A warm forming process for forming a meat patty includes heating a ground meat product to a temperature T.sub.1, wherein T.sub.1>32? 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.

The present invention relates to a mold drum for molding products from a mass of food starting material. The mold drum comprises one or more cavities with a mold cavity wall having at least partially a porous structure, whereas each cavity is connected to a passage. The present invention further relates to a cleaning apparatus for the inventive mold drum with supporting means for supporting the axis of the drum. Additionally, the present invention relates to a process for cleaning the inventive drum.

A system 10 for analyzing and trimming irregularly shaped food products which are to be subsequently pressed into a three-dimensional shape (volume) and optionally thereafter sliced or otherwise portioned so as to achieve an optimum harvest, includes a conveyor 12 for carrying the workpieces (WP) to be trimmed past a scanning system 14 for scanning the workpiece (WP) to ascertain the physical characteristics of the workpiece (WP), including, for example, its three-dimensional shape, as well as its position on the conveyor 12, and then past a cutting station 26 for trimming the workpiece (WP) into a desired two-dimensional shape which represents an optimum shape for the workpiece for pressing the workpiece into a desired three-dimensional shape having at least one fixed or specified dimension or other physical specification. Thereafter, the workpiece can be transferred to a slicing station utilizing high speed cutters or slicers for portioning/slicing the workpiece.

A reconstructed bacon product includes meat sourced exclusively from pork bellies. The product includes a cohesive mass of compressed layers of pork belly fat trimmings and pork belly lean trimmings of whole muscle segments. A method of forming a reconstructed bacon product includes obtaining pork belly lean trimmings of whole muscle segments and pork belly fat trimmings, macerating the pork belly lean trimmings, layering the pork belly lean trimmings and pork belly fat trimmings, compressing the layers, heat processing the layers in a mold to form a cohesive mass, and demolding the cohesive mass.

The invention relates to a system for forming all variants of hamburger steaks (10), without being dedicated to a single variant, from a mass of meat (V) comprising a mold (12) including at least one cavity (140) for forming hamburger steak and a channel (3) for supplying the meat mass to the mold, and an element (20) for forming an interface between the supply channel and the mold. Said interface element includes: a pipe length (24, 25) having a first end (241) connected to an outlet of the supply channel and an opposite second end (201) connected to an inlet of the mold; a grinding plate (28, 48), and means (242, 251) for holding the grinding plate in a cross section of the pipe length, the holding means being discretely distributed along the pipe length.

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.

A warm forming process for forming a meat patty includes heating a ground meat product to a temperature T.sub.1, wherein T.sub.1>32? 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.

An apparatus for forming a meat patty includes heating a ground meat product to a temperature T1, wherein T1>32? F. The ground meat product is formed into an uncooked patty at temperature T1. 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 T1. 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 T2.

Provided herein is device and kit for molding a foodstuff, for example, a ground meat or a bread dough, to make a kabob. Generally, the separate component parts of the device are a container, a mold and a press which are removably engageable one with the other. Particularly, the container is fluidly connected to the mold via a bayonet connector. The press is configured to slide within the connector and to provide a support base for the connector and mold when assembled. The press has a removable cap and also is a storage container for the skewers used to make the kabobs. The kit for molding the foodstuff contains the device and skewers stored within the press.

A device for producing meat products includes an assembly formed from a plurality of walls maintainable in a fixed relationship to one another during a joining operation, surfaces of the plurality of walls defining work surfaces disposed to surround raw pieces of meat placed therein to be joined. A drive mechanism is configured to drive the assembly, which can form a cooking container such as a cooking box, along a first axis in a reciprocating movement of at least 10 mm along the first axis at frequency of at least 1 Hz and to drive the assembly along a second axis in a reciprocating movement of at least 10 mm along the second axis at frequency of at least 1 Hz, wherein the first axis and the second axis are angled with respect to each other, and the drive mechanism drives the assembly at different frequencies along the first and second axes.