MXPA00000597A - Method for manufacturing smoke/cooked sausage - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a production method for smoke/cooked sausage, characterized by shorter processing times and higher yield. A meat composition containing a smoke flavoring, is co-extruded with a casing forming material. The casing forming material is hardened, whereafter the sausage strand is crimp/cut and thesausages are heat treated within 15 minutes on a horizontally conveying belt. The heat treatment consists of a"dry heat"phase prior to a finishing phase.

Description

METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SMOKED / COOKED EFFLUTODO DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION THIS APPLICATION IS BASED ON THE PROVISIONAL APPLICATION OF THE APPLICANT SERIAL NUMBER 60 / 086,672 SUBMITTED ON MAY 26, 1998. The present invention relates to the industrial manufacture of smoked / cooked sausage. Smoked / cooked sausage as mentioned here means the types of sausage that are produced by heat-treating fresh (uncooked) sausage meat covered, over a period of time to cause the coagulation of all the protein of the meat inside of the sausage, and smoke to transmit flavor. This set cooking time can be up to 3 hours depending on the cooking method and the diameter of the sausage. The sausages are produced in a diameter range of 6-45 millimeters. These types of smoked / cooked sausage should be distinguished from the types of cured sausage, which are heat treated longer at lower temperatures. Examples of cured sausage types are dried and semi-dry sausages such as summer sausages, cervelat, sausages, pepperoni and beef salami. The sausage of this invention should also be distinguished from the types of fresh sausage, not cooked or cured, such as the pork sausage type campirano, pork sausage for breakfast and sausages. Typical smoked / cooked sausages to which this invention pertains are sausages, sausages for hot-dogs, and sausages vienna, which from now on will be referred to as "smoked / cooked sausage". The fresh meat compositions used for the smoked / cooked sausage can be filled into natural or pre-fabricated edible casings. Alternatively, fresh meat can be stuffed into an edible cover which is removed after heat treatment and smoking. These types of "peeled" sausage are referred to as skinless sausage. Very often a cellulose cover is used. Another production method may involve coextruding an emulsion of fresh meat with a material that forms a shell. In this method, a strip of sausage material is produced which has an inner center of meat emulsion having an outer surface material which can be coagulated to provide a cover for the strip. The outer surface material may consist of a gel with a collagen protein. Coagulation usually includes subjecting the excluded strip to a solution of brine (salt). The term "coagulation" as used herein refers to the step of hardening and stabilizing the cover. This is done mainly in two ways; first, by removing the water from the collagen gel, and second by crossing the collagen fibers. Recently the production of co-extruded sausages has been more popular compared to the production of pre-formed casings as it has been found to be more cost effective. After the fresh sausage meat is covered by filling or co-extrusion, the smoked / cooked sausages undergo heat and smoking treatment. The additional treatment of the still fresh covered sausage can be "horizontal" or "vertical". The vertical process involves hanging the sausage on sticks. Smaller sausages are often processed as a strip and loops are made on a stick. Those sticks are then placed on smoking carts or in continuous processing (heat) chambers. The horizontal process involves placing the sausages flat during the heat / smoke treatment. For example on grids or in a conveyor system. Most of the time the originally processed sausages are cut into individual pieces before undergoing the heat / smoke treatment. A typical treatment time; to smoke and cook a sausage sausage (with a diameter of 19 millimeters) is between 50-75 minutes.

Sausage producers have always wanted to limit processing times. Shorter processing times are directly related to less expensive processing equipment and lower production storage costs. Nevertheless, there are limitations in the shortening of processing times. It is essential for all types of smoked / cooked sausage that the inside center of the sausage reach a certain temperature to make the sausage have a stable shelf life and is safe to eat. This temperature is above 48.8 ° C (120 ° F), normally around 63.5-68.3 ° C (150-155 ° F). The amount of energy required to do this must be transmitted to the sausage gradually, so as not to destroy the shape of the sausage or its appearance (for example, the cover may break) very often, therefore heating the sausage starts to relatively low temperatures and relatively low humidity to coagulate the meat proteins on the surface of the sausage. After the cooking temperatures are increased and very often the highest humidity eg steam is used to avoid excess weight loss. Also for many types of smoked / cooked sausage a very soft type of cover is required. For example, the popular American hot-dog, very often is made of a cellulose cover (edible), which is peeled after cooking to provide a very soft product. The types of edible cover need to have a certain thickness to support the manufacturing processes and filling with the sausage meat. The smoothness of the cover you want can not be achieved for most types of smoked / cooked sausage. Some methods for co-extruding sausages (for example U.S. 3,622,252 assigned to Bradshaw et al) propose making smoked / cooked sausage. However, the smoking and heating times can be compared to the types of stuffed sausage. Also the co-extruded cover needs an additional stabilization of the cover after coagulation by brine. This is done by air drying the cover which adds time to the heat / smoke treatment. Alternative methods to fill the covers or co-extrude the covers, are proposed to reduce the time of treatment of the product of smoked / cured sausages. For example, there are processes in which this sausage is cooked inside its packaging. Very often, the sausages are vacuum packed, which are then placed under very high temperatures or placed in hot or boiling water. Alternatively, the covered sausage can be placed in boiling water or it can be fried. Another method is described in GB 2,156,727. This method uses an acidic liquid to coagulate the outer surface of a sausage to form a cover, before the heat treatment. However, these methods result in a different sausage appearance, compared to the covered sausages, and therefore are only rarely used in sausage production processes. Methods novelly developed for co-extruding sausages as described in the co-pending application of US Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 990,619 filed December 15, 1997, can be applied in a novel manner to provide a method for manufacture smoked / cooked sausage with unprecedented short processing times in combination with high processing output. Also this method for making smoked / cooked sausages can provide a similar soft cover as is done in the wasteful methods very often used to make sausages without a cover. The newly developed method of co-extrusion provides a much better moisture barrier than previously known co-extrusion methods or pre-formed coatings. The probable cause of this is that the improved coagulation method involves the process of crosslinking the co-extruded shell to meat proteins in the sausage mixture. This adheres the cover to the meat, thereby providing a moisture barrier which allows heating at higher temperatures than before.

Also in opposition to the other methods of co-extrusion of sausages, as described in GB 1,232,801, the cover in the sausage does not require drying (heat) by air. In GB 1,232,801 the sausage needs to undergo air drying to stabilize after coagulation with a brine solution. This of course increases the heat / smoke processing times. However, the aforementioned methods do not disclose an application method for smoked / cooked sausage, within shorter heat / smoke processing times. The normal application methods of this smoked flavor is done during the heat treatment in smoking chambers. The sausages, usually hanging on sticks, are placed in a relatively long cooking and smoking cycle to obtain the desired smoke flavor and color. Smoked liquid, which is a regular smoking condensate, can be used to provide a smoother, more effective and faster flavor. This is then usually sprayed on the surface of the sausage after co-extrusion or filling. Liquid smoking can also be applied in other ways, for example as a cover on the inside wall or prefabricated covers. (See, for example, US Patent 5,238,442).

These methods of applying smoke to the sausage are not sufficient for the production of smoked / cooked sausages in an exact manner which is the object of the present invention. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new method for manufacturing smoked / cooked sausages wherein the aforementioned disadvantages are substantially reduced. It is another object of the invention to reduce the smoking and cooking times of these sausages. It is still another object of the invention to increase production (reduce weight loss) during the production of the smoked / cooked sausage. It is yet another object of this invention to provide an industrial method for manufacturing smoked / cooked sausage with substantially reduced processing equipment costs. It is still another object of this invention to provide a smoked / cooked with soft cover, without the use of a temporary cover. It is a further object of the invention to eliminate leftovers and waste problems related to the production of the sausage without cover.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method for manufacturing smoked / cooked sausage with reduced capital and energy costs. It is therefore still another object of this invention to provide by co-extruding a substantially uniform layer of a shell-forming material around a meat center containing a smoked flavoring agent, and heat treating the co-extruded sausage during 15 minutes. The present invention describes a production method for smoked / cooked sausages, characterized by shorter processing times and higher production. A meat composition containing a smoked flavor is co-extruded with a shell-forming material. Such cover forming material hardens, after which the sausage strip is folded / cut and the sausages are heat treated for 15 minutes on a horizontal conveyor belt. The heat treatment consists of a "dry heat" phase before a finishing phase. This invention contemplates that the most effective way to co-extrude a meat mixture containing a smoker agent is when the color and flavor of the meat are instantaneously and homogeneously established through the sausage. In this way, the color and flavor of smoking depends less on the migration in the sausage during the process. The smoking agent preferably is a liquid smoke mixed within the meat mixture as an ingredient. More preferably, the smoking agent is a dry smoking, which is a dry powder derived from dehydrated liquid smoking. Even more preferred is the use of encapsulated dry smoking, where the functional properties of smoking are released only by heating the meat mixture. The best results are obtained when the smoked flavor is transmitted in a combined manner. Firstly, a liquid smoke mixed with the collagen gel before co-extruding the gel with the meat mixture. The liquid smoke with it has a double function; crosslink the collagen fibers (aid in the coagulation of the cover forming material) and transmit a smoked browning on the surface of the sausage. Other functional ingredients such as colorants can also be applied simultaneously in this manner. Second, a dry liquid smoke is mixed into the meat mixture. It is also an aspect of this invention to horizontally further process these sausages as they are folded / cut into individual links of the continuous co-extruded sausage strip. Currently, most of the smoked / cooked sausages are hung on sticks for an additional smoking and heating process. This is done because for the required processing times it was found to be the most efficient way to process these sausages. Horizontal processing methods are often very expensive. For example, a normal sausage sausage casing in a temporary cellulose casing produced in conventional machines can be produced up to 4000 kg / h. A standard 19 mm sausage sausage has a heat / smoke processing time of between 40 minutes and 1 h. 15 minutes. This means 2700-5000 kilograms of sausage must be processed by heating at the same time. The costs involved in a horizontal smoking and cooking chamber overcomes the method of forming loops in the sausage sausage as a strip of sausage on a stick and hanging these manually over the smoker conveyors or in a continuous cooking / smoking chamber. With the use of the present invention, the transportation of these sausages in a band (usually a wire network) through the cooking process is much more economical. A typical processing time is 6 minutes, so only 400 kg of sausage, need to be supported during such processing. In this equation, labor costs and gross material costs (product cover and scrap) related to hanging and off-hook are higher than the automated option of horizontal processing.

Another advantage of processing in a horizontal manner is that the thickness or strength of the cover necessary for processing is reduced. Normally, the mechanical action involved in vertical processing requires a very resistant (thick) cover. Therefore, a temporary cover (cellulose) is very often used. The horizontal processing according to this invention makes it possible to produce sausages without a similar cover with a soft bite, eliminating the need for a temporary cover. During the "horizontal" heat / smoke processing the sausages are preferably rotated along their longitudinal axis to avoid the markings of the band on the surface of the sausage. This is preferably achieved by simply vibrating (shaking) a part of the conveyor belt. The rotational movement of the sausage does not have to be continuous, it can be limited to only one or several movements during the heat treatment. Other methods to achieve this may be, let the sausage roll a decline in a conveyor belt system, or roll the sausages by means of pressurized air. The heat treatment can consist of several steps and can consist of a dry treatment (low humidity), steam cooking and / or using hot water (bath) . The present invention is characterized by a heat treatment of less than 15 minutes. Frankfurters sausages are predominantly in the diameter range of 17-24 mm. The normal processing time is a sausage inlay of 19 mm. of frankfuter so far is about an hour. A preferred method of heat treating the types of smoked / cooked sausage is to use two short processing steps; first a "dry heat step" followed by a "finishing phase". The dry heat step involves a heating step where the sausages are heated to a wet bulb temperature which is less than the subsequent finishing phase. This dry heat step preferably has a length between 0.5 and 5 minutes. The finishing phase, in which the sausages are heated to a relatively higher humidity than during the passage of dry heat, as it is with steam during a period of 3-10 minutes. The reason behind these two steps is that the first step of dry heat stabilizes the shape of the sausage product, allowing the rapid influx of energy during the determined phase. By combining these two steps we obtain an unprecedented low heat / smoke processing time and low weight loss, as the examples to follow indicate. EXAMPLE 1 Production of a hot-dog sausage of 19 mm.

Composition of the meat mixture: 50% lean pork 30% res 20% fresh pork lard Seasonings (salt, cumin, garlic, etc) 0.2% "dry smoked" (Hickory Specialties, Inc) Extrusion: Extrusion speed: 0.5 m / s Brine: 80% H2P04 at 15 ° C Contact time with 45 seconds brine: Gel composition: 3.8% collagen, 0.9% cellulose fiber, .05% lactic acid,. 05% hydrochloric acid, balance H20. Use of gel 4.0% in meat mixture by weight 5% gel smoked liquid by weight The co-extruded sausage strip was folded / cut into individual sausages after coagulation (brine), and transferred into a horizontal oven, from Manufacturer Stein. Dry bulb heating: 148.8 ° C (300 ° F) dry: Wet bulb: 63.5 ° C (150 ° F) Time: 2 minutes Wet heating (final cooking): steam 212 ° F (100 ° C) Time: 3 minutes Weight loss was measured by weighing the individual sausages before and after the heat treatment. Weight loss on average of 0.2% (weight before / weight after x 100%). EXAMPLE 2 The same meat mixture and extrusion settings, for a smoked / cooked sausage of 22.5 millimeters in diameter. Heat processing time: Dry heating: dry bulb: 148.8 ° C (300 ° F) wet bulb: 63.5 ° C (150 ° F) Wet heating (final cooking) steam 212 ° F (100 ° C) Time: 3 minutes Weight loss less than 0.3% Therefore it has been seen that this invention will achieve at least all of its stated objectives.

Claims (17)

1. CLAIMS 1. A process for manufacturing smoked / cooked sausage characterized in that it comprises the steps of: preparing a composition containing meat; co-extruding such a composition through a smear circulates with a shell-forming material to create a substantially uniform layer of a shell-forming material around an internal strip of meat composition; coagulating the layer of cover forming material to form a composite sausage strip comprising the inner strip of meat composition and the cover; and heat treating the composite strip for 15 minutes after it.
2. 2. The process in accordance with the claim 1, wherein the heat treatment begins with a stabilization phase before the finishing phase, characterized in that the stabilization phase has a lower average wet bulb temperature than the finishing step.
3. 3. The process in accordance with the claim 2, characterized in that the stabilization phase lasts between 0.5 and 5 minutes.
4. 4. The process according to claim 2, characterized in that the finishing phase involves heating the inner center of the smoked / cooked sausage, above 120 ° F (48.8 ° C).
5. 5. The process according to claim 4, characterized in that the finishing phase lasts 1-14 minutes.
6. 6. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the meat-containing composition incorporates a flavoring smoker agent.
7. 7. The process according to claim 6, characterized in that the flavoring smoked agent is a liquid smoke, a dried smoke and / or an encapsulated dry smoke.
8. 8. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover-forming material contains collagen.
9. 9. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the collagen is acidified using an inorganic acid.
10. The process according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cover-forming material has a dry matter content of between 3-25%.
11. 11. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover-forming material is subjected prior to extrusion to a coagulation agent.
12. 12. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the coagulation is carried out by a liquid smoking of coagulation agent.
13. 13. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the coagulation method involves the use of salts having a minimum solubility of 8 moles per liter at 20 ° C.
14. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the sausage strip is folded to form sausage links after coagulation.
15. 15. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the sausage strip is heat treated while in a horizontal position.
16. 16. The process according to claim 15, characterized in that the sausage strip is turned in order to be able to expose the sausage surface equally to the heat treatment.
17. 17. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the sausage strip is cut to form sausage links after coagulation.