Patent ID: 6224927
Filing Date: 2001-05-01
Classification: A23L

Abstract:
A process for providing cooked bacon disks, comprising:providing byproduct pieces of processed, cured bacon bellies, said byproduct pieces being processed bacon ends or pieces;grinding said byproduct pieces to between about 1/8 inch and about 1/2 inch grind size in order to prepare ground byproduct cured pieces;providing uncooked meat trimmings having a fat percent between about 5 and about 60 weight percent, based upon the total weight of the meat trimmings, and grinding said meat trimmings to between about 1/8 inch and about 1/2 inch grind size to provide ground uncooked meat trimmings;selecting a brine solution having at least water, salt, sugar and a nitrite-containing component;mixing together, in the absence of an albumin binder component, said ground bacon byproduct cured pieces, said ground, uncooked meat trimmings, and said brine solution to form a cured bacon meat mixture without an albumin binder, said mixture having between about 50 and about 80 weight percent of said ground bacon byproduct pieces, between about 20 and less than 50 weight percent of said ground uncooked meat trimmings, and between about 8 about 20 weight percent of said brine solution;shaping said cured bacon meat mixture and reducing its temperature to provide a sliceable meat stick;slicing said shaped sliceable meat stick so as to form a plurality of slices; andcooking said slices into cooked bacon disks.