Patent ID: 6419968
Filing Date: 2002-07-16
Classification: A22C

Abstract:
A method for making sausages comprising:coextruding sausage paste and collagen dough to form a continuous sausage body having an outer tube comprising collagen dough in surrounding relation to the sausage paste; separating the continuous sausage body into individual sausage links, each having an exterior surface; transporting the sausage links to an enclosure; loading the sausage links into baskets mounted on an endless belt contained at least in part within the enclosure; causing the belt to circulate along a serpentine path so that the sausage links are carried boustrophedonically by the baskets through the enclosure; causing the baskets to successively change their orientations rotationally as the belt circulates within the enclosure so that different parts of the exterior surface of each sausage link come into contact with a concave interior surface of the basket in which that sausage link is carried; supplying heat to a selected portion of the enclosure to cook the sausage links; and treating the sausage links with natural smoke in a selected portion of the enclosure.