A trussing apparatus comprises a main portion coupled to opposing end portions. The main portion includes at least one receiving member and at least one support member. A curvature of the at least one receiving member permits various sizes, shapes, and cuts of meat to be disposed in the trussing apparatus. The at least one receiving member has at least one hook-like formation configured to cooperate with one or more restraining elements to secure at least one piece of meat in the trussing apparatus.

A method and apparatus for reducing pathogens in successive pre-measured units of a flowable food product without substantially increasing the head height requirement of a feed production system. A plurality of containers are moved about a path within a housing. The path has a plurality of stations, such as a receiving station, one or more sanitizing stations, and a dispensing station, and a container cleaning station. A pre-measured unit of the flowable food product is received at the receiving station into a container. The pre-measured unit of the flowable food product is exposed to one or more sanitizing agents at one or more sanitizing stations. The pre-measured unit of the flowable food product is dispensed into the packaging device at the dispensing station. The containers are then cleaned at the container cleaning station to prepare each container to receive a subsequent pre-quantified unit of the flowable feed product.

Disclosed is an air-drying device for processing of cured meat products, including an air-drying treatment mechanism; the air-drying treatment mechanism includes a first box body, a top wall of the first box body is provided with a blower; a plurality of air-drying components are rotatably connected in the first box body; each air-drying component includes a first cylinder, a side wall of the first cylinder is circumferentially provided with a plurality of openable and closable air inlet channels; a top of each first cylinder is detachably connected with a cover plate, and a bottom of each first cylinder is provided with a bearing plate, and outer side walls of each first cylinder and each bearing plate are circumferentially provided with a plurality of slide rails.

Disclosed is an air-drying device for processing of cured meat products, including an air-drying treatment mechanism; the air-drying treatment mechanism includes a first box body, a top wall of the first box body is provided with a blower; a plurality of air-drying components are rotatably connected in the first box body; each air-drying component includes a first cylinder, a side wall of the first cylinder is circumferentially provided with a plurality of openable and closable air inlet channels; a top of each first cylinder is detachably connected with a cover plate, and a bottom of each first cylinder is provided with a bearing plate, and outer side walls of each first cylinder and each bearing plate are circumferentially provided with a plurality of slide rails.

The present disclosure relates to a flavored jerky product and a method of preparing a flavored jerky product. The method comprises applying a curing agent to an external skin surface and/or an exposed muscle surface of a meat source, curing the meat source with the curing agent, and drying, cold smoking, and drying both the external skin surface and the meat source. The meat source is then chilled, the external skin surface is removed, and the meat source is sliced and/or segmented into a meat portion. The meat portion is marinated in a marinade solution, and then dried, cold smoked and dried to attain a water activity between about 0.7 and about 0.9 to produce the flavored jerky product.

The present disclosure relates to a flavored jerky product and a method of preparing a flavored jerky product. The method comprises applying a curing agent to an external skin surface and/or an exposed muscle surface of a meat source, curing the meat source with the curing agent, and drying, cold smoking, and drying both the external skin surface and the meat source. The meat source is then chilled, the external skin surface is removed, and the meat source is sliced and/or segmented into a meat portion. The meat portion is marinated in a marinade solution, and then dried, cold smoked and dried to attain a water activity between about 0.7 and about 0.9 to produce the flavored jerky product.

A process for dry aging meat uses an enclosed, atmosphere controlled room with forced circulation and ultra-violet lighting, containing an anti-microbial meat aging rack with a salt brick stack covering one wall. Humidity is controlled to maintain between approximately 60 and approximately 65%. Temperature is controlled to maintain between approximately 32 degrees Fahrenheit and approximately 33 degrees Fahrenheit. UV lighting, some of which produces ozone, controls odors and sanitary conditions for the dry aging process.

A low profile water bath co-extrusion process for sausage manufacturing is disclosed, along with machines for accomplishing this process. The process is an automated assembly line which begins with co-extruded food product, such as a sausage emulsion coated with collagen and finishes with cooked, boxed, packaged link sausage. The process includes the steps of co-extrusion, linking and cutting the co-extruded food product to individual links. Following these steps and prior to a liquid smoking step, the casing is prepared by steps which includes chemical treatment of the individual links in a water bath, while dehydrating the product in a salt solution, the water bath being a two-part process and following the water bath using a forced hot air drying step. Machines disclosed include a modification of prior art screw driven water bath and a novel roller/conveyor forced hot air drying assembly that subjects individual links of a co-extruded food product to a rolling motion while simultaneously being transported horizontally and being subject to forced hot air drying.

A refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet with a fresh food chamber, a freezer chamber, and an aging chamber each defined in the cabinet. The refrigerator appliance also includes an aging chamber door mounted to the cabinet and movable between a closed position and an open position. A method of operating the refrigerator appliance includes receiving a meat aging input from a user interface of the refrigerator appliance and moving a lock configured to retain the aging chamber door in the closed position to a locked position whereby the aging chamber door is retained in the closed position in response to the meat aging input. The method also includes activating a dedicated humidity control system in fluid communication with the aging chamber and fluidly isolated from the fresh food chamber and the freezer chamber for an aging time after moving the lock to the locked position.

The present invention relates to a closed processing system for treating elongated food products, comprising: a housing bounding a process space, a transport path for displacing the elongated food products through the process space, at least one airflow generator for generating an airflow in the process space, and at least one detector for detecting process conditions in the process space, wherein the detector includes at least one pressure sensor for detecting the relative airflow pressure in the process space compared to the ambient air pressure and wherein the system is arranged to control the process conditions by adjusting the at least one airflow generator based on the detected process conditions. The present invention further relates to a method for treating elongated food products.