GB1561539A - Process for manufacturing boron bits - Google Patents

Description

(54) PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING BACON BITS (71) We, OSCAR MAYER & CO.

INC., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America, of 910 Mayer Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to the production of bacon bits.

Bacon bits of satisfactory quality have heretofore been produced by a process wherein bacon material, usually bacon ends and pieces, are ground, cooked, drained to remove readily separable fat, and then pressed in a hydraulic press to remove additional fat and reduce the fat content to the desired level. The resulting press cake is then disintegrated or ground into the finished bacon bits product for packaging.

According to the present invention there is provided the method of making bacon bits which comprises, grinding bacon from 1/16 inch to 1 inch diameter, cooking the ground bacon to a temperature within the range of 212 to 2500 F, centrifuging the cooked bacon to reduce the fat content to from 5 /" to 400;, by weight, and breaking up the centrifuged product.

A preferred form of the method comprises grinding bacon ends or pieces at a temperature not exceeding 500 F. through a plate having approximately 3/8 inch openings, cooking the ground bacon to a temperature in the range of 219"F. to 221"F., centrifuging the cooked bacon to a final fat content from 17.5 to 22.5 /" by weight, and breaking up the centrifuged product.

The bacon bits produced by process embodying the present invention can have a uniform fat content, colour, particle size, and free-flowing properties. Processes embodying the invention can permit the composition of the finished product to be controlled easilv, and permit the fat content of the finished product to be varied from 5 " to 40% to suit specific requirements.

Particle size can be controlled by the grind size of the uncooked bacon material: specific particle size ranges can be obtained by sieving the finished product or by varying the mesh size of the centrifuge retaining bags. Degree of crispness and brownness of the product can be controlled by cooking to specific temperatures. Flavourings can be readily added if desired. The process is capable of producing a high quality product.

The method of the invention will be described in greater detail below, and a presently preferred working example set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1--3 are curves or graphs of certain operating conditions.

Bacon ends and pieces constitute the main type of "bacon material" from which bacon bits are made since bacon ends and pieces are usually the most economical starting material. However, other bacon materials may be used, including cured bacon bellies The bacon materials utilized in producing bacon bits is ground to within the size range of from 1/16 inch to 1 inch depending upon the desired particle size of the finished product. If frozen bacon material is utilized, it should be tempered to bring it within the range of 3240"F. prior to grinding. The ground bacon material, preferably at a temperature not exceeding 50 F., is introduced into a heated cooking vessel provided with some type of temperature control (e.g., heated jacket) whereby the temperature of the ground bacon material can be raised to a final temperature of 212--250"F. depending upon the desired degree of crispness and brownness of the finished product.

After being raised to the final desired temperature, the bacon material is unloaded from the cooking vessel and introduced into a centrifuge so as to controllably reduce the fat content of the finished product to the desired level within the range of from 5 40 " by weight. A particular final fat content can be obtained by varying ( I ) the centrifugal force, (2) the time in the centrifuge and/or (3) the feed rate of introducing cooked bacon slurry into the centrifuge. If a centrifuge is used of the type that utilizes a retaining bag, the particle size of the product can be varied by selecting the mesh size of the retaining bag. For best.

results, the cooked bacon slurry should be introduced into the centrifuge while the basket or bowl is spinning. The centrifugal force (i.e., g-force) developed during centrifuging should not be excessive since otherwise it will be difficult to control the fat content of the finished product.

Desirably, the g-force should be such that during "brake time" at the end of the run, some fat or oil will be removed but at a greatly reduced rate.

The degreased or defatted batch which has been removed from the centrifuge and broken up in a mixer may be either packaged - directly in known manner or blended or mixed with a flavoring material (such as wood smoke concentrate of known commercial type, e.g. Charoil). This is a vegetable oil extract of aqueous smokeflavored solution prepared by extraction with edible oil of an aqueous solution of natural wood-smoke flavors. The mixing can be carried out in any suitable piece of equipment and, preferably, the mixing is done at reduced pressure.

The following working example will serve to disclose a specific procedure which has been satisfactorily employed in practicing lhe present invention and will suggest to those skilled in the art variations by which the invention may be practiced.

Example Three-hundred fifty pounds of frozen bacon ends and pieces (not more than thirty days old) are air-defrosted and air-tempered to a temperature of 32-400 F. The tempered bacon ends are ground in a Hobart meat grinder (6 inch head) equipped with a plate having 3/8 inch diameter openings and a four-bladed knife. (Hobart is a Registered Trade Mark).

In this example, a 50-gallon steamjacketed stainless-steel kettle of known type equipped with a rotating agitator may be used (e.g., a Groen cook kettle). The kettle is preheated by admitting steam at 80 psig (324"F.) to the jacket and the agitator is started (35 rpm). The 350 pounds of ground bacon at a temperature below 500 F. are introduced into the preheated kettle with the agitator rotating. The temperature of the kettle contents is monitored with a thermocouple recorder and allowed to increase to 219--221"F. (about 27-31 minutes from the start) whereupon the steam pressure is shut off and the cook kettle outlet opened. Figure 1 is a temperature profile produced on the recorder during typical cook.

Prior to the completion of a cook when the temperature of the kettle contents reaches 217--219"F., a Bock 24-inch diameter single-speed perforate basket batch centrifuge of 1.1 cubic feet capacity provided with a 1400--1 500 micron retention bag is started and allowed to reach full speed of 1180 rpm (475g.). The centrifuge requires approximately two minutes to attain this speed during which time the temperature of the cook kettle contents increases to 219--2210F. With the cook kettle outlet opened, a constant pressure centrifuge feed pump connected with the kettle outlet is started and allowed to run discharging into the centrifuge basket until one-half of the bacon slurry has been transferred into the centrifuge. Operating at a feed rate of 80 pounds a minute, the pump requires two minutes to pump one-half of the bacon slurry into the centrifuge. At the end of the two minutes, the feed pump is stopped and the centrifuge allowed to spin at full speed for 1.5 additional minutes whereupon the centrifuge is turned off.

Thereafter, it requires about one minute for the bowl to decelerate. After the bowl stops spinning, the retention bag containing 5258 pounds of degreased bacon bits is lifted out of the centrifuge. Another 1400-1500 micron retention bag is placed into the centrifuge, the discharge end of the feed pump is again placed into the cover opening, and the centrifuge started. After the centrifuge again reaches full speed in two minutes, the feed pump is run until the cook kettle is empty, approximately two minutes. The bowl is again allowed to spin for 1.5 additional minutes after which the centrifuge is shut off and allowed to decelerate. The nylon bag with the second half of the batch of degreased bacon bits is removed after the bowl has stopped spinning in about one minute. In Figure 2, the rate at which oil is expelled from the centrifuge is plotted for a typical batch.

Within not more than thirty minutes after degreasing, the contents of each nylon bag are weighed and separately placed in a 75pound capacity stainless steel vacuum paddle mixer. With the paddle moving, 0.75 ," by weight of hickory Charoil is added to the contents over a period of about thirty seconds. The mixer cover is closed and mixer allowed to operate for sixty seconds under a vacuum of 27 inches of mercury.

The finished bacon bits are free-flowing with little free or superficial grease on the surface of the particles. They have the color, odor and flavor of well-cured and smoked bacon and are free of all off-flavors and odors. Not more than 200; are retained on a 1/4 inch opening U.S. Standard Sieve while not more than 1.00 of the particles are smaller than a 20 U.S. Standard Sieve.

The proximate analysis based on 31 batches was as follows: Moisture 34.5 , Protein 35.00; Fat 19.10: Salt 5.8?: Based on 100 pounds of uncooked ground bacon ends and pieces, the following results were obtained: Cook shrink = 16.80, Grease expelled from centrifuge =51.65, Degreased bacon bits yield = 31.60,, Using the equipment described in the Example, bacon bits can be produced at the rate of 840 pounds in an eight-hour shift.

Using the same procedure, the production rate can be increased to 5,400 pounds per shift by using the following equipment: three 150-gallon cook kettles (1200 pounds ground bacon each per bath); one DeLaval ATM Mark III bottom unloading centrifuge having 9 cubic feet capacity and equipped with an automatic plough for unloading; one constant pressure rotary pump equipped with a variable drive enabling the delivery rate of the pump to be varied and capable of delivering 240 pounds per minute: and a vacuum ribbon mixer having a 400 pound capacity.

Trials were made with equipment used in the Example but with the basket of the Bock centrifuge spinning at 1840 rpm at maximum speed (equal to centrifugal force of 1156 g). The results of three degreasing runs are plotted in Figure 3. It will be noted that during the centrifuge brake time the rate of oil discharge (0.61 pounds per second) is some, but not much, lower than the rate (0.76 pounds per second) when the centrifuge is running at full speed. At the higher speed of 1840 rpm, the fat content of the product tended to be too low with the bacon bits dry and tending to compact into clumps. Also the higher speed, brake times tended to vary substantiating making it difficult to consistently control the fat content. By reducing the speed to 1180 rpm (475 g) much greater control was achieved over the amount of oil expelled and thereby over the uniformity of the product.

Accordingly, it was concluded and tests have shown, that the centrifuge should preferably be operated in such manner that during deceleration or brake time an appreciable amount of oil should be discharged but at a rate which is a small fraction ot the rate of discharge prior to brake time.

Although this invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that variations and modification can be effected within the scope of this invention as described above and as defined in the appended claims.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: The method of making bacon bits which comprises, grinding bacon to from about 1/16 inch to about 1 inch diameter, cooking the ground bacon to a temperature within the range of 212 to 2500 F., centrifuging the cooked bacon to reduce the fat content to from 50o to 400,, by weight, and breaking up the centrifuged product.

2. The method of making bacon bits which comprises, grinding bacon ends or pieces at a temperature not exceeding 500 F.

through a plate having approximately 3/8 inch openings, cooking the ground bacon to a temperature in the range of 219"F. to 221"F., centrifuging the cooked bacon to a final fat content from 17.5 to 22.5% by weight, and breaking up the centrifuged product.

3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the ground bacon is brought to a temperature of 219"F. to 221"F. in about 27-31 minutes.

4. The method of any one of the preceding claims wherein the cooked bacon is centrifuged in a batch-type centrifuge with the rate of oil discharge during the brake time being less than the rate of discharge prior to deceleration.

5. The method of any one of the preceding claims wherein the cooked bacon is degreased under a centrifugal force of approximately 475 g.

6. The method of any one of the preceding claims wherein the cooked bacon is degreased in a centrifuge having a perforate basket equipped with a 1400-- 1500 micron retention bag.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the cooked bacon is introduced into the centrifuge while the basket is spinning.

8. The method of making bacon bits substantially as herein described and exemplified.

9. Bacon bits prepared by the method of any one of the preceding claims.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (9)

1. **WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **.

   on a 1/4 inch opening U.S. Standard Sieve while not more than 1.00 of the particles are smaller than a 20 U.S. Standard Sieve.

   The proximate analysis based on 31 batches was as follows: Moisture 34.5 , Protein 35.00; Fat 19.10: Salt 5.8?: Based on 100 pounds of uncooked ground bacon ends and pieces, the following results were obtained: Cook shrink = 16.80, Grease expelled from centrifuge =51.65, Degreased bacon bits yield = 31.60,, Using the equipment described in the Example, bacon bits can be produced at the rate of 840 pounds in an eight-hour shift.

   Using the same procedure, the production rate can be increased to 5,400 pounds per shift by using the following equipment: three 150-gallon cook kettles (1200 pounds ground bacon each per bath); one DeLaval ATM Mark III bottom unloading centrifuge having 9 cubic feet capacity and equipped with an automatic plough for unloading; one constant pressure rotary pump equipped with a variable drive enabling the delivery rate of the pump to be varied and capable of delivering 240 pounds per minute: and a vacuum ribbon mixer having a 400 pound capacity.

   Trials were made with equipment used in the Example but with the basket of the Bock centrifuge spinning at 1840 rpm at maximum speed (equal to centrifugal force of 1156 g). The results of three degreasing runs are plotted in Figure 3. It will be noted that during the centrifuge brake time the rate of oil discharge (0.61 pounds per second) is some, but not much, lower than the rate (0.76 pounds per second) when the centrifuge is running at full speed. At the higher speed of 1840 rpm, the fat content of the product tended to be too low with the bacon bits dry and tending to compact into clumps. Also the higher speed, brake times tended to vary substantiating making it difficult to consistently control the fat content. By reducing the speed to 1180 rpm (475 g) much greater control was achieved over the amount of oil expelled and thereby over the uniformity of the product.

   Accordingly, it was concluded and tests have shown, that the centrifuge should preferably be operated in such manner that during deceleration or brake time an appreciable amount of oil should be discharged but at a rate which is a small fraction ot the rate of discharge prior to brake time.

   Although this invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that variations and modification can be effected within the scope of this invention as described above and as defined in the appended claims.

   WHAT WE CLAIM IS: The method of making bacon bits which comprises, grinding bacon to from about 1/16 inch to about 1 inch diameter, cooking the ground bacon to a temperature within the range of 212 to 2500 F., centrifuging the cooked bacon to reduce the fat content to from 50o to 400,, by weight, and breaking up the centrifuged product.
2. 2. The method of making bacon bits which comprises, grinding bacon ends or pieces at a temperature not exceeding 500 F.

   through a plate having approximately 3/8 inch openings, cooking the ground bacon to a temperature in the range of 219"F. to 221"F., centrifuging the cooked bacon to a final fat content from 17.5 to 22.5% by weight, and breaking up the centrifuged product.
3. 3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the ground bacon is brought to a temperature of 219"F. to 221"F. in about 27-31 minutes.
4. 4. The method of any one of the preceding claims wherein the cooked bacon is centrifuged in a batch-type centrifuge with the rate of oil discharge during the brake time being less than the rate of discharge prior to deceleration.
5. 5. The method of any one of the preceding claims wherein the cooked bacon is degreased under a centrifugal force of approximately 475 g.
6. 6. The method of any one of the preceding claims wherein the cooked bacon is degreased in a centrifuge having a perforate basket equipped with a 1400-- 1500 micron retention bag.
7. 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the cooked bacon is introduced into the centrifuge while the basket is spinning.
8. 8. The method of making bacon bits substantially as herein described and exemplified.
9. 9. Bacon bits prepared by the method of any one of the preceding claims.