NZ579250A - Food product - Google Patents

Abstract

Raw meat 10 is sliced, packaged and sold in a container 20. The meat slices 12 are boiled in the container 20 until the meat is ready for serving. The container 20 also serves as a cooking and serving tray.

Description

FOOD PRODUCT Area of the invention This invention relates to the area of food preparation and in particular to means whereby foodstuffs such as meat and meat products are provided in commercial retail outlets in a form which is convenient for the purchaser to prepare.

Background to the invention It is common for food to be provided in supermarkets and other retail food outlets in either a prepared or partially prepared form.

It is also known for cooked meals in either a frozen or vacuum bagged form to be available as well as already cooked and processed meats and the like.

There is however little preprocessing carried out on meats which are provided for sale in such outlets which would make them more convenient to use and most meats are sold either as portions of raw meat or relatively large portions of such meat for roasting, boiling or otherwise preparing as a whole. Such cuts require a long cooking time as it INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 2 5 AUG 2009 RECEIVED is not feasible to roast or appropriately cook small portions of meats such as corned beef or roast beef.

Such meats when cooked also need to be carved prior to serving which process can present a certain degree of difficulty to many consumers.

Outline of the invention It is an object of this invention to ameliorate the above problems by providing a process whereby a portion of meat can be carved prior to sale and packaged for cooking such that after it has been cooked it can be simply removed from its packaging and served as required.

While the invention is applicable to a wide range of meat products for convenience sake here it will be discussed in terms of its application to the manufacture of a pre-sliced corned beef product.

The invention is a meat product which is packaged for sale in a container in which it is sold which meat can be cooked in the container such that the meat when cooked is ready for serving.

It is preferred that the uncooked meat product is packaged for sale in a sliced form in the container in which it is sold such that the meat when cooked is in a pre sliced form and ready for serving.

It is preferred that the meat be available in alternate serving sizes relative to a traditional large cut of meat of any given type.

It may also be preferred that the meat be sliced such that its original unsliced appearance with respect to its shape is retained.

It is further preferred that the meat be packaged for sale in a container which is also a cooking and serving tray.

It is further preferred that such a tray be a thermo formed rigid tray topped with a clear film.

It may also be preferred that the meat be marinated in an appropriate marinade or sauce which is also sealed in the tray.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood we will describe by way of non limiting example a specific embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawing Figures Fig. 1 Shows a full piece of corned silverside prior to preparation for sale: Fig. 2 Shows the meat of Figure 1 sliced for packaging; Fig. 3 Shows the meat of Figure 2 packaged in a presentation and cooking tray; Description of an Embodiment of the Invention In a preferred embodiment of the invention a portion of beef is injected with brine prior to being sliced either by hand or machine. The precise means used not being restricted in the invention except in as much as a piece of corned beef 10 is described in this embodiment of the invention and shown in Figure 1.

The size of the meat portion is also not restricted in the invention and it is envisaged that portion sizes could vary from a serving for two, or one, onwards.

An advantage of a small pre sliced portions is that it can be cooked relatively quickly unlike a large portion of corned beef.

The sliced meat ( as shown in Figure 2) is next placed in a tray 20 suitable for cooking which is preferably covered with clear film through which the meat can be seen. The tray can be of any appropriate type but in this embodiment of the invention a thermo formed rigid tray is preferred.

While a tray is a preferred container for the meat the meat may be packaged in any container in which the meat can be both sold and cooked.

The meat can either be sliced and packed with individual slices displayed on the tray as shown in Figure 3 or sliced and packed such that the original shape of the meat is retained.

It is then a simple matter to boil the resulting package in water until cooked at which time the package can be opened and the pre sliced meat served. Typically the time taken for cooking such a product is of the order of about 20 minutes although this time is not definitive in the invention.

After cooking is completed it is a simple matter to peel the top film off the tray and to serve the cooked meat. In a time poor society the product of the invention is quick and easy both to prepare and serve whiie providing access to smaller servings of similar meat products than are generally otherwise available.

It is envisaged that an appropriate sauce, in the case of corned beef perhaps a mustard sauce, could be include inside the package such that when the package is opened the meat is not only sliced but is provided with a suitable sauce.

Once again there is no restriction in the invention on the type of sauce provided or the presence or absence of such a sauce.

Clearly the concept of preslicing cuts of meat prior to cooking is applicable to a wide variety of meats and while we have described herein one particular embodiment of the invention it is to be understood therefore that variations in and modifications in the features described may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (7)

ft m 0E:<pReceivecl at IPONZ on 24 February 2011 -7- The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A meat product which is pre sliced and raw prior to packaging and sold in a container which meat product is boiled in the container such that the meat when cooked is sliced and ready for serving.

2. A meat product as claimed in claim 1 wherein the meat is sliced and packaged such that it retains its original unsiiced appearance with respect to its shape during sale and cooking.

3. A meat product as claimed in claim 2 wherein the container in which the meat product is packaged is also a cooking and serving tray.

4. A meat product as claimed in claim 3 wherein the tray is a thermo formed rigid tray topped with a clear film covering .

5. A meat product as claimed in claim 4 wherein the meat is marinated in a marinade or sauce which is also sealed in the tray.

6. A meat product as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the meat product is available for sale in a plurality of sizes.

7. A meat product substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.