CA1068541A

CA1068541A - Method for protein fortification of extra pumped meats

Info

Publication number: CA1068541A
Application number: CA232,698A
Authority: CA
Inventors: William B. Tuley (Ii); Robert L. Hawley
Original assignee: Ralston Purina Co
Current assignee: Nestle Purina PetCare Co
Priority date: 1974-08-26
Filing date: 1975-08-01
Publication date: 1979-12-25
Also published as: ES440436A1; FR2282814A1; USRE30023E; GB1462329A; FR2282814B1

Abstract

AN IMPROVED METHOD FOR PROTEIN FORTIFICATION
OF EXTRA PUMPED MEATS

Abstract of the Disclosure Meats are effectively pumped in excess of 110% of their green weights, yet maintain their original proteinaceous posture by a critically controlled injection of protein.

Description

; ~

106~541 Background of the Invention The present invention relates to protein fortification of cured meats.
It is known to add certain inorganic phosphorus-containing compounds, especially polyphosphates, to meat and meat products in order to improve their structure and juice retention, especially when heated.
For example, hams are injected with aqueous solutions of table salt and sodium polyphosphate, which not only cause 10 an improved color but also a better juice retention. By this injection the water, the ham's proteins and aromatics are dissolved therein, and the meat juices are better retained during subsequent processing, such as cooking and/or smoking.
Additionally, it is known to incorporate pure, naturally 15 occurring amino acids and mixtures of amino acids, derived from hydrolysis of natural proteins, into cure solutions in order to overcome taste defects and other imperfections encountered during curing.
For the reasons discussed in U.S. Patent 2,767,096 with 20 substantial clarity and completeness, it has been the general practice to conduct the above-described injection procedures through the circulatory systems, including the veins and arteries, of cured meats.
These techniques have been very successful and widely 25 adopted throughout the United States, yet they have also met considerable skepticism. For example, in spite of the excellent ~068541 distribution of cured solutions via artery and vein pumping the meat cannot be pumped in excess of 110% of its green weight (weight prior to heat processing wherein shrinking occurs) with-out significant loss in nutritive value. Si~ce amino acids have a finer p~rticle size and are mor~ readily dispersed in aq~eous media, and were believed to be more efficiently circulated than pure protein isolates, attempts were made to bolster the protein content of pumped hams by in~ection of amino acids. However, in spite of the improvement in taste experienced with limited levels of amino acids, when amounts sufficient to provide adequate nutri-tiYe value were utilized, a severely undesirable off-tast~e devel-oped. In the face of a rapidly ~ncreasing food shortage through-out the world, the need to provide pumped meats even in excess of 140% of their green weights serves to magnify the previous taste defects and other problems beyond practical acceptability.
The only previous attempt to extra-pump meats w~th soy protein isolate was reported by the Central Institute for Nutri-tion and Food Research in Brussels, Belgium in August of 1966 (~e-port No. R2239). It was therein concluded that artery and vein pumping was impossible and that sti~tch pumping directly into the mu~cle tissue could provide only a 6% improvement in protein-con-tent for hams pumped to only 1~1% of their green weights. Other-wise, the protein would be expected to denaturize or separate from .
the meat formlng grainy particles on its surface. Additionally, the protein was found to decrease the ~uice retention character-i8tiC8 of the cure solution.

A

- ~068541 Accordingly, a method for providing pumped meats in excess of 140% of their green weights and simultaneously fortifying the protein content in excess of 6% so as to provide a finished cooked product with a nutritious protein content substantially identical to that of unpumped meats would substantially advance the art.
Summary of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for extra pumping meat such as ham at a yield in excess of 140% of its green weight and fortified with a protein level equivalent to that of an unpumped ham, yet avoiding degradation of the protein and taste.
Other objects will become apparent from the following description of the invention.
Generally, the objects of this invention are fulfilled by controlled preparation of a curing medium containing proteinaceous material, oleaginous material, and conventional curing ingredients. The medium is stitch pumped into the muscle tissue of the meat, taking care to avoid injection solely into veins and arteries.
In accordance with one aspect, the invention pertains to a method of pumping meats in excess of 140% of their green weight with a liquid curing medium, which comprises preparing a liquid curing medium by firstly forming an admixture of water and at least 6% by weight of the medium, a hydrated protein isolate, to provide from about 17% to about 20% by weight of protein in the finished cured meat, and secondly, admixing curing solids to the mixture, and, injecting sufficient amount of curing medium into the meat muscle tissue to pump the meat to in excess of 140~ of its green weight whereby, upon curing, the pumped meat has substantially the same nourishing proteinaceous posture as that of an unpumped meat.

In a further embodiment the invention contemplates a method of forming a meat product of the type wherein a liquid medium including a nutritional protein isolate, water and curing salt is prepared, stitch pumped into natural meat muscle tissue and allowed to cure. The improvement comprises preparing the liquid medium by first hydrating, at least 7~ by weight `~
of the medium, a salt tolerant protein isolate which forms a gel upon heat setting, in water, prior to admixing the curing salts, subsequently admixing the curing salts to the hydrated salt tolerant protein isolate, and stitch pumping the natural meat tissue with the liquid medium to from 140 to 165~ of its green weight, wherein, upon curing, the liquid medium cooks to a uniformly distributed, meat-like gel, the extra pumped meat product maintains the same nutritional protein 15 value and substantially identical textural properties of `
natural meat tissue, the protein substantially retains its hydrated form in the final product and there is substantially no protein separation.
The invention also includes the novel inventive products when produced by the inventive methods set out in the claims herein.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments The product of the present inventioll is a uni-luely pre-pared high protein curing medium which is particularly advanta-geous in extra-pumping meats. The curing medium is composed of, in addition to conventional curing ingredients, proteinaceous material and, if desired, oleaginous materials.

- ` SP-521 .

The proteinaceous material of the curing medium is a food grade isolate, substantially devoid of the fibroùs and car-bohydrate mater~als naturally occurr~ng in concert with the pro-tein. m e isolate i8 derived from either vegetable or animal sources provided it possesse~ phy~ical and chemical charac~eris-tlc~ amenable to the formation of an emulsion with hydrogenated ~egetable oil. Soy protein isolate fs preferred for purposes of the present invention. It is important to note that other pro-te~naceous materials derived from both animal and vegetable soùroes can be utili~ed in the present invention provided they ar~ modif~ed to form stable dispersions or emul~ions compatible ~lth curing solids.
Generally, the amount of protein incorporated into the curing medium will be sufficient to provide a meat, pumped to in excess of 140% of its original or green weight, with the same ~ourishing proteinaceous p~sture as that of an unpumped meat.
Thi8 amount must be in excess of 6% by weight of the curing med-lu~. However, the amount cannot be so great as to render the cur-i~g medium too viscous to be pumped through in~ection needles.
The precise amount will varg depending on the desired texture, flavor, taste, appearance9 and type o~ meat product. Preferably protein isolate is utilized in an amount ~f from about 7 - 10% by gbt of the curing medium. me final meat product will have an overall protein content of from about 17 to about 20% by weight of the meat for proper proteinaceous posture.
If desired, oleaginous materials such as hydrogenated -` 106~S~l !

vegeeable oil, rendered animal at such as beef tallow and lard, and adipose tissue can also be incorporated into the curing med-lum. By doing 80, the medium will be in the form of an emulsion rather than a watery dispersion. m is form is quite advantageous`
for sever~l reasons. For example, since the level of solubility of protein ~n water is at most a colloidal dispersion, the emul-sion will provide for more stability`than the dispersion. Addi-elonally, the emulsion serves to improve the cohesion of meat chunks when cured meats are rendered and subsequently recompacted.
The oleaginous material of the present invention can be ~elected from any o~ the m~ny vegetable oils commercially avail- -able~ Alternatively, other oils, rendered animal fats such as beef tallow and lard, and adipose tissue can be employed. The oils of this invention may be, for example, soy oil, corn oil, peanut o~l, etc. The amount of oil can be 0 to 15Z depending on `~hether a thick emulsion or dispersed solution is desired. It is preferred to ut~lize an emulsion having about 9% oil by weight of the curing medium.
m e other curing ingredients are, for example, inorganic phosphates ~uch a~ sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium hexametaphos-phate, trisodium pyrophosphate, and monosodium orthophosphate;
~ 8 such as sodium chloride and sodium erythorbate; inorganic aitrogen ~ources such as sodium nitrate and nitrite; sugar such 2s that commonly used in meat curing; and, of course, water. The - 25 type ~nd amounts of curing ingredients will vary depending on the type of meat to be cured. A typical formulation by ~eight based ~ SP-521 I ~068541 on overall weight of the curing medium for the present inven~ion contain 75 to 90~ water, 0.4 to .8% NaCl, .1 to 2% sugar, .01 to .02% sodium nitrite, .005 t~ .01% sodium nitrate, and .05 to 0.1% sodium erythorbate.
It ~s critical in the preparation of the curing ~.ed~um of the present invention that the protein i~olate m~st be hydrated, ~n intimate contact with the water, prior to the addi~ion of the phosphate. me phosphate must be added to the hydrated protein ln dry orm. If the hydrated protein is added to a solution of the phosphate, the protein will curd like cottage cheese. These`
curds significantly reduce the in~ection capability of the cur-ing medium and will cause precipitation or unwarranted tegrada-tion of protein during the curing cycle. Additionally, previous problems in regard to moisture retention are significant. re-8ult8. It is believed that previous failures in extra pumping hams with protein ~solate~ may have resulted from failure to ob-~erve this critical order of addition.
m e curing medium is particularly desirable for pumping cured meats such as pork or red meat, poultry, fish, and prefer-ably hams to from about 140 to about 165% of their green weights.
~ven meat~ such as whale and mutton are within contemplation of ~b1s inv~ntion. Also.the meats need not be freoh, they can also be ~ashed meats.
. In the process of the present invention the curing med-~um is stitch pumped directly Lnto the muscle tissue of the meat.
M~re ~peeifically, me~ts for canned hams are excised ~rom the ~CH6~5~
bone prior to in~ection and if desired are recompacted and then in~ected. It is important to note that meats can be pumped to as low as 110% of green weight and distinctions over the prior art can still be observed. Although the distinctions are not nearly a8 drastic as at the 140% pumps, they arè nonetheless character-i8tically different from other pumping procedures.
mi8 invention is further ~llustrated by the follow~ng specific examples. It is understood that t~e invention is not to be restricted to the details of these examples.
EXAMP~ES ~ -Example 1 .:
Two hams weighing approximately 18 lbs. were skinned, def~tted and deboned by seaming the muscles. The meat was di-vided into three categories:
Pounds (a) ham leans 26 Cb) lean trim 3.5 (c) fat trim 3.0 The curing medium was prepared by f~rst dispersing

2.336 lbs. of soy protein isolate into 28.05 l~s. of water. Then the following amounts of solids were added:
Solids Pounds NaCl 1.6 Sodiu~ tripolyphosphate 1.6 Sugar .64 NaN03 .0384 NaN02 .0704 ,. ~) ~ ~068541 m e ham leans were stitch pumped wi~h this d~spersion.
m e weight was pumped to 38.5 lbs. or 147% of green weight with no undesirable separation of protein. The ham was allowed to cure for 4~ hours, then the leans were placed in a vacuum tumbler and 28" of vacuum was applied. m ey were tumbled for six hours, re-moved and pumped with an identical curing medium. m e weight wa~
~ncreased to 42.6875 lbs. or a yield of 163% of green weight, with still no separation of protein.
~xample 2 Same as Example 1 except 9% of the curing medium (water~
portion3 is replaced by hydrogenated veget~ble oil. An emulsion i8 formed and in~ected. There are excellent results.
Example 3 Same as Example 1 except part of the water is held out to dissolve the phosphate prior to admixing it with the protein.
Curds form in the curing medium. In~ection results in undesir-able separation of protein and off-taste.

_9_ _ , .

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a method of forming a meat product of the type wherein a liquid medium including a nutritional protein isolate, water and curing salt is prepared, stitch pumped into natural meat muscle tissue and allowed to cure, the improvement comprising:
a. preparing the liquid medium by first hydrating, at least 7% by weight of the medium, a salt tolerant protein isolate which forms a gel upon heat setting, in water, prior to admixing the curing salts;
b. subsequently admixing the curing salts to the hydrated salt tolerant protein isolate;
c. stitch pumping the natural meat tissue with the liquid medium to from 140 to 165% of its green weight;
wherein, upon curing, the liquid medium cooks to a uniformly distributed, meat-like gel, the extra pumped meat product maintains the same nutritional protein value and substantially identical textural properties of natural meat tissue, the protein substantially retains its hydrated form in the final product and there is substantially no protein separation.

2. The method of Claim 1 wherein the amount of protein isolate is from 7 to 10% by weight of the medium.

3. The method of Claim 2 wherein the amount of water used to hydrate the protein is from about 75 to 90% by weight of the medium.

4. The method of Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the water is partially replaced by oleaginous material selected from the group consisting of hydrogenated oil, rendered animal fat and adipose tissue in an amount of about 9% by weight of the medium.

5. A method of pumping meats in excess of 140% of their green weight with a liquid curing medium, comprising:
- preparing the liquid curing medium by a. firstly forming an admixture of water and at least 6% by weight of the medium, a hydrated protein isolate, to provide from about 17% to about 20% by weight of protein in the finished cured meat, and b. secondly, admixing curing solids to said mixture, and - injecting sufficient amount of curing medium into the meat muscle tissue to pump the meat to in excess of 140%
of its green weight whereby,upon curing, the pumped meat has substantially the same nourishing proteinaceous posture as that of an unpumped meat.

6. The method of Claim 5 wherein said hydrated protein isolate is soy protein and present in the curing medium in an amount of about 7 - 10% by weight thereof.

7. The method of Claim 6 wherein said curing solids consist of inorganic phosphate taken from the group consisting of sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, trisodium phosphate and monosodium orthophosphate, salt taken from the group consisting of sodium chloride and sodium erythorbate; inorganic nitrogen sources taken from the group consisting of sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, and sugar.

8. The method of Claim 6 wherein said curing solids consist of about 0.4% to about 0.8% sodium chloride;
about 0.1 to .2% sugar; about 0.01% to about 0.20% sodium nitrite; about 0.005% to about 0.01% sodium nitrate; and about 0.05% to about 0.1% sodium erythorbate.

9. The method of Claim 5 wherein the meat is pumped to from about 140 to about 165% of its green weight.

10. The method of Claim 6 wherein the meat is pumped to from about 140 to about 165% of its green weight.

11. The method of Claim 7 wherein the meat is pumped to from about 140 to about 165% of its green weight.

12. The method of Claim 5, 6 or 7 wherein the water is partially replaced by oleaginous material selected from the group consisting of hydrogenated oil, rendered animal fat and adipose tissue in an amount of about 9% by weight of the medium.

13. The method of Claim 9, 10 or 11 wherein the water is partially replaced by oleaginous material selected from the group consisting of hydrogenated oil, rendered animal fat and adipose tissue in an amount of about 9% by weight of the medium.

14. The method of Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the meat muscle tissue is selected from the group consisting of pork, red meat, lean ham, poultry, mutton, whale and fish.

15. The method of Claim 5, 6 or 7 wherein the meat muscle tissue is selected from the group consisting of pork, red meat, lean ham, poultry, mutton, whale and fish.

16. The method of Claim 9, 10 or 11 wherein the meat muscle tissue is selected from the group consisting of pork, red meat, lean ham, poultry, mutton, whale and fish.

17. The method of Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the natural meat muscle tissue is lean ham.

18. The method of Claim 5, 6 or 7 wherein the natural meat muscle tissue is lean ham.

19. The method of Claim 9, 10 or 11 wherein the natural meat muscle tissue is lean ham.

20. The method of Claim 5, 6 or 7 wherein the amount of water is from about 75% to 90% by weight of the curing medium.

21. The method of Claim 9, 10 or 11 wherein the amount of water is from about 75% to 90% by weight of the curing medium.