A method of preparing frozen breaded poultry meat in which the poultry meat is compressed into a solid form, frozen, formed into portions, batter-breaded while frozen, and par-fried. The par-fried breaded poultry meat portions may then be cooked for consuming. The method enables the control of portion size independent of the shape, and provides a frozen breaded poultry meat portion that when cooked, has the appearance and the texture of whole muscle meat, independent of trimmings content.

The invention relates to the design of a food forming drum (2) which will be used for moulding food in shaped products. The application field wherein the drum will operate is the field of human consumption and pet food and reaches from meat products (poultry, pork, beef, etc), meat replacement products, fish, dairy to potatoes and vegetables products. Particularly, the present invention relates to a food forming drum comprising an inner member (24) with an inner cylinder (16) and a multitude of ribs (17) extending in radial direction from the inner cylinder and with at least one porous member, made from a porous material with interconnecting pores, connected to the ribs and wherein a multitude of rows with product cavities, each row comprising one or a multitude of product cavities, are provided in the porous member(s). The present invention further relates to a method to produce such drums.

The purpose of this invention is to take a given food product such as loose hamburger meat and form it into multiple patty shapes with the use of a compacter within a container and a cutter. The patties should be formed without the user having any direct contact with raw meat.

A cold forming process for forming a meat patty includes heating a ground meat product to a temperature T.sub.1, wherein T.sub.140 F. The ground meat product is formed into an uncooked patty at temperature T.sub.1. The uncooked patty is precooked to form a precooked patty having a skin of depth D comprising denatured protein. The skin is formed on at least an area on the outside of the precooked patty. At least a first portion of the meat product disposed beneath said skin is at approximately T.sub.1. The precooked patty is cooked to form a cooked patty, wherein said at least a first portion of the meat product is at a temperature T.sub.2. The cooked patty is then frozen and then packaged.

A cold forming process for forming a meat patty includes heating a ground meat product to a temperature T.sub.1, wherein T.sub.140 F. The ground meat product is formed into an uncooked patty at temperature T.sub.1. The uncooked patty is precooked to form a precooked patty having a skin of depth D comprising denatured protein. The skin is formed on at least an area on the outside of the precooked patty. At least a first portion of the meat product disposed beneath said skin is at approximately T.sub.1. The precooked patty is cooked to form a cooked patty, wherein said at least a first portion of the meat product is at a temperature T.sub.2. The cooked patty is then frozen and then packaged.

A method for cleaning and/or evaluating a food products mould drum and a combination of such a food products mould drum and a mould drum cleaning and/or evaluating device are disclosed. The mould drum cleaning and/or evaluating device includes one or more pressure housings arranged against the outside of and over one or more mould cavities and form, together with the mould drum, an outside chamber. The outside chamber includes a chamber port connectable to a pressure line of a fluid circuit, and the mould drum includes a passage port connectable to a return line of the fluid circuit. Cleaning/evaluating occurs by allowing a pressurized fluid stream to enter via the chamber port into mould cavities and then via a wall part porous structure through a passage, and exit via the passage port to the return line of the fluid circuit.

Food product having a meat-based layer, an impermeable covering layer disposed on the whole surface of a meat-based layer with a first side, a second side and one or more connection edges defined between the first and second sides, a layer of batter that covers only the first side and at least part of connection edges of the meat-based layer, a breaded layer distributed on at least part of the layer of batter, and, in case, a garnish distributed on at least part of the surface of the meat-based layer covered with the impermeable covering layer and left uncovered by the layer of batter and the breaded layer. The invention concerns also the apparatus to make said food product and the corresponding method.

A rotary molding system for molding food products, mold cavities formed when a mold shell rotates mold shapes disposed along the mold shell into a fill position between a fill plate and a wear plate. Molded food products are removed from mold cavities using knock-out cups, the use of air pressure, or the use of a vacuum source disposed below the mold cavity, without the need to slow the rotation of the mold shell. Knock-out cups may be used with a heating system to reduce accumulation of unwanted materials on the knock-out cups. The rotary molding system can also be used to form products with contoured surfaces. A smart tagging system can be used to ensure that compatible sets of mold shells and knock out cups are being used. A vacuum region may be disposed upstream of the fill position to remove air within the mold cavity prior to filling.

The present invention relates to a method and a filling machine for portioning pasty masses for the purpose of food production, wherein a pasty mass is fed by the filling machine into the filling flow divider, where it is separated into a plurality of mass flows and discharged in portions in the discharge direction. At the end of each portion the mass flow is sucked back in a direction opposite to the discharge direction.

In an embodiment, an apparatus for processing meat product and a method of using same is provided. A first station includes a scanner which scans features of a meat product. A second station side straps the meat product in accordance with information received from the scan of the features. The second station includes a support, and spaced-apart knifes disposed on opposite sides of the support. Each knife has an axis of rotation that is normal to the longitudinal axis of the support. A position of each knife relative to the support in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis can be varied. A controller is programmed to control movement of each knife in accordance with the information received from the scanner.