USRE23482E - Meat pkoduct and method of treat - Google Patents

Description

April 1952 H. M. CONDON Re. 23,482

MEAT PRODUCT AND METHOD OF TREATING MEAT Original Filed March 27, 1947 IN VEN TOR. HOward Wi- Condo Reissuecl Apr. 29,1952 Re,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEAT PRODUCT AND IVIETHOD OF TREAT- ING MEAT Howard M. Condon, Akron, Ohio, assignor to Grand Duchess Steaks, Inc., Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original No. 2,527,493, dated October 24, 1950, Serial No. 737,501, March 27, 1947. Application for reissue August 17, 1951, Serial No. 242,337

9 Claims. (Cl; 99-194) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets I: appears in the original patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

2 maintained in the substantially compact or solid form of Figure 1, as by use of temporarybinding means (not shown), may be placed in a known type of rapid freezing unit and frozen hard throughout. The temperature range suitable for this purpose may be from 20 to 40 below This invention relates to a meat product and to a method of treating meat.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved meat product, particularly adaptable for sale in quick frozen state, in which substanv tially all of the original color and flavor of the meat is retained, and which has the additional F. This freezing of the block [0, by the nature advantage of being easily digestible regardless of the meat, will bind the elongated strips ll of the fibrous structure of the original meat. together.

Another object of the invention is to provide av Referring now to Fig. 2, the hard frozen block meat product of the character described adapted of meat I!) may be placed in a suitable slicin to be conveniently packaged in quick frozen conmachine I2 having a rotary cutter [3 to cut, in dition and to be cooked in desired cake or patty rapid succession, paper thin slices of meat from form inarelatively few minutes. the end of the block. Although in the frozen Another object of the invention is to provide- 1 condition of the block the strips are cohesively a simple and economical method for preparing held together by fusion of the natural moisture the improved meat product described above. of meat, when said thin slices are thus removed,

Other objects of the invention will be manifest such cohesion is insufficient to prevent separafrom the followin brief description and the ac tion of the corresponding slice portions from the companying drawings. respective strips H, and each of the thin slices,

Of theaccompanying drawings: therefore, in falling away from the cutter l3 ,Figure 1 is a perspective view of a chunk or separates into a plurality of chip-like, paper-thin block of meat cut into elongated strips in accordpieces or flakes [4, I4. The chips or flakes l4 ance with one of the method steps of the invenmay be allowed, for instance, to fall through a tion. funnel l5 into an open ended, stainless steel cylin- Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly broken away der [6, of desired size and cross-section to coland in section, illustrating apparatus for carrylect a correspondingly shaped mass ll of flakes ing out a meat flaking operation of the inven- I4 on a surface IS. The mass 11 may be packaged or otherwise maintained in loose form or it may tion.

Figure 3 is a cross-section, on an enlarged scale, be compressed into compact form in any desired taken substantiall on the line 3-3 of Figure 2. shape or size. As a typical illustration, a compact mass of flakes l4 may be packaged in a suitable closed container I8, either in one solid mass, or in a series of cakes or patties 20 separated Referring particularly to Figure 1, as an illusas by means of wax paper spacers 2|. As best trative example, the method of the invention may" shown in Figures 3 and 4, the flakes of the patties be carried out by first providing a boneless chunk in particular are arranged haphazardly in gencr block [0 of raw or uncooked meat and cutting erally superposed and substantially overlapping the same, by use of any suitable cutting means relation. In any case, the packaged product (not shown), into elongated coextending strips 4 may be placed in quick freezing equipment H, H of relatively small cross-section, as com-'-" and thereafter retained in frozen condition pared with the cross-section of the chunk. The until ready for use. If the packaged prodoriginal chunk 16, of course, might also be comnet is retained in one solid piece, as described, posed of several relatively smaller chunks or segparts thereof may be separated or cut from the mcnts either naturally constituted therein or ,45 whole mass and formed into any desired size or otherwise arranged in the same, or it could be shape, as for example, into a cake or patty to formed by arranging elongated cuts or pieces be fried, broiled. or otherwise prepared for eat- H, H from any source, or from different kinds ing. Should the product be packaged in patty of meat, such as beef, pork, veal, etc., In any form, as shown in Figure 4, it is only necessary event, the block In of elongated strips H, while to to remove thepatties as desired for use. As illus- Figure 4 is a vertical cross-section through a package containin flaked meat produced in accordance with the invention.

trated in Figure 3, the flakes 14 are of approximately one-twentieth of the lateral area of the patties, although it is self-evident that the size of the flakes may vary considerably according to conditions, such as the size of the pieces in block 10, the texture of the meat, and the number of blades on cutter 13 and/or the speed of rotation thereof.

During the flaking operations, as shown in Figure 2, suet or fat in suitable form and proportions may be added, if desired. Flavoring materials are easily added in the same way.

When the strips II are arranged in the block Ill with the fibre structure thereof extending longitudinally of the strips, the resulting product inherently comprises a multiplicity of flakes I4, I 4, of non-fibrous nature, and therefore easily digestible when cooked, regardless of how tough the original meat cuts may have been. It has been found that by the use of the herein described process the original coloring and flavoring of the meat is preserved in the frozen packaged product until read for use. [It is contemplated, however, that the above described flaking process may be similarly carried out with the use of cooked or partially cooked meat as a basis in the block I of strips Il.]

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the flakes of hard frozen raw meat, as cut from the block in Figure 2, immediately begin to thaw upon exposure to atmosphere and that this thawing process goes on as the flakes collect into the patty of Figure 3. Thus, by nature of these paper thin meat flakes they are at least partially softened upon exposure to the atmosphere, so that when the at least partially softened flakes are compressed into a compact mass of patty shape and size for cooking purposes they unite much in the manner of snowflakes in a snowball. By the method described solid meat of tough, fibrous consistency may .be virtually taken apart and reintegrated into solid masses of tender, non-fibrous meat of uniform consistency and flavor. It is also self-evident that there is a limit to the size of paper thin flakes which can be separated from a solid block of hard frozen raw meatby a rotating cutter, since such very thin hard frozen flakes break easily.

Modifications of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of treating meat, which comprises the steps of providing a block composed of a plurality ofnon-coherently, longitudinally coextending strips of raw meat of relatively small transverse cross-section as compared with the transverse cross-section of the block, freezing the block to substantially hardened state throughout, slicing relative thin slices from the hardened block in planes transversely of said strips, the removed slices thereby separating into relatively small flakes from said coextending strips, and forming the flakes into a compact plurality of non-coherently, longitudinally fcoextending strips maintained in the block, freezing said cut block to hardened state, removing relatively thin slices from the frozen block transversely of said strips, each of the slices thereby separating into a substantial number of relatively small flakes from the respective pieces of the block, and compressing said flakes into a compact integrated mass of desired size and flattened patty shape for cooking purposes, the average size of said flakes being a relatively small fraction of the broad lateral area of the pattyshaped mass.

3. A method of treating meat, which comprises the steps of providing a block composed of noncoherently, longitudinally coextending strips of raw meat in hard frozen state throughout, the average transverse cross-section of said strips being a relatively small fraction of the total cross-section of the block transversely thereof, cutting relatively thin slices from the frozen block in planes transversely of said strips, the removed slices thereby separating into relatively small flakes from the respective strips of the block, and compressing a multiplicity of said flakes into a compact integrated mass of desired size and flattened patty shape for cooking purposes, said strips of meat in said block having the fibres thereof extending generally longitudinally thereof, and the resulting flakes thereby being substantially non-fibrous, the average size of said flakes being a relative small fraction of the broad lateral area of the patty-shaped mass. 7

4. A meat product comprising a compact integrated mass for cooking purposes, said mass being composed of a multiplicity of relatively thin substantially non-fibrous flakes of raw meat, said flakes inherently in the mass being in generally superposed, substantially overlapping relation.

'5. A meat product comprising a compact integrated mass of relatively" thin, substantially non-fibrous flakes of raw meat, said mass being of a flattened patty shape and size for cooking purposes, said flakes inherently in the mass being, in generally superposed, substantially overlapping relation.

6. A meat product as set forth in claim 4, said mass being in hard-frozen condition.

'7. A meat product as set forth in claim 5, said mass being in hard-frozen condition.

8. A method of treating meat, which comprises the steps of providing a block composed of a plurality of separate pieces of raw meat of relatively small cross-section compared with the transverse cross-section of the block, freezing the block to substantially hardened state throughout, slicing relatively thin slices from the hardened block in planes transversely through said pieces whereby the removed slices separate into relatively small flakes from said pieces, forming the flakes into a compact integrated mass thereof of desired size and shape, the average size of said flakes being such as would require a substantial number of the same to cover the broad lateral surface area of a said mass in flattened patty form for cooking purposes, and further freezing said mass to substantially hardened state throughout.

9. A method of treating meat, which comprises the steps of providing a block of meat in substantially hard frozen state throughout and composed of pieces of raw meat of relatively small transverse cross-section as compared with the transverse cross-section of the block th,roughout the length thereof slicing relatively thin slices from the hardenedxblock' in planes REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this or the original patent:

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Na-me Date Waters June 14, 1921 Dubil Aug. 25, 1936 Holly Dec. 10, 1940 Carpenter May 20, 1941 Linane et al. Sept. 16, 1941 Tansley Mar. 26, 1946

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