Patent Application
20110189375
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing pieces of shellfish meat, such as crab meat, into formed lumps.
2. Background Art
Jumbo lumps of certain shellfish meat, such as crab meat for example, are more desirable to consumers, and therefore are more commercially valuable and command a higher sales price than smaller lumps or loose flakes thereof. In the instance of crab meat, in order to obtain the jumbo lumps of meat from the two back fins of the crab, professional pickers are required who have acquired the skill of removing jumbo lumps intact. The lump meat is only found in the fins of the crab, leaving only a small percentage of the meat from each crab used. In addition, professional pickers are required to remove the jumbo lumps. Utilizing only a small percentage of the meat from each crab and having professional pickers remove jumbo lumps is costly and time consuming, so processes for joining smaller pieces of meat together to create formed lumps have been developed. However, there is a continuing need for new methods to create formed lumps from smaller pieces of meat that resemble a natural lump of meat as well as to add value to lower grade meat.
A method for manufacturing formed lumps of shellfish meat may include providing cooked shellfish meat and raw shellfish meat and then combining the cooked and raw shellfish meat together to create a mixture. Then the mixture of raw and cooked shellfish meat may be shaped to a desired shape and cooked. After cooking, the shaped mixture may be separated into a plurality of formed lumps of shellfish meat. The shellfish meat, may include, but is not limited to, crab, scallops, shrimp, and lobster.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention by way of example, and not by way of limitation. The drawings together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.
The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements. While specific configurations and arrangements are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. A person skilled in the pertinent art will recognize that other configurations and arrangements can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the pertinent art that this invention can also be employed in a variety of other applications.
The method may include a step 10 of providing cooked shellfish meat. The cooked shellfish meat may include crab, scallops, shrimp, and lobster. In one embodiment, the cooked shellfish meat may be crab, such as special crab meat, claw crab meat, other grades of crab meat, or combinations thereof. When the cooked shellfish meat is crab, step 10 of providing cooked crab meat may include receiving a previously cooked crab, such as a boiled or steamed crab. The cooked crab may be de-backed to remove the shell of the crab. Once the crab is de-backed, cooked meat pieces or flakes may be picked from the crab. The picked crab pieces may then be placed under a black light to aid in removing pieces of shell that remain attached to the cooked crab meat.
The method may also include a step 12 of providing raw shellfish meat. The raw shellfish meat may include the same type of meat as the cooked shellfish meat, such as, for example, crab, scallops, shrimp, and lobster. When the raw shellfish meat is crab, the crab meat may be white crab meat, claw, claw knuckle, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the raw crab meat may be Portunus pelagicus spp., mud crabs, such as crabs of the genus Scylla, or combinations thereof. When the raw shellfish meat is crab, step 12 of providing raw crab meat may include receiving a raw, uncooked crab. The raw, uncooked crab may be de-backed to remove the shell of the crab. Once the crab is de-backed the crab may be cleaned under running water. After cleaning, the crab may be placed on ice to chill the crab at a predetermined temperature, for example about 4 degrees Celsius, for a predetermined amount of time, for example at least 5 hours. Raw meat may then be picked from the body of the crab. The picked raw meat may be constantly chilled, for example at a temperature at or below 10 degrees Celsius. The picked raw meat may then be placed under a black light to aid in removing pieces of shell that remain attached to the raw meat crab meat. The picked raw meat may resemble a paste.
The method may also include a step 14 of combining the cooked and raw shellfish meat to form a mixture. The raw shellfish meat may act as a paste or glue to hold the pieces of the cooked shellfish meat together. In one embodiment, the cooked shellfish meat and raw shellfish meat may be weighed to combine them in a predetermined ratio, for example from about 10% raw crab meat and 90% cooked crab meat to about 50% raw crab meat and 50% cooked crab meat. For example, the mixture may include about 10% raw crab meat and about 90% cooked crab meat, about 15% raw crab meat and about 85% cooked crab meat, about 25% raw crab meat and about 75% cooked crab meat, or about 50% raw crab meat and about 50% cooked crab meat. In some embodiments, step 14 of combining includes blending the raw and cooked shellfish meat by hand. In some embodiments, step 14 of combining includes blending the raw and cooked shellfish meat by hand and then grinding the blended meat in a grinder or mincing machine for a predetermined amount of time, such as from about 3 seconds to about 5 seconds.
The method may also include a step 16 of shaping the mixture into a desired shape and a step 18 of cooking the mixture. The combined steps 16 and 18 may be performed in a variety of manners.
In one embodiment, as shown for example in
In another embodiment, as shown for example in
The method may also include a step 20 of separating the shaped shellfish meat after step 18 of cooking into a plurality of formed lumps of shellfish meat. Step 20 may include breaking the shaped shellfish meat, such as strips 24 or rods 36 by hand or with a cutting implement, such as a knife. Step 20 may occur after allowing the shaped shellfish meat to cool from step 18 of cooking for a predetermined time on ice, for example, about 5 minutes.
Thus, a method for manufacturing formed lumps of shellfish meat may include providing cooked shellfish meat and raw shellfish meat and combining the cooked and raw shellfish meat together to create a mixture. Next, the mixture of raw and cooked shellfish meat may be shaped to a desired shape and cooked. After cooking, the shaped mixture may be separated into a plurality of formed lumps of shellfish meat.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applying knowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from the general concept of the present invention. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings and guidance.
The breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
