CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of ETnited States Provisional Patent

Application Number 62/681,455 filed on June 6, 2018.

FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of frozen foods, and more specifically, to the preparation of such frozen products.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Many different types of processors have been developed for automatically and rapidly forming individual servings of ground meat products which are later frozen, packaged and marketed for eventual use as, for example, hamburger steaks or sandwich patties, Salisbury steaks, buttered steaks, etc. In the production of virtually all of this type of convenience food, the product is cut and formed while it is at a room temperature and, ultimately, frozen and packaged. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,176 describes an automatic patty press that molds meat at room temperature into non-compacted patties that are later frozen and packaged. Other types of patty- forming apparatuses overcome the dangers inherent in permitting ground or chopped meat to be processed at room temperatures and therefore utilize refrigerated die members to simultaneously form and freeze the room temperature meat. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,507 describes equipment that presses meat between refrigerated die members to form a loaf having a uniform cross-section that is frozen to a depth of approximately one-eighth of an inch for facilitating subsequent slicing, freezing and packaging. Still another type, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,924, extrudes and spreads the ground meat product on a refrigerated endless belt which passes beneath rotary blades that score the frozen meat which may later be broken into rectangular serving portions.

[0004] While the above processes attempt to make use of frozen meat flexible, they are all limited by the loaf or patty size that has been produced. That is, all the above processes result in a loaf or patty (unit) of frozen meat, which can only be conveniently unthawed or used as a whole unit. Thus, where only a portion of the unit is needed, the entire unit of meat must be unthawed for use. This can lead to waste and spoilage of meat product. Additionally, packaging of the units together invariably results in the units freezing together, making use of individual units difficult or requiring individual or extra packaging for the units to keep them from freezing together.

SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of this disclosure relate to systems and processes of producing frozen meat product and to the frozen meat product. More specifically, embodiments are directed to processes for preparing frozen meat bodies comprising:

introducing meat into a delivery component;

extruding the meat through the delivery component so as to extrude the meat through a plurality of die orifices at the end of the delivery component;

cutting the meat as it passes through the die orifices to produce a plurality of meat bodies; and

passing the meat pellets through a cryogenic chamber to thus freeze the meat bodies at subzero temperatures to produce frozen meat bodies. [0006] In the embodiments, the frozen meat bodies can be frozen meat pellets and can be frozen in the cryogenic chamber at a temperature below about -100° F, or of -260° F or lower, so that the frozen meat pellets are free-flowing and remain free-flowing when maintained at a temperature of 20° F or lower. The frozen meat pellets can be small rounded masses having a diameter from about 5 mm to about 40 mm, or the frozen meat pellets can be meat ribbons having a length from about 20 mm to about 100 mm and a diameter from about 5 mm to about 40 mm. In alternative embodiments, the process produces frozen meat bodies that are frozen meat patties having diameter of greater than 50 mm.

[0007] In the process, the delivery component can be a spiral conveyor enclosed in a housing. The delivery component can include a rotary cutter such that meat is extruded by the spiral conveyor through the housing and die then cut into the meat pellets by the rotary cutter. The rotary cutter can be located within the cryogenic chamber.

[0008] Systems in accordance with the embodiments comprise a delivery component and a cryogenic freezing chamber. The delivery component has a housing, a die and a rotary cutter. The meat is extruded through the housing so as to pass through the die such that a ground meat passes through the die, and the rotary cutter cuts the ground meat into a plurality of bodies.

[0009] The cryogenic freezing chamber is configured to receive the bodies and cryogenically freezing the bodies. The bodies are frozen to subzero temperatures as they fall through the cryogenic freezing chamber.

[0010] The delivery component can have a spiral conveyor enclosed in the housing such that the spiral conveyor extrudes the meat through the housing to pass through the die. The rotary cutter can be located within the cryogenic freezing chamber. [0011] Further, the die and meat cutter can be configured so that the bodies are in the form of pellets having a diameter from 5 mm to 40 mm, or the die and meat cutter can be configured so that the bodies are in the form of patties having a diameter of greater than 50 mm.

[0012] In embodiments, the meat product comprises a free-flowing frozen meat pellet of ground meat, which has been pelletized to a diameter of less than 40 mm and frozen at temperatures of less than -100° F or to -260° F or lower. In the embodiments, the free-flowing frozen meat pellets can consist essentially of ground meat, which has been pelletized to a diameter of less than 40 mm and frozen at temperatures of less than -100° F or to -260° F or lower. The free-flowing frozen meat pellets remain free-flowing when maintained at a temperature below of 20° F or lower.

[0013] Further, the free-flowing frozen meat pellets are small rounded masses having a diameter from about 5 mm to about 40 mm, or the free-flowing frozen meat pellets are meat ribbons having a length from about 20 mm to about 100 mm and a diameter from about 5 mm to about 40 mm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The foregoing summary as well as the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be better understood when reviewed in conjunction with the appended drawing(s). It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. Further, the components in the drawing(s) are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead is placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. In the drawings: [0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation illustration of one embodiment of a device for forming frozen meat product.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of die useful in forming the frozen meat product.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of another die useful in forming the frozen meat product.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional illustration of an exit conveyor using a conveyor belt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The present disclosure may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description and figures. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures and components have not been shown or described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described.

[0020] Cryogenic freezing has been applied to liquid products, such as ice cream mixes.

For example, ET.S. Pat. No. 5,126,156, issued Jun. 30, 1992, describes a method involving delivering flavored liquid dairy composition to a feed tray and then dripping the composition into a freezing chamber. The feed tray comprises a sieve plate having orifices formed therein. The liquid dairy composition passes through the sieve plate and forms droplets that fall into the freezing chamber. The falling droplets of liquid composition freeze rapidly in the freezing chamber, forming solid beads of flavored ice cream or yogurt product. The frozen beads are removed from the freezing chamber and packed for distribution and later consumption. Accordingly, such cryogenic processes have been suitable for freezing low viscosity liquids (typically less than about 150 Cp at the introductory temperature to the feed tray).

[0021] This disclosure is directed at applying cryogenic processes to the preparation of frozen meat products out of a fresh meat. The meats referred to herein can be meats used for human consumption or animal consumption, such as beef, pork, lamb, horse, chicken, turkey, and similar mixtures thereof. Typically, the fresh meat will be ground into and extrudable form. Ground meat will generally have a very high viscosity. The exact viscosity can depend on the fat content. For example, ground beef fats have a viscosity of greater than about 10,000 Cp at 60°F. Ground meat, not in slurries, typically has a viscosity higher than beef fat. Thus, ground meat has a viscosity of at least 10,000 Cp at 60° F, and more typically, of at least about 15,000 Cp at 60° F or at least about 20,000 Cp at 60° F. In some applications, the meat can be diced into small pellets and then introduced into the cryogenic freezer. However, in most applications, the fresh meat introduced into the cryogenic freezer is ground so that as the ground meat is extruded out of the die orifice, the meat is cut into pellets that are flash frozen in a cryogenic freezer.

[0022] The resultant frozen meat products are frozen bodies of meat. Typically, the frozen bodies are in the form of small pellets, which can be small rounded masses or ribbons of meat. However, in some embodiments, the frozen bodies are patties of meat as further described below.

[0023] Generally, if the pellet of frozen meat is a small rounded mass, it will have a roughly spherical shape with a diameter from about 5 mm to about 40 mm, more typically from about 10 mm to about 30 mm, and often from about 15 mm to about 20 mm. Typically, the pellets will have some variation in size, thus if the pellets are to be 20 mm in size they might range from 15 mm to 25 mm but could range from 17 mm to 23 mm, 18 mm to 22 mm, or 19 mm to 21 mm.

[0024] Generally, if the pellet is a frozen meat ribbon, it will have a roughly cylindrical shape. With the restriction that the length is longer than the diameter, the ribbons can have a diameter from about 5 mm to about 40 mm and a length from about 20 mm to about 100 mm. More typically, the diameter can be from about 10 mm to about 30 mm and the length from about 30 mm to about 70 mm. Often, the diameter can be from about 15 mm to about 20 mm and the length from about 40 mm to about 60 mm.

[0025] The frozen meat products are in a form that are free-flowing, that do not clump or stick together and can easily be separated as long as they are maintained at temperatures of 20° F or lower. Further, free-flowing characteristics of the frozen meat products mean that, when they are in a pellet form, the pellets can move in a continuous stream when poured from a container without clumping together or agglomeration of the pellets into larger particles. Thus, the frozen meat products remain as individual bodies during production, shipping, storage and use— as long as they are kept at the appropriate temperature described herein— and no large ice crystals are formed during production, shipping or storage. While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is presently believed that the free-flowing characteristic is at least partially contributed to by the beads having a dry outer surface.

[0026] Accordingly, the frozen meat product can be stored in conventional freezers and remain free-flowing for easy portioning and dispersing. The frozen meat product is highly useful for preparing exact amounts of product with less waste than traditional frozen meat patties or loafs. Additionally, the resultant frozen meat products are easily transported and reduce spoilage. [0027] Referring now to FIG. 1, a system 10 for pelletizing and freezing fresh meat is illustrated. System 10 is suitable for the production of a free-flowing frozen meat product in the form of small pellets. System 10 includes a cryogenic freezing chamber 12 that is most preferably in the form of a conical vessel or tank 11, which defines chamber 12. Chamber 12 holds a liquid refrigerant therein. Tank 11 incorporates an inner shell 14 and an outer shell 16. Insulation 18 is disposed between the inner shell 14 and outer shell 16 in order to increase the thermal efficiency of chamber 12.

[0028] Refrigerant is introduced into freezing chamber 12 through a conduit 20. The refrigerant is generally liquid nitrogen in view of its known freezing capabilities. The refrigerant is used to maintain a predetermined level of liquid refrigerant in the freezing chamber and must be added to replace refrigerant that is lost by evaporation or by other means incidental to production. Gaseous refrigerant that has evaporated from the surface of the liquid refrigerant in freezing chamber 12 primarily vents to the atmosphere through exit port 22, which can cooperate with the vacuum assembly 24, which can be in the form of a venturi nozzle. An ambient air inlet port 26 can be provided to allow the introduction of air at ambient temperature to chamber 12. Both inlet port 26 and exit port 22 can include doors to adjust the flow of ambient air into chamber 12. Additionally, flow out of chamber 12 can be changed by adjusting the vacuum applied by vacuum assembly 24. Thus, the level of gaseous refrigerant (which evaporates from the surface of the liquid refrigerant and that builds up in the top of chamber 12) can be controlled so that excessive pressure is not built up within the processor 10. Excessive buildup of gaseous refrigerant can result in freezing of the fresh meat prior to introduction into cryogenic freezing chamber 12 thus impeding pelletization. [0029] The chamber 12 is chilled by the direct addition of refrigerant from a refrigerant source (not shown) through conduit 20 such that chamber 12 is at a subzero temperature and the meat pellets rapidly freeze as they fall through chamber 12. Generally, the subzero temperature will be -100° F or less, and more typically -200° F or less, -250° F or less, or -300° F or less. A number of different refrigerants can be utilized although liquid nitrogen is preferred. Liquid nitrogen is readily available, relatively inexpensive and relatively inert to food products. It is also sufficiently cold to provide for relatively rapid freezing of the product. As such, it is particularly adapted for utilization in the processing of free-flowing meat pellets in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0030] The meat pellets can be frozen within chamber 12 similar to the process explained in US 5,126,156, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. For example, when liquid nitrogen is utilized as the refrigerant, the temperature within the chamber 12 at and/or near the bottom is between approximately -300° to -320° F. This provides the necessary reservoir of refrigerant in the bottom of chamber 12 to quick-freeze the pellets. As the pellets of meat fall downwardly in the freezing chamber, they contact cold nitrogen gas rapidly vaporizing from the pool of liquid nitrogen at the bottom of chamber 12. As a result of the temperature being -100° F or below (generally within the range of -260° to -320° F for liquid N ₂ ), rapid freezing of the droplets of composition occurs. The frozen meat pellets that are produced contain only relatively small ice crystals. The ultra-low temperature of the refrigerant limits the formation of ice crystals in the meat pellets as they are frozen. Advantageously, by reducing the overall size of the ice crystals being formed, the resulting frozen pellets retain a better, overall flavor when used in cooking. [0031] Extraction of the frozen pellets occurs through product outlet 28 defined at the base tank 11, defining freezing chamber 12. As shown in FIG. 1, system 10 can include an auger delivery system 48 to carry frozen meat pellets from the bottom of freezing chamber 12 upward to a chute 50, where the frozen meat pellets are output for packaging. Typically, the mouth of the chute is vertically above the surface level of the liquid nitrogen. Therefore, liquid nitrogen is separated from the pelletized frozen meat product in the auger delivery system. Any trace amounts of liquid nitrogen that may be on the outer surface of the meat product evaporates therefrom before being expelled from the chute. In this regard, liquid nitrogen has a very rapid evaporation rate. Generally, auger delivery system 48 has a conveyor 52 comprised of spirals pitched of about 1 :1 where the distance between flighting is equal to the diameter of the spiral.

[0032] When incoming refrigerant enters the freezing chamber 12 through conduit 20, a swirling or cyclonic motion of refrigerant may form in the freezing chamber 12 depending on the amount of refrigerant allowed to enter and the flow velocity of the incoming refrigerant. This cyclonic motion is not favorable to the production process because the frozen pellets awaiting extraction at the bottom of freezing chamber 12 may be swept into the swirling refrigerant and thus prevented from falling to the bottom of the freezing chamber for collection. This unwanted cyclonic motion of the incoming refrigerant can be prevented by baffles (not shown) mounted to interior surface of inner shell 14. The baffles can extend inwardly from interior surface in the vicinity of the refrigerant inlet. Additionally, the baffles can be oriented so that their lengths are substantially vertical within the freezing chamber 12.

[0033] System 10 further comprises vertical delivery system 30. Delivery system 30 is fixed to the top of vessel 11 forming conical shaped chamber 12. Vertical delivery system 30 includes a fill hopper 32 and a vertical stainless steel housing 34, such as a stainless steel pipe. Fill hopper 32 receives fresh meat.

[0034] The meat introduced into hopper 32 is taken into vertical stainless steel housing

34 defining a chamber 38. A spiral conveyor 36 is located inside chamber 38. The tolerance between the conveyor flighting and the inner wall surface 40 of vertical housing 34 is typically from 4 mm to 15 mm. The conveyor spiral distances can be pitched at a ratio of about 0.25: 1 to about 1 : 1 to the inside diameter of the chamber, more typically the ratio will be about 0.5:1. Generally, the vertical delivery system is from about 300 mm to about 800 mm in length and is attached in vertical position to tank 11 defining cryogenic freezing chamber 12. Tank 11, which comprises the above-described insulated conical structure, has an opening at the top that is matched dimensionally to the meat processing assembly such that a die 41 having one or more die orifices 42 at the lower end of housing 34 feed into chamber 12.

[0035] Housing 34 has a die 41 at its lower end, which has one or more orifices 42.

Typically, for production of meat pellets, these orifices can be from about 5 mm to about 40 mm in diameter, more typically from about 10 mm to about 30 mm in diameter, and often from about 15 mm to about 20 mm in diameter. However, for certain operations, the orifices can be larger, such as for production of meat patties as described below.

[0036] A rotary cutter 44 is attached to vertical stainless steel housing 34, typically below the outside (lower) end of the orifice die. Thus, rotary cutter 44 can be located within chamber 12, as illustrated. Spiral conveyor 36 is rotated by motor 46, which extrudes ground meat out through die orifices 42 of die 41 (FIGS. 2 and 3). Motor 46 also rotates the rotary cutter 44, such as by axle 47. Rotary cutter 44, which can be a cutting wire or blade, is configured to cut pellets of product, which subsequently fall into the liquid nitrogen bath contained within chamber 12. As will be appreciated, whether the pellet is in the form of a small rounded mass or a roughly cylindrical ribbon can be determined by the rotation speed of the rotary cutter with faster speeds resulting in smaller rounded masses and slower speeds resulting in longer roughly cylindrical ribbons. Additionally, if there is more than one cutting wire or blade used in the rotary cutter, the number of blades can affect the final shape.

[0037] Spiral conveyor 36 and die 41 can be configured to serve as the meat grinder.

Thus, fresh chunks of meat can be placed into hopper 32. The meat chunks are forced down by spiral conveyor 36 by mechanical action and forced through die 41. This combination of spiral conveyor 36 and die 41 grinds the meat into ground meat, and the combination of die 41 and cutter 44 pelletizes the ground meat into pellets of a predetermined size. However, it is within the scope of this disclosure for the meat which can be ground away from system 10 or even offsite. In such embodiments, the meat introduced into hopper 32 will be already ground meat. Thus, spiral conveyor 36 serves to move the already ground meat through die 41, and die 41 and cutter 44 serve to pelletize the already ground meat to the predetermined size.

[0038] As indicated above, the frozen meat pellets can be removed from tank 11 by an auger delivery system 48. The resulting meat pellets have been individually flashed frozen and thus have the characteristics of being a free-flowing material without clumping or sticking together. The frozen product will maintain these characteristics, even when packaged, as long as they are maintained at a temperature below 20° F. Accordingly, the product can be stored in conventional freezers at temperatures below 20° F and remain free-flowing for easy portioning and dispersing. The granular pellets are easily poured into containers for cooking or blending with other products, such as meals ready to cook. For the first time, frozen meat can be cooked by the amount required for a specific dish, no longer will all the frozen meat have to be thawed or cooked and used in the preparation of a meal.

[0039] In some embodiments, die orifices 42 are configured to produce meat patties. In such embodiments, the orifices’ sizes are greater than 40 mm. Typically, the orifices’ sizes can be from about 50 mm to about 150 mm, and more typically, from about 60 mm to about 100 mm. In such embodiments, the delivery system to move the patties from the bottom of tank 11 to bulk packaging will generally be an exit conveyor, such as exit conveyor 54 shown in FIG. 4. Exit conveyor 54 has a housing 56 with an inlet 58, which attaches to the bottom of cryogenic tank 11, and an outlet chute 60. Within housing 56 is a belt conveyor 62, which is configured to receive meat pellets (such as patties) and move them upwards towards chute 60 where they exit conveyor 54 and can be introduced to further conveyor systems, a packaging station or similar. The various components of conveyor 54 (such as belt conveyor 62) can be made of stainless steel.

[0040] As will be appreciated based on this disclosure, liquid nitrogen is separated from the pelletized frozen meat product within exit conveyor 54. Any trace amounts of liquid nitrogen that may be on the outer surface of the meat product evaporates therefrom before the meat product is expelled from the chute. The resultant frozen meat patties have been flash frozen individually; thus, the frozen patties will not stick together and can easily be separated from the package as long as maintained at temperature below 20° F.

[0041] While apparatuses and methods are described in terms of “comprising,”

“containing,” or“including” various components or steps, the apparatuses and methods also can “consist essentially of’ or“consist of’ the various components and steps. Whenever a numerical range with a lower limit and an upper limit is disclosed, any number and any included range falling within the range are specifically disclosed. In particular, every range of values (of the form,“from about a to about b,” or, equivalently,“from approximately a to b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a to b”) disclosed herein is to be understood to set forth every number and range encompassed within the broader range of values. Additionally, where the term“about” is used in relation to a range, it generally means plus or minus half the last significant figure of the range value, unless context indicates another definition of“about” applies.

[0042] Also, the terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee. Moreover, the indefinite articles“a” or“an”, as used in the claims, are defined herein to mean one or more than one of the element that it introduces. If there is any conflict in the usages of a word or term in this specification and one or more patent(s) or other documents that may be incorporated herein by reference, the definitions that are consistent with this specification should be adopted.