This invention relates generally to the art of removing meat from cooked parts of animals, especially beef and pork, and more particularly to an apparatus and process for cleaning and separating meat from the bone, gristle and cartilage.
Conventional extractors and extraction processes exist which provide methods for removal of meat from butchered domestic animals such as cattle, swine and goat, typically these sections of meat and bone are removed during butchering and dressing, with varying success and varying labor requirements.
Mechanical processes for separating meat from bone may use processes that crush and extrude meat. U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,794 to Paoli uses an auger to separate meat from bone, sinew and cartilage under pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,909 to Goldston uses an auger to force meat from bone using slots with sharp edges to scrape meat from bone and pass the scrapings outside the separation chambers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,304 to Aarts et al. uses a piston to force meat mass through apertures in the compression cylinder wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,933 to Archambault et al. uses one or more hydraulically controlled knife and multiple holding means to slice meat from long bones only.
Prior art devices are adequate for their intended function, but room exists for other devices which will provide a process for removing and cleaning the meat from bone while preserving the natural flavor, reducing fat and preventing microbial growth.
It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus that efficiently removes meat from bones, providing bone free beef, pork, lamb and other meats.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a process that removes meat from bones utilizing a heated water spray.
It is a further and more particular object of the invention to provide an apparatus that provides a mechanical separation of meat from bone particles.
It is yet a further and more particular object of the invention to provide a separation process that retains the flavor of the meat.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide a separation process that produces boneless meat with a low bacterial count.
It is an additional and more particular object of this invention to provide a separation process that utilizes re-circulated, heated water.
It is a further and additional object of this invention to provide a separation process that operates with no significant wastage of water.
It is an additional object to provide a separation process that utilizes heated water that contains natural meat flavor extract.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished with an apparatus for separating meat from bone comprising a rotating drum, a water spray process, a separator tank, a horizontal sluice, and a dewatering process. The water spray process provides heated, pressurized, water for separating meat from bones, with recovery and re-circulation of the heated water.
In accordance with this invention, it has been found that an improved method of extracting cooked beef, pork, lamb and other meats is attained by the utilization of heated water spray and mechanical separation methods for producing a bone free semi-cooked meat product. It has been found that separation of meat from bone is accomplished with the meat retaining its natural beef, pork or lamb flavor while having a low bacterial count which is important for high volume prepared meats products. Various other advantages and features of this invention will become apparent from a reading of the following description given with reference to the various figures.
Inside the rotating drum 9 are a plurality of water spray nozzles 13 (
The meat, heated water and small fragments of bone are pushed through inclined drum 9 into jacket 16 and flowed out into tank 17. Bones and other debris are rotated to the end of drum 9 and pass by gravity into container 12. Meat settles, with small bone fragments, if present, to the bottom of tank 17 where the pieces are pushed under separator 18 into tank 19, where turbulent water lifts the pieces onto rippled sluice 21 over collecting tank 22. Bone fragments are deposited at the bottom of the ripples while less dense beef or pork meat passes down the sluice.
The separated meat and heated water mixture may be directed to a second separation tank 23 if small, light-weight filament or bone pieces remain in the tank which has a vibrating perforated pan 25 that is reciprocated up and down by conventional mechanical activators 24. The separated meat pieces are forced through the perforations in the perforated pan 25 by the up and down reciprocating motions of the pan 25. Any very light weight bone or filament pieces fail to pass through the perforations and remain in the perforated pan 25. The water passes through into a deep catch basin 31.
Heavier bone portions, especially from beef cattle, are present only rarely after the previous first separation step and large pieces of meat would remain in the finished product. In this embodiment, a trough may be placed at the end of sluice 21 and the products sent directly to a dewatering screen.
Meat pieces that pass through the reciprocating pan or from the earlier separation step are directed by water flow onto the aforementioned vibrated dewatering screen. Water passing through the screen is returned to heater tank 35. The water collected in collection pan 31 is pumped to a main holding tank 35.
The solid meat vibrates off of the dewatering screen and is caught in a perforated tray. The trays of meat are sent on for further processing or packaging.
The water in holding tank 35 is maintained at approximately 170° F. by steam heating or other appropriate methods for heating water. In the holding tank 35, an optional flavor extract may be mixed with the heated water to provide a constant supply of re-circulating water that contains a natural extract flavor or other flavor enhancing additives. An anti-foaming agent should be added intermittently to the heated water to reduce the foam produced during pumping and circulation.
Means including pumps and gravity provide re-circulation of the heated water and anti-foaming agent after collection at water collection points along the process. Collection of the water allows for constant re-circulation and re-use of the water, minimizing loss of anti-foaming agent and flavor. Any standard plumbing components may be added to the invention. For example, valves and flow meters could be used to control and balance the flow of water in the system.
The addition of natural flavor extract and flavor enhancers to the heated water permits the retention of natural beef, pork and lamb flavor during extraction of the meat from bones and during the process to remove cartilage and other sinewy components. The heated water with natural extract and anti-foaming agent is re-circulated to the water bath, the rotating drum, water jets, water tank, and to separation water tank, providing a constant flow of heated water and natural flavor extract for extracting and processing the meat pieces. Temperature in the water is preferably maintained above 170° Fahrenheit to keep dissolved fat in the aqueous phase.
For the apparatus and process of the present invention, the use of heated water 10 of approximately 170° F., preferably, is maintained throughout the process. It also provides for reduction of bacteria in the water. The beef, pork and lamb processed by the present invention provides low plate counts of bacteria when tested by standard industry procedures. The low bacteria plate count of meat, processed by the current invention, typifies diminished residual bacteria in the meat, especially L. monocytogenes, and Eschericia coli., dangerous and FDA controlled contaminants in processed meats. The pressure of E.coli in ground and processed beef, for example, has resulted in well-publicized recalls of tons of beef.
It is thus seen that the invention provides for an apparatus and a process for separation of beef, pork and lamb from bones. The process separates the meat from the bone, cleans the separated meat pieces with heated water with minimal loss of meat flavor, and provides for a recycle of the heated water. Many variations will undoubtedly become apparent to one skilled in the art upon a reading of the above specification with reference to the drawings. The process may be adapted to the source—beef cattle, pork or lamb—and size of bones being processed. Hammer mills or crushers may be added to the front end of the line. Hole sizes and slot sizes are adjusted for beef, pork, lamb or other meats. Inspection belts for quality control and government inspection maybe added as required. As the foregoing description is exemplary in nature, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description.
This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 11/243,557, filed Oct. 5, 2005.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11243557 | Oct 2005 | US |
Child | 11389419 | Mar 2006 | US |