion of meat before being injected with the brine solution. Consequently, in order to obtain the necessary reduction of weight to cover the regulatory definitions of the product, the prior art has subjected the broths in brine to prolonged cycles of cooking, at low temperature. Historically, this slow cooking was carried out in smokehouses that achieved the necessary reduction in weight and also imparted the characteristic smoked flavor of bacon. Modern techniques employ cooking ovens that heat the product to a central temperature of 60 ° (140 ° F) during a cooking cycle of 4 to 5 hours. This process of heating at low temperatures produces a loss of 10% -15% of the weight injected without reaching fully cooked temperatures that completely cook the pork tots. The treatment in smokehouses dries the liquid portion of the brine solution leaving the flavorings, and thus curing the pork belly and imparting the characteristic flavor of the bacon. After treatment in smokehouses, the cured pork bellies are substantially free of liquid. Due to the use of modern slow-cooking ovens, the smoked flavor is produced today, in different ways. For the circular bacon, created from two cold-pressed and stuffed pork hogs, an agent with a smoked flavoring is added to the brine solution. For the bacon in strips, the whole pork belly is subjected to a spray of smoked flavoring agent inside the baking chamber of the oven. For fresh bacon, the "smokehouse" treatment causes the adequate reduction of weight to return the cured pork to its green weight and consequently within the regulatory definition of fresh bacon. After treatment in smokehouses, the pork bellies, which are intended to be sold as fresh bacon, are weighed to ensure the necessary loss of 10% of the infusion weight. Afterwards, the internal temperature of the cured pork bellies is cooled to a temperature of 60 ° (140 ° F) to -1 ° C (30 ° F) to facilitate slicing. The product is sliced and then packed.

However, for fully cooked bacon, an additional weight reduction of at least another 60% of the green weight is required, so that the product reaches the limits established by the regulatory definition of "cooked" bacon. After the smoking process is finished, the cured pork bellies that are intended to be sold as cooked, are weighed to ensure a weight loss of at least 10% of the weight of infusion or maceration. Whether in a circular or strip form, the internal temperature of cured pork bellies is cooled from 60 ° C (140 ° F) to -1 ° C (30 ° F). Again, said cooling is done to facilitate the slicing thereof. The bellies are sliced and then cooked further, commonly in a microwave oven for about 1 VT. to 2 minutes, depending on the amperage of the microwave oven, the speed of the conveyor belt passing through the microwave ovens, and the number of microwave cavities that are being used. This extra cooking process causes the necessary shrinkage of 60% so that the bellies fall within the specifications of the regulatory definition of fully cooked bacon. As a result, pork bellies, which are called uncooked bacon, use the single-pass method of cooking, using only the smokehouse treatment, while the pork belly for "fully cooked" bacon uses a two-step method. uses the smokehouse and a second cooking step, which is commonly microwave cooking. Prior art teaches that smokehouse treatment was necessary to cure pork bellies whether they were to be used for sale as a fresh product or as a smoked product. The patent of E.U. No. 4,957,756 to Olander et al., Suggests a method to eliminate smoking chamber treatment for pork bellies. However, this method requires a long process in which the pork bellies are kept in a brine solution for 32 to 42 hours at temperatures of 4.5 ° C (40 ° F) to 7 ° C (45 ° F). Olander thinks that this maceration process is required to achieve the adequate dispersion of the brine solution in the pork belly. This step greatly increases the cost of bacon production even when the smoking process has been eliminated. Schiffner, E. Et al., Die Herstellung von Kochsinken und Formschinken unter bakteriellem Schutz, Fleisch, vol. 36, No. 3,1982, pages 53-57, XP002054661, discloses a method for curing dry ham using a salt consisting of several nitrates followed by a spinning and heating process. Although this method does not require smokehouse smoking or injection of brine solution, the method requires that the initial salted meat remain in a tray in a refrigerated place for 12-16 hours. In addition, the turning cycle is carried out for 1.5 - 2 hours and the heating process requires two stages or temperature cycles. As a result of the long spin cycle and heating time, however, the ham is exposed to potential bacterial contamination. Thus, to increase the safety of the food, the two temperature stages must be carried out under antibacterial protection by adding a culture initiator. There is a fundamental difference between ham and bacon due to the cutting of meat from pork used for each type of meat product. Therefore, ham and bacon are processed using different methods. It is apparent from the foregoing that the previous methods in the art are intensive in both time and energy and contribute greatly to the cost of bacon production. But as more and more, the market for fully cooked bacon wins, prior to the development of the present invention, there was a need for methods to cure and process pork bellies in fully cooked bacon reducing costs and time related to the method in two. cooking cycles and in particular, the treatment in smokehouses.

Summary of the Invention According to the present invention, a novel method has been developed to cure and process pork bellies in fully cooked bacon, to eliminate both the smoking process in smokehouses and the injection of brine solution to the bellies. Basically, the method of the present invention employs a one-step cooking method that fully cooks a pork belly covered with a seasoning to dry cure, which includes a smoker agent, and achieves the necessary weight reduction that complies with the regulations of the definition of fully cooked bacon. The method of the present invention can be used for bacon in strips or in circular form. Generally, the methods of the present invention move away from the traditional methods of curing, eliminating the infusion to the pork bellies of the brine solution. Since the bellies are not injected with a liquid solution of brine, the dry-coated pork belly does not have to be cooled quickly so that the brine solution becomes a semi-solid as taught in our pending application with serial number No. 08 / 437,445. The dry-coated pork belly should only be sliced before it is cooked. Furthermore, even when the method of the present invention eliminates both the smokehouse treatment and the injection of brine solution, a single, slightly longer cooking process is employed. However, more than 60% shrinkage or reduction of the weight of infusion is sufficient to cover the needs of the regulatory definition for fully cooked bacon. Surprisingly, the method of the present invention results in a fully cooked product with the same aroma, flavor, texture and appearance of the fully cooked bacon produced in a smokehouse, reducing the processing and curing time in approximately 30 to 35 hours, giving as Dramatic savings result Other advantages and aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof.

Detailed Description Although the invention is susceptible to different incorporations, the preferred embodiments of the invention are described herein, with the understanding that the present disclosure should be considered as an example of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention. invention, to the polished incorporation. The methods of the present invention are directed to curing and processing pork bellies, to produce fully cooked slices of bacon either in strips or in circular form. When covering the surfaces of pork bellies with a seasoning and dry curing, including a flavoring agent, the pork bellies do not have to be cooled and the brine solution retained inside the pork bellies does not have to be cold-dried. The one-step cooking process employed by the methods of the present invention is generally not longer than 15% than the two-step cooking cycles known in the art to produce fully cured or cooked bacon. However, unexpectedly the one-step cooking process of the present invention results in the green weight decrease to produce a fully cooked product that complies with the definition regulations for "cooked" bacon. Furthermore, the one-step baking process, preferably by microwave or surface cooking firing as used in heated conveyor belts, produces a fully cooked bacon product having the characteristic color, texture, aroma and flavor of the bacon . Accordingly, the method of the present invention eliminates (1) the infusion of brine liquid in the belly, (2) a waiting period of 32 to 42 hours to get the brine solution to disperse in the belly, (3) treatment in smokehouses, (4) weight of the product after treatment in a smokehouse, and, (5) the need to cool the pork bellies treated in smokehouses from an internal meat temperature of 60 ° C (140 ° F) to a temperature for slicing at -1 ° C (30 ° F). the elimination of these steps results in dramatic savings in processing time and costs. The following example describes in more detail the method of the present invention in relation to commercial processing operation for fully cooked bacon.

EXAMPLE TOTALLY COOKED SLICED BACON The pork bellies selected by size and weight are cut according to the known art. As mentioned above, the method of the present invention moves away from the prior art by eliminating the injection of the brine liquid solution. In contrast, a dry seasoning and curing agent with a formula known in the art is used. However, to impart the smoked flavor of the bacon, a smoked-flavored agent must be mixed with the curing agent. Pork bellies should be kept at their internal temperatures at 1.5 ° C (35 ° F) -4.5 ° C (40 ° F). To prepare the pork bellies for coating with the dry seasoning agent, the surface of the pork bellies must be macerated using equipment available from Seffelaar & Looyen, Holland, Ml. This increases both in surface area of the pork tummy to improve the penetration of seasoning drying agent. Next, the dry seasoning agent is added to the macerated pork bellies. This can be achieved by (1) applying the seasoning directly to the surface of the pork bellies; (2) adding the seasoning agent to the previously weighed containers, which contain the pork bellies inside; or (3) adding the seasoning to a previously heavy meat massager. In this last method, while they are turning, the pork bellies are sprinkled with the dry seasoning when blowing a compound inside the meat massager. The turning cycle continues for a period of 2 to 4 at temperatures of about 4.5 ° C (40 ° F). Said process of turning the bellies also increases the adhesion and the union of the pork bellies to produce circular bacon. Then the covered pork belly is further cooled to temperatures of -5-5 ° C (22 ° F) to -1 ° C (30 ° F) before being sliced. Said cooling process causes the fat inside the pork belly to become a semi-solid to facilitate the process of slicing the product. After slicing the product into individual pieces of commercially accepted thickness, they are immediately transferred to a cooking appliance. This apparatus may include a conveyor belt with a heat conducting surface (also known as a grilling band), or as preferred, by passing the slices on a conveyor belt through one or more microwave cooking chambers. In reference to the commercial practice described here, a microwave with four Ferrite MR type cavities was used. Each cavity is serviced by two transmitters and each one placed at a maximum amperage of 4.20. this amperage achieves a temperature within each microwave cavity of approximately 104.5 ° C (220 ° F). The speed of the bands had to be decreased from 15.24 meters (50 feet) / minute for sliced product subjected to smoking, to 13.97 meters (46 feet) / minute for sliced product processed according to the present invention. The decrease in the speed of the bands increased the residence time within all the microwave cavities from approximately 1 minute, 10 seconds to 1 minute, 20 seconds, or 15% increase in time of stay. The sliced product leaving the microwave cooking chambers possessed an appearance, aroma, flavor and texture of the processed product according to prior art, where the two-step method was used. By eliminating the steps of (1) injection of a brine solution, (2) smokehouse treatment, (3) heavy product after the smoking process, and (4) the need to cool the pork belly treated in the smokers from an internal temperature of 60 ° C (140 ° F) to a temperature for slicing of -1 ° C (30 ° F), the present invention achieves a substantial reduction in the cost and processing time to produce whole bacon products Cooked For example, by eliminating the 4 to 5 hours needed for smoker treatment, it has been estimated that substantial savings could be achieved in commercial scale production of fully cooked bacon products.

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS WE CLAIMS: a method to cure and process pork bellies to produce a fully cooked bacon using a single source of heat and omitting the process in smokers and maceration solutions, which consists of: providing pork bellies of a preselected weight; cover the pork belly with a seasoning and product to cure dry; slicing the pork bellies into several individual slices from 32 hours after the seasoning process with the seasoning agent has been completed; expose the slices to a heat source to quickly remove at least 60% of the weight; and cook the slices using the same heat source until the slices are fully cooked. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of macerating the surface of the pork bellies with a seasoning agent for curing the bellies. The method of claim 1 wherein the seasoning agent includes a flavoring agent to impart the smoked flavor to the pork bellies. The method of claim 1 including the step of rolling up the seasoned covered bellies, before being sliced, for a period of time and at a suitable and sufficient temperature to achieve adequate penetration of the seasoning and curing agent. The method of claim 1 including the step of rolling the covered pork bellies, before being sliced, for a maximum period of 4 hours. The method of claim 1 wherein a heat source includes a microwave cooking chamber. The method of claim 1 wherein the slices are exposed to a source of heat that rapidly reduces the slices to their final weight being no greater than 40% of the preselected weight.