WO2011082711A1

WO2011082711A1 - A restructured meat product

Info

Publication number: WO2011082711A1
Application number: PCT/DK2011/050004
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rene Hansen; Malene Persson
Original assignee: Icon Food Aps
Priority date: 2010-01-11
Filing date: 2011-01-07
Publication date: 2011-07-14
Also published as: DK176988B1

Abstract

A method for preparing a restructured meat product from meat parts. The method involves i) pulling apart the meat parts into meat sub-parts; ii) mixing the meat sub-parts with a treatment composition including salt to improve coherence between the meat sub-parts; iii) portioning the meat sub-parts to obtain a desired volume of meat mass; and iv) shaping the meat mass into restructured meat product having the desired shape and thickness. Importantly the pulling apart of the meat is performed by pulling longitudinally along the muscle fibres to achieve meat sub-parts which have retained their surface proteins required for binding to adjacent meat sub-parts.

Description

A RESTRUCTURED MEAT PRODUCT

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to restructured meat products and to methods of making such restructured meat products. More particularly, this invention relates to restructured meat products having improved texture, taste and appearance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Reformed meat products are well-known and consist of meat pieces (usually minced meat or loose meat) which are bound together using a binder. The reformed meat product allows under utilised cuts and quality trimmings to be used. These restructured meats have been developed as a means or producing new products, and upgrading and utilising meat, which is considered to be of lesser economic value. A major benefit of restructured meat products is th at they can be adapted to consu mer needs for convenience, portion size, composition, and ease of preparation. The lower value beef cuts can include top side, round, chuck, brisket, blade, and silverside, although other meat pieces are also envisaged.

It is well-known to use a binder to bind meat pieces together to produce a reformed meat product. Traditional meat restructuring methods use heat-set binders, which depend on cooking the meat for the binder to form a gel. In hot-set binding, the meat pieces are tumbled with salt and phosphate to extract muscle proteins, which set when heated. Conventional restructured meat products depend on binding through the extraction of myofibrillar proteins from the combined effect of salt, phosphate and mechanical action, and subsequent formation of a heat-set protein gel matrix.

While these binders work well, there are a number of problems associated with their use. The salt which is added to bind the meat pieces causes some undesirable flavour, and unacceptable colour during storage. Addition of salt and certain phosphates is regarded by certain consumers as undesirable for diet or health reasons. Reducing or eliminating salt has a detrimental effect of reducing the bind between meat pieces. Commercially available heat-set binders include salt and phosphate as described above, soy protein isolate, wheat gluten, crude myosin, and blood plasma.

A variety of different restructured meat products are available in the marketplace, particularly in the fast food industry. Demand for such products arises out of the need for meat products having uniform appearance, shape and size which otherwise exhibit the texture, taste and appearance of whole-muscle meat cuts. It arises as well out of environmental and economic considerations which drive efforts to use meat cuts which ordinarily must be discarded or ground for use, usually as ingredients in hamburger or sausage.

Unfortunately, presently available restructured meat products are readily distinguishable from whole muscle meat cuts, since they lack one or more of the texture, taste and appearance of such whole-muscle meat cuts. This is primarily because current methods for producing restructured meat products damage or destroy the meat fibres in the course of restructuring. Once these fibres are destroyed, it is no longer possible to achieve the desired end product.

Finally, current methods for producing restructured meat products are complex, labour- intensive and expensive.

For example, many such methods require ten or more production steps. Restructured meat products would be more economical and therefore more popular if simpler, less time-consu ming and less labour-intensive methods for producing them cou ld be developed, without compromising on texture, taste and appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a meat part, such as a chicken breast, is pulled apart into sub-parts retaining the fibrillar structure of the meat. These sub-parts are formed into a restructured meat product to which a treatment composition is be added.

Specifically, there is provided a method for preparing a restructured meat product from meat parts comprising:

• pulling apart the meat parts into meat sub-parts;

• mixing the meat sub-parts with an aqueous treatment composition including salt to improve coherence between the meat sub-parts;

• optionally maturing the meat sub-parts from 1 hour to 2 days;

• portioning the meat sub-parts to obtain a desired volume of meat mass; and

• shaping the meat mass into a restructured meat product having the desired shape and thickness;

wherein the pulling apart of the meat is performed by pulling longitudinally along the muscle fibres to achieve meat sub-parts, which have retained their surface proteins required for binding to adjacent meat sub-parts.

Any muscle is made from muscle fibres that are kept together by surface binding proteins. When a muscle is cut with e.g. a knife or minced the surface is disrupted and hence the number of available binding proteins on the surface of the meat is significantly reduced. Thus, in order to keep such cut or minced pieces of meat together binders must be added. In contrast thereto the pulling apart of the meat according to the present invention into meat sub-parts preserves the required surface proteins and hence the addition of binders is not needed.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the meat part is chosen from beef, pork, veal, lamb, turkey, chicken and venison. Preferably the meat part is chicken, such as chicken breast.

In a particularly preferred embodiment the meat sub-parts are about 2 - 30 mm in thickness, preferably about 5 mm in thickness. The meat sub-parts have a major surface area of no less than 5 sq. cm.

In an alternative embodiment the method of the present invention may include the addition of salt to the meat. As earlier mentioned the meat sub-parts may be mixed with a treatment composition to improve coherence between the meat sub-parts. The treatment composition may include enough salt to provide from about 0.1 - 1 0 % by weight salt based on the weight of the meat part. The treatment composition preferably includes sodium tripolyphosphate and/or meat flavouring agents. Moreover the treatment composition may include enough dextrose to provide about 0 - 2% by weight based on the weight of the restructured meat product. Preferably the treatment composition includes sufficient added water to provide about 0 - 25% by weight water, based on the weight of the meat product.

The present invention also provides a restructured meat product having a desired shape and thickness obtainable by the method of the present invention.

As appears from the above the treatment composition preferably contains salt and, optionally, water, phosphate, flavourings, and dextrose. The mixing of the meat subparts and the treatment composition is continued long enough to achieve partial protein extraction from the meat mass while enhancing moisture absorption and retaining the original fibrillar structure. Once the mixing step is completed, the mixed mass is (after maturation) placed in a forming machine to fashion the desired shapes and thicknesses of the final restructured meat cuts. These meat cuts are then frozen and packaged for storage or distribution and use. Alternatively, the meat cuts may be cooked/pre-cooked before storage. In an alternate embodiment, the mixed mass is stuffed into a waterproof casing or bag which is sealed and cooked sufficiently to set the protein and render the product salmonella-safe. The product is then chilled and provided to a final user in either refrigerated or frozen form. The user will remove the product from the casing or bag and cook it to the final desired temperature in either an oven or on a rotisserie to produce a roast-form product ready for eating.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention may use as the meat part any part of the carcass of animals providing pulled apart meat sub-parts in which the of the meat have adhesive binding properties due to the presence of preserved binding proteins. Typical such meats include beef, pork, veal, lamb, turkey, chicken, as well as other fowl and wild animal meats like venison. Among these meats chicken, beef, pork and turkey are preferred. Also, combinations of two or more of the above meats may be used. The meat parts are pulled apart into meat pieces (sub-parts) which retain the fibrillar structure of the meat. The pieces should have thicknesses of about 1 -10 mm. The major surface area of these pieces will vary depending on the meat types and parts from which they are pulled apart (longitudinally). Generally, the slices should have a major surface area as large as the particular meat piece will permit, and in no event should the pieces have a major surface area of less than 5 cm².

Before being formed the meat sub-parts may placed in a mixer/tumbler to which a treatment composition is added. The treatment composition must include enough salt to provide from about 0.1 to 2% by weight of salt based on the weight of the meat being treated. Preferably about 0.75% by weight salt will be provided. The preferred salt is NaCI, although NaN02 could be used , either alone or in combination with NaCI. Preferably, the treatment composition further includes mono and/or disaccharides, such as glucose and sucrose, respectively.

The treatment composition may also include a salt or combination of salts of phosphoric acid, which will be referred to collectively as "phosphate". The preferred phosphate is sodium tripolyphosphate. The level of phosphate should be in the range of about 0 - 1 .0% by weight, based on the weight of the meat being treated. Preferably, about 0.5% by weight phosphate will be present.

The treatment composition may optionally also contain any appropriate meat flavoring. It may also optionally include dextrose in order to improve the browning of the final product. The level of dextrose should be from about 0 to 2% by weight and preferably about 0.75% by weight, based on the weight of the meat being treated.

While it is preferred that the treatment composition includes added water and that the other ingredients of the composition be dissolved in the added water, it is possible to use the ingredients in a dry form and rely on the meat juices to act as a solubilizing agent.

Since it is preferred in order to obtain the optimal mouth feel in the end product that the fat level of the sub-parts before mixing be in the range of about 5 - 30% by weight and preferably about 15 - 20% by weight, where the meat parts do not have enough inherent fat, fat may be added . Although it is preferred that added fat come from the same species as the meat part, where permitted by applicable law, any fat having or mimicking the organoleptic properties of meat fat can be used, whether from a meat or a vegetable source.

Mixing or tumbling will continue long enough to take up all of the available moisture and to achieve coherence between the meat sub-parts without overbinding. It has been found that if the meat is tumbled too long, the product becomes tough and rubbery, and takes on a non-fibrous texture.

The meat mass (meat sub-parts; either mixed/tumpled or not) is placed into a forming machine and the desired shapes and thicknesses of the meat cuts are stamped out. These portions are then frozen and packaged for storage or distribution and use. Preferably the forming machine is a revo-portioner.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the meat mass is stuffed into a waterproof casing or bag which is sealed and cooked sufficiently to set the protein and render the product salmonella-safe.

Typically, the casing or bag is of a size and shape which simulates a roast and the cooking step is carried out in a water bath heated to the temperature desired in the final meat product. For example, the first cooking step could use a water bath at about 60 C to heat the meat to that temperature which would be maintained for at least about 15 minutes to destroy salmonella bacteria. Then, the product could be quick-chilled to about 50 C and shipped to a final user in refrigerated form or quickfrozen and shipped in frozen form. The user will remove the product from the casing or bag and cook it to the final desired temperature in either an oven or on a rotisserie to produce a roast-form product ready for eating.

The following examples are intended to be illustrative of the invention and to teach one of ordinary skill in the art how to make and use the invention. These examples are not intended to limit the invention or its protection in any way.

EXAMPLE

In this example, a restructured meat product was prepared from a 500 g chicken breast. The meat temperature was about 5 °C. The chilled chicken breast was pulled apart to produce 2-10 mm thick meat pieces.

A treatment solution (1 L water at 15 °C) was prepared from the following ingredients: 3 g/L NaCI, 1 g/L NaN02, 3 g/L sucrose, and 1 g/L glucose. Upon addition of these ingredients vigorous mixing is performed. Subsequently the treatment solution is cooled to 1 °C.

100 mL of the treatment solution was mixed with 400 grams of the teared apart chicken breast. This mixture was tumbled for about 45 minutes.

The resulting meat mass was then removed from the tumbler and cooled at a temperature between -4 °C and 3 °C for at least 7 hours in order to mature the meat mass.

Su bseq uently the matured meat mass is placed in a food portioning machine. Restructured chicken breast pieces having a weight of about 125 g were formed.

The restructured chicken breast pieces were nearly identical to whole-muscle cuts in texture, taste and appearance.

While the present invention is described above in connection with a preferred or illustrative embodiment, this embodiment is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the invention. Rather, the invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents which may be included within its spirit and scope, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1 . A method for preparing a restructured meat product from meat parts comprising:

• pulling apart the meat parts into meat sub-parts;

• maturing the meat sub-parts from 1 hour to 2 days;

• portioning the meat sub-parts to obtain a desired volume of meat mass; and

wherein the pulling apart of the meat is performed by pulling longitudinally along the muscle fibres to achieve meat sub-parts which have retained their surface proteins required for binding to adjacent meat sub-parts.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the meat part is chosen from the group consisting of beef, pork, veal, lamb, turkey, chicken and venison.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the meat part is chicken.

4. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the meat sub-parts are about 2 - 30 mm in thickness.

5. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mixing step is performed in a tumbler.

6. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the meat sub-parts have a major surface area of no less than 5 cm².

7. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the treatment composition includes NaCI and/or NaN0₂ as salt and further includes mono and/or disaccharides.

8. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the treatment composition includes enough salt to provide from about 0.1 - 1 0 % by weight salt based on the weight of the meat part.

9. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the treatment composition includes sodium tripolyphosphate.

10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the treatment composition includes meat flavouring.

1 1 . The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the treatment composition includes enough dextrose to provide about 0 - 2% by weight based on the weight of the meat part.

12. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the treatment composition includes sufficient added water to provide about 0 - 25% by weight water, based on the weight of the meat part.

13. A restructured meat product having a desired shape and thickness obtainable by the method according to any one of the claims 1 to 12.