A system and a process for preparing a shaped-meat product are disclosed. The system includes an oven, a rack insertable into the oven, and apertured tubes onto which strips of meat are spirally wound. The tubes are arranged horizontally in the oven. The strips of meat are cooked and dehydrated using heated air for 3 to 4½ hours at a temperature ranging about 135 to 170° F.

A method for preparing meat jerky comprises (a) cooking the meat in an aqueous salt solution; (b) shredding a meat into shredded meat; (c) marinating the shredded meat with an aqueous solution of acid and salt; (d) shredding the shredded meat a second time to form a twice shredded meat; and (e) drying the twice shredded meat. A meat jerky that is at least one of crisp, crunchy, or friable is also disclosed, and can be prepared by the method.

A method of producing a hybrid foodstuff is provided. The method comprises combining a plant-originated substance with an amount of cultured animal cells so as to enhance a meat organoleptic and/or meat nutritional property in the hybrid foodstuff, wherein the animal cells do not form a tissue, and wherein the amount is below 30% (w/w) of the hybrid foodstuff.

The present invention relates to the creation of meat-analogs, including bacon or jerky. The present invention further can relate to the use of hydrocolloid gels or films as structural components of meat analog food products. Hydrocolloid gels or films are used in order to improve the similarity of meat analog food products to whole muscle cuts of meat and seafood, including animal sourced bacon.

The proposed invention includes an extruder apparatus (1) for a minced meat product with a distribution chamber (10) provided with an inlet opening (11) and with multiple outlet openings (12) of identical section, each one in communication with an extruder head (50) through a distribution duct (40) to produce the extrusion on a conveyor surface (2) movable through an air treatment unit (60), wherein each extruder head is connected to one of the distribution ducts and comprises a cutting device including a plunger inserted in the extruder head movable from an extruding position, in which the plunger does not interfere with the connection with the distribution duct, to a cutting position in which the plunger completely blocks said connection and in which the plunger reaches or goes beyond an extruding opening of the duct to eject all of the extruded meat product from the interior of the duct.

Methods and devices heat or cool viscous materials, such as meat emulsions useful for producing food and other products. The devices have a heat exchanger including a first plate, a second plate attached to the first plate, and a first spacer and a second spacer arranged between the first plate and the second plate. The first plate, the second plate, the first spacer, and the second spacer define at least one temperature controlled passage for a product to pass through the heat exchanger.

A bacon analogue or a reconstructed bacon product having a first component with about 42% lean meat, such as a lean pork muscle and about 58% fat and a second component with at least about 85% lean meat, such as a lean pork muscle is provided. The bacon analogue may have a ratio of first to second components of between about 35:65 to about 65:35 and a total fat percentage of about 28% to about 48%. In another configuration, the ratio of first to second components is about 25:75 to about 75:25. In one approach, the bacon analogue is free from alginate binders and free of emulsified meat. In one configuration, the first and the second components are ground to a size of about 0.125-inch to 0.5-inch. After the first and second components are separately mixed and cured, the components are pumped together into a marbled slab having an appearance similar to a pork-belly, which may then be sliced.

A meat analogue may include a macrostructure of connected sheared fibers oriented parallel to one another and gaps positioned between the sheared fibers. The macrostructure may include meat and may include a vegetable protein. An extrusion system may include an extruder and a die. The extrusion system may produce a meat analogue. A meat analogue may include an animal protein. The extruder may be connectable to the die. The extrusion system may be configured to direct a material including an animal protein from the extruder to the die and through a fluid path extending through the die. The die may be configured to inject a fat or a fat analogue into the material such that the fat or the fat analogue is embedded but visually distinct from the material including the animal protein when the fat or the fat analogue and the material exit the die.

A cooked slice of a meat mass formed of a ground meat mixture and expanded pellets of cellular material provides a crispy, light meat snack product. In some embodiments, the pellets are rendered skin having a low pre-expansion moisture content. A method of making the meat snack product includes making a meat form by adding pellets of cellular material having a moisture content of less than 10% by weight to a ground meat mixture, batch cooking, chilling and slicing the meat form, and cooking the slices of the meat form to expand the pellets of cellular material to result in a crispy meat form slice.

The present invention relates to a process for the production of a meat analogue, comprising the steps of: a) introducing a meat batter comprising protein into a heating unit and heating the meat batter to a temperature above the melting point of the protein to produce a heat-treated product, wherein the heating unit optionally heats the meat batter by Ohmic heating, b) cooling the heat-treated product by moving through a cooling unit, so that the heat-treated product has a temperature below water boiling temperature at ambient pressure when exiting the cooling unit, and c) dividing the cooled heat-treated product into pieces and optionally d) tearing the pieces by passing the pieces through a roll nip (14) between a pair of counter-rotating cylindrical rolls (2, 4) having parallel axes of rotation (10, 12), a plurality of projections (16) being arranged on an outer surface of at least one of the rolls (2, 4).