A poultry skinner includes conveyors to engage the upper and lower surfaces of a poultry product. A rotatably mounted gripper engages the lower surface of the poultry. A pinch block with an arcuate surface is mounted in closely spaced relationship to the gripper fins for trapping the poultry product skin. The upper conveyor belt extends around laterally-oriented guides that mount in frame members at the sides of the food product path, and springs bias the belt outwardly to press the food product against the gripper and to take up slack in the belt by vertical movement of the ends of the guides. The gripper and the pinch block mount, with an adjusting mechanism, to end supports so the components may be removed as a unit and the position of the pinch block relative to the gripper may be adjusted.

A deskinning apparatus including a conveyor with shackles from which a poultry leg or part of a poultry leg is suspendable by the ankles. Rollers may be positioned below the conveyor to define a nip between the rollers, which may be movable to engage, grip and draw skin on the poultry leg or part of the poultry leg into the nip. The rollers may be arranged to stop rolling after gripping the skin to hold the skin in the nip and may be equipped to subsequently move away from the poultry leg so as to pull the skin loose from the poultry leg The rollers can be configured to enable rotation in one direction only so that after the rollers have stopped rolling to hold the skin in the nip between the rollers, the rollers are blocked from rotating in a counter direction.

A method for cutting extra-large poultry to fit within existing industrial fryers and remain as recognizable pieces to the consumer is provided. The method provides for the cuts necessary to create pieces of poultry from the extra-large poultry that are sized comparably to a normal sized bird. Furthermore, the method provides for keeping the cut pieces in a shape that the consumer recognizes as a particular piece of poultry.

A method for cutting extra-large poultry to fit within existing industrial fryers and remain as recognizable pieces to the consumer is provided. The method provides for the cuts necessary to create pieces of poultry from the extra-large poultry that are sized comparably to a normal sized bird. Furthermore, the method provides for keeping the cut pieces in a shape that the consumer recognizes as a particular piece of poultry.

The invention pertains to a method for processing a defeathered whole leg poultry product, wherein the method comprises the following steps: providing a leg product which comprises: a thigh, a drumstick, a knee joint, while the leg product is suspended from a carrier of a conveyor, making a transverse cut at the knee joint, which transverse cut is made from the rear side of the leg product towards the knee cap, said cut having a cut end which is located adjacent to the rear of the knee cap so that the thigh and the drumstick remain connected to each other and the knee cap remains intact, by which cut a drumstick side cut plane and a thigh side cut plane are created, while keeping the thigh meat and the drumstick connected to each other, removing the thigh bone from the thigh meat via the thigh side cut plane of the transverse cut, while keeping the thigh meat and the drumstick connected to each other, severing the knee meat from the knee cap while keeping the knee meat and the thigh meat connected to each other, and subsequently severing the still interconnected knee meat and thigh meat from the drumstick.

A system and a method for removing a thigh bone from a defeathered whole leg poultry product includes providing a leg product including a thigh, a drumstick and a knee joint. In the leg product, a transverse cut has been provided at the knee joint transverse to the thigh bone and the tibia bone, which extends from one side of the leg product to a cut end so that the thigh and the drumstick are connected to each other, by which transverse cut a drumstick side cut plane and a thigh side cut plane are created. While keeping the thigh and the drumstick connected to each other, changing the angle between the thigh and thereby exposing the thigh side cut plane, while keeping the thigh meat and the drumstick connected to each other, removing the thigh bone from the thigh meat via the thigh side cut plane.

An endless conveyor belt may include a belt body having a belt longitudinal axis and an exterior side. A plurality of protrusions project from the exterior side of the belt body and extend across a width of the belt body substantially transversely to the belt longitudinal axis. A plurality of corresponding valleys are defined between each of the plurality of protrusions and extend across the width of the belt body substantially transversely to the belt longitudinal axis. When a piece of poultry is positioned on the exterior side of the belt body, substantially only a skin portion of the piece of poultry is received within the valleys, and an underlying fat portion and a meat portion of the piece of poultry remains disposed substantially above a top surface of the plurality of protrusions.

A method of mechanically removing skin from animal parts that have a bone part extending therein, including moving the animal parts, suspended on shackles depending from an overhead conveyor, along a path of travel and cutting the part to separate the skin therefrom. The part moves into a skinning station in which the part is urged into engagement with skinning rolls. The skinning rolls are rotated and engage and draw the skin of the part therebetween. The skin is progressively pulled downwardly and away from underlying meat of the animal part as the part moves forwardly along its path of travel.

A method and a corresponding system for harvesting knee meat and thigh meat from a whole leg poultry product are disclosed. The method includes providing a leg product having a thigh, a drumstick, a knee and a transverse cut at the knee. The thigh and the drumstick are connected to each other and the knee cap is intact, creating a drumstick side cut plane and a thigh side cut plane, with the leg product suspended from a poultry product carrier, arranging it adjacent to a counter element, with the drumstick side cut plane facing the counter element, bringing a knee cap scraper in engagement with the leg product adjacent to the knee cap and the counter element with the leg product at the rear of the knee cap, moving the knee cap past the knee cap scraper while the counter element engages the leg product at the rear of the knee cap, therewith scraping knee meat from the knee cap while leaving the knee meat connected to the thigh, after the scraping step the knee meat and thigh meat being present on a first side of the knee cap scraper and the knee cap on a second side.

A skinning installation is adapted to remove skin from slaughtered poultry parts, e.g. from a part including the breast. A method for removing skin from slaughtered poultry parts, e.g. from the breast, uses the skinning installation. The installation includes a toothed skinning roller and an elongated shoe extending adjacent and essentially parallel to the toothed skinning roller. The shoe includes a central nose portion which is directed counter to the rotation direction of the skinning roller, having two side edges and a leading skin gripping edge, wherein the side of the nose portion facing the skinning roller comprises an arcuate surface having a curvature corresponding essentially to the curvature of the skinning roller, wherein a skin gripping gap is defined between the arcuate surface of the central nose portion and the skinning roller. The shoe further includes at least one bridging portion between the central nose portion and the end of the shoe that is fastened to the support frame, arranged downstream of the leading skin gripping edge when seen in the rotation direction of the skinning roller, wherein a bridge clearance is defined between the bridging portion and the skinning roller.