CA1111706A

CA1111706A - Process for manufacturing cured-and smoked-flavored meats

Info

Publication number: CA1111706A
Application number: CA296,206A
Authority: CA
Inventors: J. Frank Koenig
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1977-02-07
Filing date: 1978-02-03
Publication date: 1981-11-03

Abstract

ABSTRACT
A process for manufacturing a meat product which duplicates the flavor, texture and appearance of cured and gas-smoked meats without the addition of nitrates or nitrites which may form nitrosamines upon subsequent cooking. The raw meat is given a smoke flavor by solid or liquid applica-tion of a smoke flavored substance. Upon cooking, the thus-treated meat has many of the desirable quantities of the cor-responding cured and gas-smoked and cooked meat previously thought to be the result of the curing process with nitrates and/or nitrites.

Description

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Con~entional l aJailable ~efrigerated meats such as ~acon and frankfurters have generally been curecl from the raw meat by means of an alkali metal nitrite-containing composition or wlth a composition containing a mixture of alkali metal nitrite and an alkali metal nitrateO Thus, such products may contain sodium nitrite~ potas~ium nitrite t sodium nitra~e, potassium nitrate as well as other additives such as sodium ascorbate, sodium erythobate and sodium phosphate. The curing agents may be applied by either a wet or dry method.
In the wet method, the curing agents are dissolved or dispersed in water to form a "pickle" solution in which the meats are soaked. Alternatively, the pickle solution can be injected into the meats with or without soaking for a period of time sufficient to permit diffusion of the solution throughout the meat. The injection can take place by simply pumping the pickle solution through the arteries, etc. of the meat or can take place by injection of the pickLe solu-tion into the meat wi.th needles~
In the dry cure process, a composition of the solid curing materials is spread over the meat to be cured followed by ~he ageiny of the meatq After ageing~ the thus-cured meat is washed with water, dried and smoked by conventional gas smoking.
~ce~tly, attention has been focused on the problems o~ the reaction of nitrates and nitrites with the mea-t upon coo~ins where~y nitrosamines are produced. For example, N-nitrosopyrrolidine has been detec~ed in fried bacon at le~els up to 108 parts per billion. Since nitrosamines are not found in cured raw meats, it is postulated that the -tem-~J~

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perature attained by the fats in frying or o~her processes e~fects the formation o~ nitrosamines. Ni-trosamines have ~een ~oulld to be carcinogenic in rat tests and they are re garded as a potential hazard in human food. Propo~als such as those set forth in United Sta-tes patents 3,801,~91 and 3,865,974 attempt to overcome this problem by reducing the formation of nitrosamines in the cured and cooked productO
~owever, these proposals have the disadvantage that nitrites, whether organ~c or inorganic, are still utilized. It is thus an object of the present invention to completely elimina-te the use of nitrates and/or nitrites in the preparation of a bacon-llke or other cuxe-flavored meat.
A second proble~ in cured and smoked meats is the problem of sodium chloride~ It is known that the moisture reten~ion of cured primal cuts, such as ham, bacon, corned beef and pastrami can be aided by curing these meats with a sodium chloride curing brine con-taining phosphate saltsO
While the elimination of cure shrinkage is advantageous from a commercial standpoint~ the ingestion of excess amO~ltS of sodium chloride has come under attack recently for its con-tribution to various m~dical conditions. One proposal for the elimination o~ sodium chloride in the curing process has been made in United States patent 2,910~369 wherein potassium and calcium catlons are substituted for sodium A further proposal is that found in United ~tates patent 3,782,975 wherein a non-toxic phosphate composition selected from the group consisting of orth3phosphatè, polyphosphate and pyro-phospha-te salts of potasslum are utilized~ However, the re-pla~ement, rather than the elimination, of sodium chloride has the disadvantage tha-t the toxicity or otherwise undesir ' able nature of the replacement may nol be Eully ascertained at the time that the replacement matQrial is first utilized.
Thus, an object o the present invent:ion is a process for the production of substitutes for cured and smoked meat products, especially bacon, ~hich have no salt added yet which exhibit low shrinkage during manufacture~
A further problem associated wlth cured ~nd smoked meats is the presence of sugar which may be added to counter ~ct the undesirable taste of high quantities of salt which may be used in the curing process. However, it may be de-sirable to eliminate sugar from the diet of various people and yet the pre~ence of sugar in cured and smoked meats such a bacon may not be realizad by such people~ The elimination of sugar in the curiny process by the use of sweetening agents such as sodium cyclamate is taught in United States patent 2,946,692. Further, the replacement of sucrose sugar by dex~rose su~ar is proposed in United States patent

2,176,144. However, as with the replacement o salt mentioned above, it is desirable to eliminate, rather than replace, 2Q sugar from the curing process since undesirable and unknown pxoperties o sugar replacements may not be reallzed at the time of replacementO It is therefore an object of the pre-sent invention to eliminate or reduce the need for sugar in the processing of meats.
A still further problem in the production of cured and ~` smoked meats LS that gas smoking may not be uniorm and may ~ause shrinkage of khe meat. Additionally~ shrinkage may occur in khe dry curing of meats~
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process whereb~y meats comparable in _4_ flavor, color, texturer etc., to known cured and ~moked meats, e.~., bacon and ham, can be processed and presented to the consumer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provida a process whereby numerous adclitives need not be utilized to preserve the meat from spoilage or loss of color.
- An additional object of the present invention is to provide a flexible process whereby the addition of sodium chloride and sugar during processing can be adjusted accord-ing to the actual taste or required diet of the consumer, rather than to reduce ahrinkage or mask other flavors.
A further object of the present invention is a process for producing a mea-t comparable in flavor to khat associated with cured and smokèd meats without the production costs and production time associated with curing and gas-smoking.
It has unexpectedly been found that flavors, textures and appearancas of cured and smoked meats are not due, at least exclusively, to the curing process As a result of experimentation and comparison testingl I have found that the application of a smoke flavor by means of a solld or liquid substance to xaw ~eats will result in a product which, when cooked by any standard method, will essentially duplicate the corresponding cured and gas smoked meat. The meat treated according to the invention can optionally be sliced and froz~n before cooking in order to effect preservation.
As used herein, the term "meat" refers to pork pro-ducts such as pork. belly, ham, shoulder, etc., beef, fish, turkey~ chicken, as well as ~ly of these meats in comminuted orm, e.g ground beef.
The smoke flavor can be applied to the mea~ in either , liquid or solid form, -the li.quid form being preferxed ~rom a commercial standpoint.
In the ~pplication of the smoke flavor in a liquid form, a smoke-flavor aqueous solution such as that obtained from Witt & Co., Yoxkville, Illinois can be used. The liquid i5 applied by soaking, spraying, dipping or injection or by any other method whereby the liquid composition is absorbed into the meat, preferably in a uniform manner.
Although the soakingJ spraying or dipping methods can be used, larger cuts of meat should preferably be injected with the smoke solution. Such injection can be accomplished by arterial pumping or by stitch pumping as described in United States patent 3,782,975. The time period for application of the liquid solution by any of these methods, depend on the weight and thickness of the meat as well as its freshness.
The liquid smoke composition can optionally contain ~alt although such is no~ required. In any case, the amount of salt needed will, in general~ be less than that used in conventional curing. For example, flavored pork belly pre-~0 pared according to the present invention with salt had a salt weight of about 1~ and is comparable to bacon ha~ing a salt weight of about 2%, Tha liquid composition can also contain sugar to taste and antloxidants such as ascorhic acid to enhance the preservation of the meat upon subsequent freezing. Additionally, spices mdy be added to the liquid ;~; smoke composition to duplicate the fIavor o the corres--ponding cured and smoked meat. For example, the addition of a ~rankfurter spice composition available from various spice suppliers to the liquid smoke composition when used with ground beef results in a frankurter-like SauSaCJe filling -material.
The application of the smoke flavor in a solid com-position can be accompl.ished with a composition 5uch as a hickory smoke salt availa~le from McCormick Co. or Witt ~
Co. Alternati~ely, the solid carrier can be sugar or a com-bination of salt and sugar and may con.tain other ingredients such as caramel coloring. Other additi.ve~ such as those men tioned above for use wi~h the liquid composition can also be used. Since the penetration o the smoke flavor will be more effective with the li~uid composition, the solid com-position is most ef~ectively used with relatively thin meats having a thickness of about 1/2 inch or less.
After application of the smoke flavor, the thus-treated meat can be sliced and frozen for preservation until such time as the meat is actually cooked. For materials such as pork belly flavored according to the present in-vention and subsequently frozen, the shelf life in a retall ou~let can be considerably extended over the shelf life of refrigerated cured and smoked bacon. Ordinary home freezer t~mperatures of about 0F can be used in this freezing ~tep The cooking of the meats treated according to khe present invention can be by any conven~ional means such as baking, frying, broiling and microwave heating.
~he United States Depaxtment oE Agriculture requires that bacon be a cured meat product. Thereore, when pork belly is used in the process of the presen~ invention, ,he final product cannot be considered bacon by this standard~
However, according to the present invention, when raw pork belly was sliced and hickory salt was sprinkled thereon, the appearance beEorer during and after frying was comparab7e to . -7-.. : . , . , : . . , the cured and smoked bacon available to consumers. Addi-tionally, aEter frying the thus treated meat, the flavor~
-tenderness, juiciness, aroma, crispness color and texture was comparable to frled bacon despite earlier assumptions that the curing process was laryely, if not exclusively, responsible for the welL-known qualities of fried bacon.
A ~ried pork product was prepared in a manner similar to the above description by sprinkling hickory smoke salt onto a slice of raw (green) ham about 1/2 inch thic]c followed by the frying of the thus-treated meat. The meat had the qualities of a cured and smoked ham thought praviously to be due to the curing and gas-smoking processing.
From the above description, it will be seen that the meat product produced by the present invention possesses several impor~ant advantages over the corresponding cured and smo~ed meat. The process is flexible in that salt or suyax need not be added during processing and the product of the process can be available for consumption by those on a salt-free or sugar~free diet although salt or sugar can be ~0 added aft~r ~ooking for those not on a diet. Further, the product meat produced by the process of the present inven-tion does no~ contain nitrates or nitrites which are thought to be responsible for the ~ccurrence of nitrosamines in cured and cooked meat products such as bacon. Additionally ! the process ~f the present invention avoids the cummulative effect of the use of n~erous additives, e~g. unnecessary amounts o~ sugar may be used in a cured product to counteract ox mask the high levels o~ salt which are used -to retain moisture during the curlng step~
While the inverltion has been described ahove, it is ` .

appaxent that modifications can ~e made there-to without de-parting from the spirit and scope of the following examples~
EX~PLE 1 __ A "frankfurter" was pxeparecl according to the present invention as follows.
Abouk 100 lbs,of finely ground ~eef ha~ing a fat con-tent of about 20% was prepared. To this beef was added about 8 to 10 ounces of fxankfurter seasoning comprising white pepper, black pepper, coriander; mace, cinnamon, ginger, savory and cardamon Additlonally, about 1 and 1/2 pounds o~
salt and about 2 fluid ounces of "Na~ural Hickory Smoke"
liquid flavor o~ained from the Witt Company was added. The mixture was then mixed by hand to uniformity m e thu~-obtained beef mixture was insexted into a hog casing having an inside diameter of 1 inch to obtain ~rankfurter according to the present invention.
Whan cooked by any conventional method, the frank-furters had the consistency and taste of conventionally pre~
pared frankfurter cured with nitxates and nitrites~
In this recipe~ the hickory smoke flavor can be varied from ahout 1 to about 3 fluid ounces per about LOO lbs.
of bee~ Of cours2, other meats can be added to the beef in the preparation of these frankfurters. Additionally, it silould be not~d that the seasonin~ can be varied to ~aste as well as the salt.
EXAMPL~ 2 -~ A "bacon" produc~ was pxepared accoxding tc the pre-sent invention as followsO
About 1/4 pound of pork belly was sliced into slices ~0 about 3/16 lnches thick and was totally immersecl in a~out lf2 :'.

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pint o wa-ter in~o which had been dissoLved about 3 -table-spoons o hicko_y smoke salt o~tained from the Witt CompanyO
The temperature was then maintained at about 34F for about 7~5 hours. After removal of the slices from the solutiont the "bacon" slices were r~ed in the conventional manner.
Both before and after the frying, the color and appearance of the l'bacon" product was comparable to cured and gas-smoked bacon.
It should be noted that conventional curing by the use of nitrates and nitrites together with the gas smoking pro-cess takes about 15 days. The "bacon" obtained by tne above process, can be frozen after treatment and the total processing time comprises only about 1 day which is a distinct advantage over the time requirements of conventional bacon.
In both Examples 1 and 2, the product obtained should preferably be frozen after processing and can then be stored or extensive periods of time.
In the production of "bacon" according to the present invention, salt is incorporated to the extent of about 0.~5 by weight, although percentages of incorporation can range ~rom about 0.15 to about 0.50% by weight. Conventional bacon can have a salt content of up to 2 and 1/2% and the in-corporation of lower amounts of salt according to the present invention represents a distinct advantage over the prior art in this regard in view of the above-mentioned disadvantag s of salt in the human diet.
; While the invention has been described abo~e~ it is ap-parent that modifications can be made there~o without de-parting from the spirit and scope of the following claimsO

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Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A method for preparing a fresh meat product not containing nitrites or nitrates which has the flavor of cured and smoked meat upon subsequent cooking comprising applying a liquid or solid smoke flavor to raw and uncured meat for a time sufficient to impart smoke flavor to said meat.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said smoke flavor is applied by submersing said raw and uncured meat into an aqueous solution comprising a smoke-flavored substance.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said meat is pork belly or ham.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of sub-sequently slicing and freezing the pork belly or ham.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said aqueous solution consists essentially of said smoke-flavored substance.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein said raw and uncured meat is submersed in said aqueous solution and said aqueous solution is injected into the meat.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said raw and uncured meat is pork belly, ham, ground beef, ground pork, fish, turkey, or chicken meat.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein said aqueous solution consists essentially of said smoke flavored substance, sodium chloride and sugar.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the raw and uncured meat is pork belly and the pork belly gains about 10% by weight from said submersing step to produce a fryable meat with a bacon flavor and color.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said meat is pork belly or ham and said smoke flavor is applied by applying a layer of smoke-flavored sodium choride to the pork belly or ham.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said smoke flavor is hickory smoke flavor.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said raw and uncured meat is pork belly, said applying step is by submerging said meat into an aqueous liquid solution composition consisting of water, hickory smoke flavor and salt and, after said applying step, the pork belly is sliced.

13. The method of claim 3, wherein in said applying step, a liquid composition is applied and said liquid composition consists essentially of a smoke flavor without added sodium chloride.

14. A method for preparing an uncured bacon substitute meat product not containing nitrites or nitrates which has the flavor of cured and gas-smoked meat upon subsequent cooking consisting essentially of i) submersing raw and uncured pork belly in an aqueous liquid composition consisting essentially of a smoke flavor and one or more optional ingredients selected from group consisting of sugar, spices, antioxidants, coloring or sodium chloride, said optional ingredients being applied in an amount insufficient to effect curing, for a time sufficient to impart smoke flavor to said meat;
ii) slicing the pork belly; and iii) subsequently freezing said smoke flavored pork belly.