Patent Application
20140272008
The present invention relates generally to methods for processing poultry food products, and more particularly, to methods for processing poultry thigh meat.
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for meat products which are boneless and therefore easier to prepare and consume. Poultry products, such as chicken and turkey, include “white meat” and “dark meat,” with white meat generally located in the breast and dark meat generally located in the legs. For various reasons, many consumers tend to prefer white poultry meat over dark meat. One reason for this preference has been the greater difficulty in processing dark meat to provide boneless meat products, due to the centralized locations of leg bones. Poultry thighs, for example, are typically sold with the skin in place and the thigh meat surrounding an elongated bone extending along the middle of the thigh from one end to the other. Another reason consumers tend to prefer white meat is that the texture of dark meat, which typically has more fat and connective tissue, is considered less appealing than the more consistent texture of white meat. Moreover, dark meat typically has a higher fat content in comparison to white meat.
There remains a need for boneless thigh products that have an appealing texture and a lower fat content similar to that of white meat. Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for preparing a boneless thigh meat poultry product from a poultry thigh, the method comprising the steps of: making one or more cuts of the meat at the inner side of the thigh substantially along the longitudinal axis of the bone, wherein the one or more cuts cause a first edge of the meat and a second edge of the meat to separate from each other; making one or more additional cuts of the meat to detach the bone from the meat; spreading the first edge and the second edge apart from one another in a substantially lateral direction away from the longitudinal axis of the bone; making one or more cuts of the meat at the outer side of the thigh along a first interface between a center portion and a left portion sufficient to separate the center portion from the left portion; and making one or more cuts of the meat at the outer side of the thigh along a second interface between the center portion and a right portion sufficient to separate the center portion from the right portion.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a boneless thigh meat poultry product consisting of the premium thigh cut made according to methods described herein. The boneless thigh meat poultry product preferably has a fat content of less than about 2%, and is substantially free of fat, cartilage, and sinew. Another embodiment of the present invention provides a package containing the premium thigh cut. The package may further contain a marinade or sauce.
The invention may be further understood by reference to the drawings in which:
The present invention provides methods for processing poultry thigh meat (e.g., thigh meat of chicken or turkey). The applicant has discovered methods for isolating a portion of thigh meat (a “premium thigh cut”) that cooks more evenly than the thigh generally and has an appealing texture. The methods provide boneless thigh products that have a low fat content, and are substantially free of undesirable components such as sinew and cartilage.
Other methods for processing poultry thigh meat have been described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,313. According to the '313 patent, after the bone has been removed from the thigh, the “thin muscle” of the thigh is removed from the “thick muscle” by cutting entirely through the meat along the path of the removed bone. Next, the “red muscle” of the thigh is removed from the thick muscle by making a second cut which is parallel to the top surface of the thick muscle. Additional cuts are made in order to provide equally sized strips of the thick muscle. Among other differences between the present invention and the '313 patent, and as set forth in more detail below, the methods of the present invention do not include a step of cutting entirely through the meat along the path of the removed thigh bone, as this would cause the “premium thigh cut” to be severed into two pieces.
The method steps described herein that comprise cutting poultry thigh meat may be made by hand or by machine, using a knife (e.g., a wizard knife), saw, or any other suitable cutting instrument or device known to those skilled in the art.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises removing the skin (e.g., all of the skin, or substantially all of the skin) from a poultry thigh, preferably before making any cuts in the thigh meat. The skin may be removed from the thigh according to any method known to those skilled in the art.
The skinless poultry thighs depicted in the figures have two opposing sides, namely, an outer side and an inner side. Although the presently described embodiments and figures employ a chicken thigh for illustrating the present invention, the invention is equally applicable to any other poultry (i.e., fowl, birds, and the like).
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for preparing a boneless thigh meat poultry product from a poultry thigh comprises removing the bone 5 from the thigh 1. The one or more cuts made in the thigh to detach the bone from the thigh meat can be made using a knife (e.g., a wizard knife, such as a circular wizard knife), saw, or any other suitable cutting instrument or device known to those skilled in the art. According to particular embodiments, removing the bone 5 from the thigh 1 comprises making one or more cuts of the meat at the inner side of the thigh substantially along the longitudinal axis 6 of the bone (depicted as a dashed line in
According to preferred embodiments, the step(s) of removing the bone from the thigh, as described herein, comprise using a knife, most preferably a wizard knife (e.g., a circular wizard knife). It should be understood that the cuts described above for removing the bone from the inner side of the thigh meat do not penetrate all the way through the thigh meat, i.e., the surface of the outer side 2 of the thigh meat is not punctured when the one or more cuts are made on the inner side 3, but remains intact. As illustrated in
According to one embodiment, the method comprises using a knife (preferably a circular wizard knife) to detach the bone from the meat by making three cuts. Specifically, this embodiment comprises making a first cut substantially along the longitudinal axis 6 of the bone, wherein the knife is angled underneath the meat in a first direction, toward either the right or left of the longitudinal axis 6 (in order to detach the meat overlaying the bone on the right or left side of the longitudinal axis); making a second cut substantially along the longitudinal axis 6 of the bone, wherein the knife is angled underneath the meat in the other direction toward the right or left of the longitudinal axis 6 (in order to detach the meat overlaying the bone on the right or left side of the longitudinal axis); and making a third cut underneath the bone (to detach the meat from underneath the bone).
As described above, making the one or more cuts along the longitudinal axis 6 of the bone causes a first edge of the meat to separate from a second edge of the meat. According to another aspect of the present invention, the method further comprises spreading the first edge and the second edge apart from one another in a substantially lateral direction away from the longitudinal axis 6 of the bone (e.g., in the directions illustrated by arrows 6a and 6b in
According to a particular embodiment, the method comprises removing the bone from the thigh and subsequently flattening the thigh meat as described above. Alternatively, the method may comprise spreading the first edge and the second edge apart from one another after making the one or more cuts along the longitudinal axis 6 of the bone, subsequently making one or more of the additional cuts to detach the bone (which create additional “edges” in the meat), and subsequently spreading or folding these additional edges away from the longitudinal axis of the bone 6. It should be noted that spreading or folding edges of the meat away from each other to substantially flatten out the thigh meat may be performed before and/or after the bone has been fully detached or removed from the thigh meat (references made herein to the longitudinal axis 6 of the bone, e.g., to spreading the meat away from the longitudinal axis 6, does not necessarily mean the bone is still attached or in contact with the thigh meat).
As shown in
According to a preferred embodiment, the center portion is substantially free of fat, cartilage, and sinew. As used herein, the term “center portion” 7 is interchangeable with the term “premium thigh cut.”
In particular embodiments, both the left portion 8 and right portion 9 comprise a larger proportion of fat, cartilage, and/or sinew in comparison to the center portion 7.
As illustrated in
According to another aspect of the present invention, the method comprises separating the center portion 7 from the left portion 8 and right portion 9. Separating the center portion from the left and right portions preferably comprises making one or more cuts in the meat of the outer side of the thigh along an interface 12 between the center portion 7 and the left portion 8 (e.g., substantially along line 10) sufficient to separate the center portion 7 from the left portion 8 (i.e., the one or more cuts cause the center portion and the left portion to separate from each other); and making one or more cuts in the meat of the outer side of the thigh along an interface between the center portion 7 and the right portion 9 (e.g., substantially along line 11) sufficient to separate the center portion 7 from the right portion 9 (i.e., the one or more cuts cause the center portion and the left portion to separate from each other). Thus, after one or more cuts in each interface 12, 13 have been made, the entire center portion 7 (including the inner side and outer side) is completely detached from the left portion 8 and right portion 9. One or more of the cuts that are made to separate the center portion from each of the left and right portions are made all the way through the thigh meat (i.e., through the outer side and inner side). According to alternative embodiments, the method may further comprise removing a vein assembly on the inner side of the center portion, if it has remained intact after separating the center portion from the right and left portions.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a boneless thigh meat poultry product consists of the center portion 7 or “premium thigh cut” made according to the methods described herein. The center portion 7, which has been separated from the poultry thigh according to embodiments of the methods described herein, is a boneless thigh meat poultry product that is substantially free of undesirable components such as fat, cartilage, and sinew. As a result, the center portion 7 cooks generally evenly and has an appealing texture and “mouth feel.” Moreover, the center portion has a low fat content, which is preferably less than about 2%, or between about 1% to about 2%, and which is comparable to the fat content of many boneless, skinless chicken breasts currently on the market. According to particular embodiments, the center portion or “premium thigh cut” makes up between about 20 wt % to about 60 wt % of the total thigh, more preferably about 30 wt % to about 50 wt % of the total thigh, more preferably about 30 wt % to about 50 wt % of the total thigh, and most preferably about 40 wt % to about 45 wt % of the total thigh.
The center portion 7 is a significantly different food product in comparison to the food products achieved by the methods of U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,313. As discussed above, after the bone has been removed from the thigh, the '313 patent describes removing the “thin muscle” of the thigh from the “thick muscle” by cutting along the path of the removed bone. The methods of the present invention do not include a step of cutting along the path of the removed bone through the entire meat substrate, as this would cause the center portion 7 to be severed into two pieces. As illustrated in
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a package (e.g., a container suitable for storing a food product) which contains the boneless thigh meat poultry product described above (i.e., the center portion 7), or a plurality of such portions, and/or such portion(s) cut into strips or cubes, and/or such portion(s) in the form of pulled meat. According to particular embodiments, the package further comprises a marinade (e.g., a sauce, dressing, or seasoned liquid), in addition to the boneless thigh meat poultry product, either as a single whole portion, multiple portions, or cut into strips or cubed, or as pulled meat. The marinade, which may contain oils, herbs, and/or spices to further flavor and/or tenderize the poultry product, enables the consumer to skip the step of marinating the poultry product after removing it from the package, as the poultry product has already been marinated inside the package. According to another embodiment, a package comprises a breaded poultry product comprising the boneless thigh meat poultry product described herein substantially coated with breading, or multiple such breaded portions in a single package, or breaded strips or cubes of such a portion in a single package.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides an assembly comprising a package (e.g., a container suitable for storing a food product) and at least one boneless thigh meat poultry product (i.e., at least one premium thigh cut, preferably from chicken) enclosed within the package. The boneless thigh meat poultry product(s) preferably have a fat content of less than about 2% (e.g., between about 1% to about 2%). The assembly may comprise a plurality of such boneless thigh meat poultry products, and/or such product(s) cut into strips or cubes, and/or such product(s) in the form of pulled meat, enclosed within the package. According to particular embodiments, the assembly further comprises a marinade enclosed within the package (e.g., a sauce, dressing, or seasoned liquid) which may contain oils, herbs, and/or spices to further flavor and/or tenderize the poultry product, in addition to the boneless thigh meat poultry product, either as a single whole portion, multiple portions, or cut into strips or cubed, or as pulled meat. According to another embodiment, the boneless thigh meat poultry product(s) are substantially coated with breading. The assembly may further comprise one or more food products enclosed within the package, in addition to the boneless thigh meat poultry product(s) (e.g., one or more additional portions of poultry meat which may or may not comprise thigh meat, such as one or more portions of breast meat).
Although the present invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications and variations of the described compositions and methods of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims.
