Method and device for cooking compacted meat in a net

A method for producing meat products Cook e d in a compact form within a net and an apparatus for carrying out the method

The invention relates to a process for the preparation of meat products, in particular cooked hams, cooked in a compact form within the net by smoking and / or heating.

Cooked ham is a popular meat product that is made industrially as well as by hand. During production, the cut ham is usually salted, lightly smoked and boiled at 70-75 °. Due to the great need, other large parts of pork, such as boneless fore-hams or neck pieces, are also commonly used today. Unless pasteurized in jars, aluminum foils or casings, the pieces of meat are cooked to maintain their tight shape within the lacing or net, especially the elastic net. This method and device for bringing meat products into suitable nets are described, for example, in DE-GM 1 877 878 ​​and DE-OS 2 229 917.

Although the dense shape of the meat product can be maintained by a conventional method, there is a significant drawback. In the case of the necessary handling of raw or pre-cooked meat in the net, the tissues and the net will inevitably stick together. When it is then desired to remove the net - e.g. before cutting the cooked ham thus prepared - there is always a great loss due to this adhesion, because not only individual strands of meat but entire pieces of meat are trapped in the net and they are torn off the ham. In an individual case, this may result in the product becoming unmarketable.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method of preparation which, on the one hand, allows such meat products to be cooked in their compact shape by smoking and / or heating and, on the other hand, guarantees a flawless surface for the ready-to-sell product. This problem has not yet been addressed in the prior art.

This is achieved by the method according to the invention, characterized in that the raw or pretreated meat product is provided with a coating of edible collagen film and a mesh on it with eyes of the desired shape and final cooking in the next step, and that the edible collagen film is placed on with the surface of the meat product.

Unexpectedly, this edible collagen film does not stick to the net during the smoking process and / or cooking process, unlike the uncoated meat surface consisting of protein.

The production method according to the invention, in which, after the meat surface is covered with a collagen film and a retention net is placed on it, the actual production of the product by smoking, heating or otherwise, therefore makes it possible to provide a dense, ready-to-eat product with a perfect, intact surface. without damage to the product after removal of the net or detrimental to its enjoyment, non-fleshy coating.

The manner in which the edible collagen film is applied to the product is irrelevant to the functionality of the invention. However, it has been found that a collagen film, which is necessarily thin for sensory reasons, may be damaged if a shape-stiffening net is introduced over the collagen film.

Surprisingly, however, it was found that the risk of damage can be avoided by bringing the collagen film and the net at the same time.

In this case, it has proved to be a preferred coating method for the product to be coated with the finished collagen film. A suitable natural collagen film is the so-called

goldsmith's foil obtained from the cecum of a bovine animal.

It is more preferable to use an edible collagen film made from modified native collagen, as it does not depend on a limited number of cattle to be slaughtered and can be prepared in advance in a hygienically sound form and in webs of almost arbitrary size.

These are known to be available as hose and flat films. They are described, for example, in DE patent 642 922 and can be produced by a film casting machine, such as those described in DE patent 842 825 and US patent 2 747 228.

Such collagen films are used in a wide variety of fields. Thus, for example, in the medical field, they are as disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 2,747,228 and 3,014,024 - intermediates in the manufacture of surgical sutures.

In food technology, collagen films are used, e.g. according to DE patent 1 945 527 as a food coating or also as a wrap for meat products, as disclosed in US patent 3 014 024. Collagen can be pretreated in different ways for each application. Thus, DE patents 1 767 613 and 1 960 935 describe an enzymatic treatment of a starting material which makes the collagen film soluble in warm water. Such a film is used for packaging dispensed foods that are prepared in hot water. The unopened package is placed in hot water where the film dissolves and releases the contents of the package. U.S. Patent No. 3,664,848 describes the use of a moisture resistant film b 5 5 54 formed by an enzyme-treated collagen film in the manufacture of a meat snack product.

The use of an edible collagen film to solve the problem described above of the net sticking to dense, smoked and / or heated meat products such as cooked ham, goose breast, etc. is not known in the art.

The time of import of the collagen film and net in the manufacturing process depends on the meat product being produced. When the method according to the invention is applied, for example, in the production of cooking hams, the meat is covered with an edible collagen film after salting and drawn into a flexible net.

This prevents the net from sticking to the meat in an efficient manner during cooking and possible smoking, as described above.

An edible collagen flat film suitable for the method according to the invention is obtained from the blood skin part of cowhide. The dehydrated bovine skin is removed by scraping the meat, fat and connective tissue. For leather production, the outer so-called marti side uniform, 2-4 mm thick depending on the application. The remaining inner, so-called the meat part consists of the actual connective tissue of the basal layer, the dermis. It forms an internal collagen fiber network that can be more than 1 cm thick. By chemical or mechanical treatment, the collagen fibers of the dermis can be formed into a castable mass and mixed with a softening and crosslinking agent or agents. These and any other additives (dyes, lubricants, etc.) must, of course, be suitable for use in foodstuffs in order for the film to be used in the process according to the invention. The collagen pulp is then passed to a suitable conveyor belt of uniform thickness, which is passed through a drying tunnel, and is thus dried into a film.

One advantageous possibility for carrying out the method according to the invention, in particular in the case of irregularly shaped pieces of meat, is that two edible collagen flat films are placed around it on opposite sides of the piece of meat, so that the films 5 have coatings at their edges. Films with a thickness of 8-40 μπι, preferably 10-25 μm, are preferably suitable for the process according to the invention. The width of the film, when coated as described above with two flat films, is in the range of 12-65 cm, preferably in the range of 3657 cm, for most conventional dense meat products. Such films are usually supplied in roll form and have a length of 30 m.

A hose net is preferably used as the shape-retaining flexible net. Particularly suitable for the method 15 are continuously woven, seamless hose nets in which the wires transverse to the hose axis are flexible and the wires parallel thereto are inelastic. The average mesh size in the range of 5-15 mm, preferably 10 mm, required to maintain a sufficiently secure shape and at the same time to have a minimal covering effect is required against the heating and / or smoking effect. The shape of the eye is not relevant to the method. The required diameter of the net is determined by the circumference of the piece of meat to be coated and must be dimensioned so that the net rests firmly against the collagen-coated meat.

The invention also relates to a device implementing the method according to the invention, comprising a feed plate for a meat product which fits into a guide tube. The device is characterized in that membrane guide plates are arranged above and below the guide tube, which extend conically tapering to the end of the device, whereby one of the guide plates joins the hose net support tube surrounding the guide tube and the other film guide plate extends in the form of a cylinder tube.

Devices intended solely for laying hose nets are known from the prior art.

CA patent 873 755 discloses an apparatus for cutting and pulling a flexible net of a certain length over a sleeve. It has a diameter of the sleeve so large that the elastic net is strongly stretched in the transverse direction while at the same time retracting only a fraction of its length in the longitudinal direction, as in the case of pulling sausage casings. Figure 5 shows a sleeve provided with a net, which could also be used in the device according to the invention.

DE-GM 7 600 041 discloses a manual device for pulling a flexible hose net over a filling pipe.

DE-OS 2 800 933 discloses a meat packaging machine with a cylinder in which the meat is placed and a pneumatically operated piston which pushes the meat onto a net drawn on the cylinder.

What all the publications found have in common is that 20 of them are not designed to bring a film between the meat and the net during the packaging operation and this is therefore also difficult to achieve.

The device according to the invention will now be described by means of the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, without limiting it to the embodiments s how has been.

Figure 1 shows a view of the device in an isometric view.

Fig. 2 shows the same view and shows in particular the course of the film webs, for which the parts of the device indicated by the broken line are omitted.

Figure 3 shows a section of a device according to the invention in plane AA in Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows a section of a device according to the invention in the plane BB in Figure 1.

Figure 5 shows a view from the rear end (H) of the device,

65554 with ham wrapped in netting.

Figure 6 shows a net cartridge known per se to be inserted into the device.

Figure 7 shows another embodiment of the device.

Fig. 8 shows a longitudinal section of the device according to Fig. 7.

The device according to the invention is characterized in that it has a meat product supply plate 3 joining the guide tube 4 and 10 film guide plates 5.6 are arrange d above and below the guide tube 4, which extend conically tapering to the end H of the device, one of the guide tubes 5,6 joining the guide tube 4 in its end region. to the surrounding tube 7 and the second membrane guide plate 6.5 extends in the form of a cylindrical part jacket inside the tube 7. The lower film guide 15 plate 5 preferably joins the tube 7. Several meters of hose net 17 can be drawn on top of the pipe 7. Above the membrane guide plate 6 and below the membrane guide plate 5, it is expedient to fit at their leading edges rod-like roller supports 8.9 for the film rolls 20 12,13 and for the film rolls 12,13

5.6, possibly rotating round bars 14,15, through which the film webs are drawn into the device according to the invention. In addition, as shown in Fig. 3, film spreading plates 20 and 21 are arranged between the guide tube 4 and the film guide plates 5,6 parallel to them and likewise rounded to a distance of about 3-5 mm, which prevent the formation of lONGITUDE l folds when the Films 10.11 are pulled.

In a preferred embodiment, the cylindrical part jacket 30 of the film guide plate 6 extending into the tube 7 is fixed at the contour to the inner wall of the tube 7.

The functional unit formed by the dampers 3,5,6 and the pipes 4,7 is expediently suspended together with the corresponding auxiliary devices 8,9,14,15 on a frame structure 2 which can be fastened with screws to the table top 1 .

The device can be supplemented in a continent known per se with a sealing device with which the net is compressed and closed.

It is also advantageous to fit a flange 16 to the pipe 7, to which a cartridge 7a holding a hose-like net 17 with a flange 16a can be detachably attached, preferably by means of a bayonet connector (not shown).

The device is completed for the method according to the invention by drawing a desired amount of hose net 17 on the pipe 7 and placing film rolls 12 and 13 on the roll supports 8 and 9. The films 10 and 11 are guided around the round bars 14 and 15 and the film guide plates 5 and 6 and film application plates 20 and 21. and then through tubes 4 and 7 through the device towards the end H.

Each of the flat films 10 and 11 is separated in their area of ​​measurement, as shown in Fig. 4, inside the tube 7 of the device according to the invention in this area by a membrane guide plate 6 in the form of a cylindrical part jacket.

The palm net 17 is pulled a palm-width distance from the tube 7, compressed and closed together with the ends of the film webs 10 and 11 therein slightly behind the ends of the film webs by means of a sealing press, e.g. a metal press. Suitable presses are commercially available and are not shown here.

To carry out the method, salting is also performed. . 25 to the feed plate 3 and is pushed by means of a pusher (not shown) through the guide tube 4 to the end H without the meat coming into contact with the membranes. Here's how: the collagen film stays dry and slippery. At the end of the device, the ham strikes the end of the hose net 17 closed by the press 18 and the film webs 10 and 11 therein.

When further pushed, the ham 19 is coated with cal 10 and 11, which overlap and extend from the sides. at the same time into the flexible hose net 17. The ham 19 coated with the net and the collagen film below it is then pulled 35 forward from the device so that its device-side end is two hand widths away from it. The net 17 And the film webs 10 and 11 are pressed together approximately in the middle between the end of the device and the end of the ham with a sealing press 18 and sealed. The net and membrane are cut from the side of the ham inside next to the sealing press 18, pulled tightly over the end of the ham and sealed with another sealing press. In this case, a hanging hose can also be attached to the ham. The piece of meat is now ready to be smoked and / or cooked in the oven.

The device is ready to receive the next ham already after the net has been cut next to the closure press 18.

Another simple method of inserting the pretreated pieces of meat into the collagen film and at the same time the flexible net is to pull the film on storage rollers and form it into a hose with loose overlapping edges by means of a conventional shaped support and passing it between the piece of meat and the outer hose net. In this method, the collagen film 20 is thus introduced as a single film on the meat products.

To implement the method, an apparatus according to Figures 7 and 8 is proposed, in which the piece of meat and the hose net are held away from the film bent into a hose by means of concentric tubes. Attached to the work surface 22 is a screw support 1a for concentric tubes 24,25,26. The tubes 24 extend forward from the support 23. It is attached to the bracket by a flange 16 and a bayonet connector and can be fitted with several meters of hose net 27. The inner tube 25,26 is provided with a double wall 30 to prevent wetting of the sliding surface of the inner film 28, which could occur when packing cold pieces of meat. The space between the pipes 25,26 is filled with polyurethane foam acting as thermal insulation. The tubes 26 are cut open on one side to form a feed surface 29 for the meat to be packaged.

5 554 ••••'35

Also attached to the work surface 22 are two roll holders 30 which support the film roll 31. From the roll, the film 28 is pulled around the shape support 32 and formed into a film hose 33, the edges of which loosely overlap. The membrane hose is guided in the annular channel between the tubes 24 and 25 up to their front end with the ends extending equally far.

The shaped support 32 preferably consists of stainless steel, about 6 mm in diameter, which is fixed at its ends to the right and left sides of the pipe 25 to the support 23 and is bent to run freely over a small distance around the pipe 25.

For packing the meat, the hose net 27 and the membrane 28 are pulled so far forward that they can be compressed and closed with a sealing press. The piece of meat is then pushed from the rear through the tube 26 into the membrane-lined hose net, whereby the piece of meat pulls them until it has come out of the tube and the hose net collapses behind them. This is now closed, as in the device described above, with a press, cut and pulled tightly from front to back around the meat and sealed behind the meat with a press.

In another embodiment of the described device, the pieces of meat are conveyed mechanically through the guide tube 4. For this purpose, a compressed air cylinder with a drive rod and a plunger for pieces of meat is arranged coaxially with the guide tube in front of the feed plate 3.

It is further expedient to pull the net 17 in the cartridge of suitable diameter shown in Fig. 6, together with it, onto the tube 7,24. The cartridge is attached to the flange 16 in a suitable manner, e.g. with a bayonet connector. Cartridges and similar devices for pulling on hose nets are generally available on the market.

In another embodiment of the device, two sealing devices are installed in succession behind the device, which are turned in order to perform their task in the path of the hams closed to the net in each case. The first 5 places the sealing press 18 and the second the sealing press 19 at the rear end of the ham. In addition, between each sealing device there is a device which cuts the hose network and the membranes. The Hamway Route is then determined by the tin gutters that connect these optional parts of the unit.

Other embodiments and additions are, of course, possible in connection with the method according to the invention and the devices according to it. Thus, the operation can be equipped with automatic control without deviating from the basic idea of ​​the invention.