Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2~33~
PROCESS ~OR PRODUCING ~ BONELFSS PORTION OF ~IB M~T
BACKG~OUND O~ THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to methods for
processlng meat, and more particularly to a process for
5 producing a boneless portion of rib meat, which process
involves removing each of a plurality of rib bones from a
slab of ribs without substantially damaging the surrounding
rib meat.
By way of background, beef and pork ribs are among the
10 most commonly enjoyed foods. Typically, these ribs are
processed and served as either single or multiple-rib
portions includlng rib bones from which the meat must be
eaten. This arrangement can be particularly inconvenient
with ribs as compared to other forms of meat because there is
15 9enerally a high bone to meat ratio in the portion served,
and thus a cansumer must often deal with removing relatively
little meat from a lot of bone.
Removing meat from bone in preparing food for consumption
has been a long practiced task for man, with much modern
20 study being focussed on separating non-cooked meat from bone
by using processes which include grinding or shredding the
meat. The resulting meat product can then be processed into
sausage or the like. Many processes and apparatus for
accomplishing this task are known. For example, U.SO Patent
25 No. 3,112,203 to Watt relates to a method of producing a bone
ree raw meat product by subdividing bone-containing meat
into relatively small particles of bone with meat shreds
remaining connected thereto, slurrying the resulting product,
agitating the slurry, separating the bone particles from the
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meat, and then dewatering the slurr~ to recover a cornminuted
meat material. The resulting raw meat product can then be
processed into sausage or the like. As noted in the
above-identified Watt patent, it is important in the sausage
5 industry that the meat product used to Eorm sausage be
uncooked, as meat coagulation and binding is important in
forming sausage, and as meat loses its binding properties
when cooked and coagulated.
Despite focus in the substantial sausage industry upon
10 processes ~or removing ~one from raw meat, some processes ~or
removing bone from cooked meat are also kno~n. For example,
U.S. Patent No. 2,799,58~ to Robertson relates to producing a
bone-free meat product by cooking bone containing meat,
grinding the cooked product to reduce it to particles of
15 one-~uarter (1/4) inch or smaller, and then separating the
bone and meat in a flow to provide a bone free meat product.
This process too, however, is limited in that it involves
grinding the cooked product to separate the meat and bone.
As such, it does not provide a process by which a bones can
20 be removed from the layer of meat surrounding them without
substantially damaging the layer of meat. Further, the
process described in the above-identified Robertson patent
does not address removing bones from beef or pork ribs or the
like, but rather has its focus upon bone-free poultry meat
25 products. Beef and pork ribs present unique problems with
respect to bone-removal because of their characteristic high
bone to meat ratio and further because of their elongated,
generally curved, rod-like bones. These aspects make it
particularly difficult to remove the rib bones and especially
30 without substantially damaging the surrounding layer of rib
meat.
What is needed, therefore, is a process for producing a
convenient, attractive, bone-free portion of rib meat having
a layer of rib meat remaining substantially intact while the
35 bones are removed. The applicant's invention addresses this
need.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One preferred embodiment of this invention relates to a
process for producing a bone-free portion of rib meat
comprising the steps of cooking ribs in an aqueous medium and
at a temperature of at least about 170 F, the ribs having a
layer of rib meat surrounding a plurality of elongated rib
bones, the layer terminating adjacent to ends of the rib
bones, and applying longitudinal orce to the rib bones after
the cooking step, whereby the bones are separated from the
layer of rib meat which remains substantially intact. The
controlled cooking step together with the application of
longitudinal force to the rib bones results in removal of the
rib bones without substantially ripping or tearing the rib
meat. In a particularly preferred mode of practicing the
invention, the ribs are cooked at a temperature of about 198
to 200 F for about four hours prior to the bone-separating
or removing step. In another preferred aspect, the process
is applied to beef or pork back ribs.
Further preferred processing steps include placing the
resulting bone-free portion of rib meat into a plastic bag
suitable for cooking, adding flavoring, such as barhecue
sauce, into the bag, and then removing the e~cess air from
and sealing the bag. Another preferred processing step
comprises heating the thus sealed package of rib meat,
preferably in an aqueous medium, and most preferably at a
temperature of about 160 to 165 F for about three hours.
The resulting product is then chilled, labelled and shipped
as the market demands.
One object of the invention is to provide a process for
producing a bone-free portion of cooked rib meat.
Another object of the invention is to provide a process
for producing a bone-free portion of rib meat which involves
cooking the rib meat and bone together thereby enhancing the
flavor of the final meat product, and removing the rib bones
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from the rib meat to form a bone-free product having a
substantially intact layer of rib meat.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bone-free
portion of rib meat substantially intact but having the rib
bones removed.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will he
apparent upon reading the description that follows.
~3~
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the
principles of the invention, reference will now be made to
preferred embodiments of applicant's invention and specific
S language will be used to describe the same. It will
nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of
the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and
further modifications of the principles of the invention as
described herein being contemplated as would normally occur
10 to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.
As stated above, one preferred embodiment of the
invention relates to a process for producing a bone-free
portion of rib meat comprising the steps of cooking ribs in
an aqueous medium and at a temperature of at least about 170
lS F, the ribs having a layer of rib meat surrounding a
plurality of elongated rib bones, the layer terminating
adjacent to ends of the rib bones, and applying longitudinal
force to the rib bones, whereby the rib bones are separated
from the layer of rib meat which remains substantially intact.
The ribs used in this invention are preferrably pork or
beef back or spare ribs, and more preferrably pork or beef
back ribs. When pork back ribs are used, it is preferred
that they be from sows weighing approximately 440-460
pounds. Prior to removal of the rib bones, a slab of back
ribs from such a sow with 10 or more rib bones weighs about
two and one-half to three pounds. In general, these ribs
from such a sow are larger than, tougher than, and less
expensive than smaller back ribs derived from younger
butcher-type hogs weighing about 220-260 pounds. In any
3Q case, the ribs used in the invention appear as generally
known in the art and have rib meat surrounding a plurality of
elongate rib bones (commonly about five inches long), with
the rib meat terminating adjacent the ends of the rib bones.
Typically, the slab of ribs preferably used in the invention
`` 2 ~ 3 3 ~ 3 ~
will include at least 3 rib bones, more preferably at least 7
rib bones, and most preferably 10 or more rib bones.
The cooking step is performed at a temperature of at
least about 170 F and in an aqueous rnedium. In this regard,
5 cooking the ribs in an aqueous medium as used herein is meant
to include cooking the ribs either submersed in an aqueous
liquid medium or in an aqueous steam medium. Preferably,
however, the cooking step is performed in a water-filled
stainless steel, open-top tank or cooking vat as is commonly
10 used in the field, although any other cooking apparatus
meeting the demands of the cooking step is acceptable. The
vat is preferrably equipped with a drain, running water, and
a pneumatically operated temperature control. In addition,
the applicant's preferred vat is filled with water which is
15 heated by direct, live steam.
As to further preferred aspects, the ribs have preferably
been placed in a stainless steel wire basket which is open on
top to enable loading and unloading of the ribs by hand. The
basket containing the ribs is then submersed in the
20 water-filled vat, and thereafter the steam is turned on and
the water heated until it reaches the cooking step
temperature. In this regard, more preferred cooking step
temperatures are between about 190 to 212 F, and most
preferred have been temperatures of about 198 to 200 F.
25 The duration of the cooking step will vary, of course, in
accordance with the temperature of the cooking step ~i.e.
longer cooking step durations are required at lower cooking
temperatures), but in any event the cooking step is for a
duration sufficient so that the rib bones are separable from
3~ the rib meat as described herein without substantially
tearing or ripping the rib meat. In the applicant's most
preferred temperature range of 198 to 200O F, cooking times
of approximately four hours have been preferred.
~fter the cooking step, the basket of ribs is removed
35 from the vat, and longitudinal force is thereafter applied to
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the rib bones whereby they slide out the openings of the rib
meat adjacent the ends of the bones, thereby leaving a layer
of rib meat substantially intact. In the applicant's work,
this longitudinal force has been applied by hand. To do
5 this, after the cooking step, the slab of bone-containing
ribs has been placed in front a person with the backbone side
of the ribs preferably being the farthest away from the
individual, and the ends of the rib bones curving upwardly
thereby appearing from the side as a "U" shape. An index
finger has then been placed on e~ch end of a rib bone
whereafter the rib bone is pushed with steady pressure toward
the backbone side. The bone then slides out the opening of
the rib meat on the backbone side without substantial ripping
or tearing of the layer of meat formerly surrounding the
bone. This process has been repeated until all of the bones
rom the slab of ribs are removed. While it is preferred
that the bones be slipped out the backbone side of the ribs,
it is also acceptable in accordance with the invention to
push the bones out of the brisket side of the ribs. This
latter mode is not as preferred, however, as it may in some
instances lead to slightly more damage to the meat product
since the backbone sides of the rib bones are often slightly
larger and must exit slightly smaller openings of the ribs on
the brisket side.
Further, it is contemplated that other methods of
applying longitudinal force to the rib bones in a manner
which causes them to slip out of the end of the meat layer
without substantially damaging it are possible and are within
the scope of the invention. For instance, this may be done
mechanically and/or with instruments which facilitate the
pushing and removal of the bones. Additionally, the step of
removing the bone is preferrably done while the ribs are warm
(i.e. about ~0 F or above and preferably at least about lO0
F), and most preferably while still warm from the cooking
step.
7 ~ ~
In another preferred aspect of the invention, the ribs
have been ~massaged~ in an aqueous salt solution [preferably
about a 1 weight ~ NaCl solution) prior to the cooking step
using a massaging machine with agitating paddles as known in
5 the art. Further preferred processing steps have been
performed subsequent to the cooking step and and the
bone-removal or separation step. For example, it has been
preferred to place the bone-free layer of rib meat into a
plastic bag suitable for cooking as known in this field (for
instance, a CRYOVAC bag), and to also place flavoring, for
instance barbecue sauce, into the bag. The bag containing
the rib meat and flavoring has then been placed in a heat
seallng vacuum chamber machine as known and used in this
field (such as that available from Multivac), which removes
e~cess air from and seals the bag in one process. After the
bag is sealed, the sealed package of rib meat has preferably
been heated in an aqueous medium. In applicant's preferred
work to date, the sealed package is placed in the wire basket
and lowered into the cooking vat for this subsequent heating
step. This subsequent heating step is preferrably performed
at a temperature of at least about 100 F and for a time of
at least about fifteen minutes, more preferrably at a
temperature of about 15Q to 180 for at least an hour, and
most preferably has been performed at a temperature of about
160 to 165 for a duration of about three hours. After this
subsequent heating step has been completed, the ribs are
preferably chilled, and appropriately labelled and shipped as
the market demands.
While certain aspects of the invention have been
described in detail in the foregoing description, the same is
to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in
character, it being understood that only the preferred
embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes
and modifications that come within the spirit of the
invention ale desired to be protected.