Color stable meat product for an egg product

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a color stable meat product for storage in an egg product and the method of making such products by adding a color agent to a raw meat or by adding a color coating to a processed and/or cooked meat.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The numerous advantages of the present invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is flow diagram illustrating a method for processing a raw meat product in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for producing a color stable meat product in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein an embedded color agent is utilized;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for producing a color stable meat product in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein a color coating is utilized;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a presently preferred method for forming a liquid egg composition in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a presently preferred method for forming a ham slurry for incorporation in liquid egg in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for producing a food product, comprising: adding a comminuted meat composition to a brine mix;mixing a color agent with the comminuted meat composition and the brine mix to form a meat mixture;thermally processing the meat mixture to form a color stable meat product; andadding the color stable meat product to an egg product,wherein the color of the color stable meat product is retained for substantially the shelf-life of the egg product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the color agent is selected from a group consisting of caramel coloring and RED LAKE.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the comminuted meat composition is thermally processed by cooking for 3 minutes at 380° F.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the comminuted meat product is comminuted by dicing.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the comminuted meat product includes at least one of ham, turkey, bacon, Canadian bacon, sausage, and pepperoni.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the egg product is a liquid egg product.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the egg product has a shelf-life of about 90 days.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the color stable meat product retains interior and exterior color.

9. A method for producing a food product, comprising: applying a color coating to a meat product;thermally processing the coated meat product to form a color stable meat product; andadding the color stable meat product to an egg product,wherein the color of the color stable meat product is retained for substantially the shelf-life of the egg product.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the color coating is a liquid smoke.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the comminuted meat product is soaked in the liquid smoke for 30 seconds

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the comminuted meat product is thermally processed by drying for 2.5 minutes at 350° F.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the color coating includes colored gelatin coatings, colored starch coatings, and colored protein coatings.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the colored gelatin, starch, and protein coatings are heated to 150° F. before the comminuted meat product is soaked in the coating for 30 seconds at 110° F.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the colored gelatin, starch, and protein coatings are thermally processed by drying for 3 minutes at 280° F.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the colored gelatin, starch, and protein coatings are added in amount about 10% by weight of the color stable meat product.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the color coating is a browning agent.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the browning agent is thermally process by cooking for 3 minutes at 350° F.

19. The method of claim 9, wherein the color coating is shellac.

20. The method of claim 9, wherein the comminuted meat product is comminuted by dicing.

21. The method of claim 9, wherein the comminuted meat product includes at least one of ham, turkey, bacon, Canadian bacon, sausage, and pepperoni.

22. The method of claim 9, wherein the egg product is a liquid egg product.

23. The method of claim 9, wherein the egg product has a shelf-life of about 90 days.

24. The method of claim 9, wherein the color stable meat product retains exterior color.

25. A food product, comprising: a comminuted meat composition;a color agent mixed with the comminuted meat composition and thermally processed to produce a color stable meat product; andan egg product, wherein the color stable meat product is added to the egg product and retains color for substantially the shelf-life of the egg product.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the color agent is selected from a group consisting of caramel coloring and RED LAKE.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the comminuted meat composition is thermally processed by cooking for 3 minutes at 380° F.

28. The food product of claim 25, wherein the comminuted meat composition is comminuted by dicing.

29. The food product of claim 25, wherein the comminuted meat product includes at least one of ham, turkey, bacon, Canadian bacon, sausage, and pepperoni.

30. The food product of claim 25, wherein the egg product is a liquid egg product.

31. The food product of claim 25, wherein the egg product has shelf-life of about 90 days.

32. The food product of claim 25, wherein the color stable meat product retains interior and exterior color.

33. A food product, comprising: a comminuted meat product;a color coating, applied to the comminuted meat product and thermally processed to produce a color stable meat product; andan egg product, wherein the color stable meat product is added to the egg product and retains color for substantially the shelf-life of the egg product.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the color coating is a liquid smoke.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the comminuted meat product is soaked in the liquid smoke for 30 seconds

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the comminuted meat product is thermally processed by drying for 2.5 minutes at 350° F.

37. The method of claim 33, wherein the color coating includes colored gelatin coatings, colored starch coatings, and colored protein coatings.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the colored gelatin, starch, and protein coatings are heated to 150° F. before the comminuted meat product is soaked in the coating for 30 seconds at 110° F.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the comminuted meat product is thermally processed by drying for 3 minutes at 280° F.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein the coatings are added in amount about 10% by weight of the meat product.

41. The method of claim 33, wherein the color coating is a browning agent.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the browning agent is thermally process by cooking for 3 minutes at 350° F.

43. The method of claim 33, wherein the color coating is shellac.

44. The method of claim 33, wherein the comminuted meat is comminuted by dicing.

45. The method of claim 33, wherein the comminuted meat product includes at least one of ham, turkey, bacon, Canadian bacon, sausage, and pepperoni.

46. The method of claim 33, wherein the egg product is a liquid egg product.

47. The method of claim 33, wherein the egg product has a shelf-life of about 90 days.

48. The method of claim 33, wherein the color stable meat product retains exterior color.