An apparatus for coating a food product with a batter, includes a frame having a conveyor belt mounted on a rotatably driveable belt support member. The coating apparatus has a batter pump for pumping batter from a batter container towards an upper applicator positioned over the conveyor belt to form a stream of batter flow from the applicator to the conveyor belt to provide batter to an upper surface of the food product. The front roller is positioned at the food product entry section to provide a layer of batter on the conveyor belt at the entry section by a thrust on the batter towards the entry section by the front roller and/or the conveyor belt. The coating apparatus comprises a batter overflow device positioned at the entry section and is mounted between the transport run and the return run of the conveyor belt.

The invention relates to an automated station for salting meat pieces in a predetermined manner, enabling a method for salting poultry meat pieces to be automated, thus increasing productivity and thereby improving safety conditions. The station comprises motorised supply means for supplying meat pieces (P) in a forward direction, handling means for handling meat pieces in order to handle the meat piece coming from the supply means, salt supply means configured to provide salt on an inner and outer area of the meat piece (P), as well as a retrieval system for retrieving salt coming from the salt supply means.

Batter is applied to food products by depositing the products atop a coating pan which vibrates such that the products are transported along the pan. As this occurs, batter is supplied atop the coating pan and the products. The coating pan is preferably configured such that the products tumble across the pan, thereby better ensuring that the products are coated on all sides with batter. The products are then received on a vibrating drainage pan having a perforated drainage pan surface, whereby excess batter drains from the batter-coated products through the perforations as the products are transported across the drainage pan. Batter-coated products leaving the drainage pan can then be received by a fryer, oven, conveyor, or other food processing equipment.

Disclosed is a deep fry coating mix with which it is possible to produce deep-fried food whose coating has a good and crispy texture and maintains the good texture even after a certain period of time has elapsed after production. The deep fry coating mix contains 30 to 70% by mass of starch with a degree of swelling of 10 or less, and 30 to 70% by mass of a water-soluble dietary fiber. It is preferable that the water-soluble dietary fiber is one or more selected from the group consisting of inulin, indigestible dextrin, and β glucan. The deep fry coating mix is particularly useful as a coating powder or for preparing a batter liquid.

A potato starch can be used as a thickening material without premixing with water, and is suitable as a batter material for deep-fried foods. The potato starch may have an angle of difference in a range of from 8 to 35 degrees. A potato starch composition containing the potato starch in an amount of 50% by mass or more may have an angle of difference in a range of from 8 to 35 degrees.

A marinator apparatus for the preparation of pieces of a whole chicken includes a fluid-tight hollow drum with opposing top and bottom walls that are substantially planar and that include an opening with a lid configured to sealingly close the opening. The drum further includes an interior baffle fixed inside that separates the drum into a top compartment accessible only through the top opening and an opposite bottom compartment accessible only through the bottom opening. The drum is supported for rotation by a support axle projecting from one end wall and a drive axle projecting from the opposite end wall. The drive axle includes a driven gear configure to be driven by a powered drive gear.

An apparatus for coating a food product with a batter, comprises a frame having a conveyor belt mounted on a rotatably driveable belt support member. The coating apparatus comprises a batter pump for pumping batter from a batter container towards an upper applicator positioned over the conveyor belt to form a stream of batter flow from the applicator means to the conveyor belt to provide batter to an upper surface of the food product. The front roller is positioned at the food product entry section to provide a layer of batter on the conveyor belt at the entry section by a thrust on the batter towards the entry section by the front roller and/or the conveyor belt. The coating apparatus comprises a batter overflow device positioned at the entry section and is mounted between the transport run and the return run of the conveyor belt.

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.

A method of producing a hot dog-like product that is flat and textured on both the exterior and cut face surface area of the product following slicing or cutting. This unique method of manufacturing a hot dog allows for a textured exterior made by producing the raw product in a flexible, permeable, casing that is covered with netting or other material to produce a texture on the exterior surface of the product. This is then stripped off using another process of coating the casing with an easy peel spray that allows the casing to be removed leaving a smooth hot dog like exterior surface. When the log is cut, we utilize a second unique process of cutting it with a textured blade to produce a textured surface area on either the top and/or bottom or both top and bottom of the product.

A method for cooking fowl and/or other unitary food articles utilizing multiple immersions into hot cooking fluid includes cooking central portions of fowl, or other unitary food articles, for longer durations than one or both end portions of the fowl or unitary food articles by cooking central portions twice and cooking one or both end portions only once.