An apparatus and method for processing a poultry carcass includes a first assembly with parallel guide plates opposite a second assembly with parallel guide plates. The assemblies include a cutting element presenting an edge extending beyond a bottom edge of the guide plates. A bracket secures the cutting element to the guide plate allowing adjustment of the cutting edge. The carcass is advanced into engagement with the apparatus whereby the cutting edges cut the connective tissue between the leg and back. A bracket leading edge prevents tissue from being driven between the cutting element and guide plate. The cutting edge can extend further from the bottom edge of the guide plates at the heel than at the point. Manual processing of the carcass includes: cutting tissue between the leg and back; and separating the leg from the back wherein muscle tissue connecting the leg and the back remain intact.

A meat stripper is disclosed for stripping meat from the bone of an animal part. The meat stripper includes a slide block and a first stripper plate assembly including an arm pivotally mounted to the slide block and having a first stripper plate at an opposite end. A second stripper plate assembly including an arm is pivotally mounted to the slide block and has a second stripper plate at an opposite end with the second stripper plate opposing the first stripper plate. The first and second stripper plates move away from each other to open the meat stripper when the arms are pivoted apart and move toward each other to surround the bone when the arms are pivoted together. A mechanism is disclosed for moving the stripper plates along the length of the bone to strip meat from the bone. A mechanism also is disclosed for articulating at least one of the stripper plates after meat has been stripped from the bone in such a way that meat lodged in or on the stripper is dislodged and falls to a collection location below. In one example, the pivot plate pivots to dislodge the meat and is magnetically biased to a stripping position.

A method of preparing, butchering, cooking, carving and plating a turkey for sale to consumers in a pre-cooked fashion. Either a whole turkey or individual turkey components including turkey breast, turkey thigh meat, drumstick, and wings are selected. The parts are cooked separately to assure complete cooking of each piece. After cooking, and while still hot, the tendons are removed from the drumstick to ease of consumption. The three sections of each wing are separated. Prior to cooking bone and skin is removed from the thighs and the resultant boneless meat is in inserted into a tubular cook-in casing cooked and eventually sliced. The turkey breasts are separated from the bone, soaked in a brine, cooked, and sliced. The cooked turkey components are placed in an oven-safe container in a pleasing and convenient arrangement with the thigh in the middle, flanked by the white meat, drumstick and wing components.

A method is disclosed of mechanically deboning animal thighs for separating and collecting meat there from and an apparatus and an alternative apparatus for performing the method, including automated individual processing steps. The processing steps include: grasping a thigh bone of an animal thigh at a hip knuckle with a bone holder; cutting tissue near the hip knuckle; and engaging the thigh bone adjacent the bone holder with a meat stripper. The processing steps further include: moving the bone holder and meat stripper away from one another in a direction substantially coextensive with the longitudinal extend of the thigh bone; allowing the meat stripper to pass over the knee knuckle; and collecting the meat separated from the bone. In particular the method includes and each of the apparatuses perform the process step of cutting tissue adjacent a knee knuckle of the thigh bone, prior to allowing the meat stripper to pass over the knee knuckle. The apparatuses include a plurality of processing stations for carrying out the individual steps, and the processing stations are arranged along a path of conveyance defined by a conveyor chain moving through a predefined path.

The invention relates to a method for processing poultry or a part thereof in a processing line, including the step of detaching and/or collecting a cartilage of the poultry's keel bone, whereby during transport of the poultry's carcass in the processing line, a cut is made in the cartilage of the keel bone. The cut is made initially transverse to the transport direction of the poultry and towards the poultry's backbone. The cut develops from the transverse direction to eventually a direction opposed to the transport direction.

An apparatus is for detaching meat strips, which are located on a breastbone crest of a poultry carcass, from poultry carcasses of slaughtered poultry bodies or parts thereof which are already freed from breast fillets. The apparatus has a circulating conveyor having at least one holding apparatus with a support body for receiving and holding the poultry bodies/parts during transport in a transport direction, and at least one processing station along a conveying path of the conveyor. One processing station is a detaching unit for detaching the meat strips from the breastbone crest. The detaching unit has a pre-detaching element and a detaching element. The pre-detaching element is cuts into the meat strip in a region of a breastbone horn of the breastbone crest which leads in the transport direction and the detaching element grips and peels the meat strip off the breastbone crest. A corresponding method is provided.

A method is used in the production of principal products conveyed in plurality along a processing line, consisting of fish, poultry or other meat which contains, in addition to the principal products to be obtained, inedible components to be removed (removal components) and also contains edible by-products remaining on said removal components. The edible by-products remain on the removal components after removal. The method includes: loading a separating device with a batch of fish, poultry or other meat; separating the principal products of this batch from the removal components, comprising by-products, of said batch; separating the by-products from the removal components; producing a by-product brine from the by-products by comminuting the by-products and mixing with water and stabiliser; and injecting a defined quantity of the by-product brine into the principal products, wherein principal products and the by-products contained in the by-product brine come from the same batch.

A poultry processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes: a scraper part for separating a meat part around scapula bones of a poultry carcass held by a holder from the scapula bones; and an incision blade with a cutting edge for incising a skin between the scapula bones of the meat part that rides up on the scraper part. The cutting edge extends in a direction away from the holder as the cutting edge extends upstream in a traveling direction in which the scraper part travels toward the holder in separating the meat part from the scapula bones.

An apparatus and method for poultry deboning. The poultry deboning apparatus may include a holder device including a holder chuck configured to hold a poultry product. The holder chuck may include an opening configured to receive a first portion of the poultry product and one or more blades configured to engage the first portion of the poultry product. The poultry deboning apparatus may include a grabber device including a grabber chuck configured to grab a second portion of the poultry product. The grabber chuck may include an opening configured to receive the second portion of the poultry product and one or more blades configured to extend into the opening and engage the second portion of the poultry product. The grabber device may be configured to move away from the holder chuck to remove a bone in the second portion of the poultry product.

A slicing device includes cutter device, workpiece holding part, relative movement device, and slicing position operating part. The cutter device has slicing blade that is driven in a direction along a blade surface. The workpiece holding part holds workpiece. The relative movement device moves the workpiece holding part and the cutter device relative to one another in slicing direction in which meat of a workpiece is sliced. The slicing position operating part moves the slicing blade of the cutter device toward and away with respect to the workpiece, which moves relatively in the slicing direction, from a direction intersecting the slicing direction. A blade surface portion that cuts the workpiece along a driving direction of the slicing blade and a pressing portion that presses an outer surface of the workpiece are alternately disposed at a position of the slicing blade where the slicing blade comes into contact with the workpiece.