Salami process

Abstract: A process for preparing meat containing salami therein characterised in that there is incorporated into chilled meat a frozen suspension of salami in a brine, marinate or pickle.

Description: The present invention relates to a process for incorporating salami into meat. Meat trimmings are obtained by removal from the meat during the standard preparation of whole cuts of meat in the meat industry. The trimmings are usually but not always of low quality and usually contain some fat and some muscle tissue. It is possible, by using technology introduced onto the market in recent years, to incorporate suspensions made of meat trimmings into whole cuts of like meat to increase the weight using a multi-needle injector. By controlling parameters such as the amount of trimmings injected, the meat/fat ratio and the quality of the meat, this technology enables the production of cooked ham or other marinated meat products without affecting the standard quality with regard to flavour, shelf-life and lack of visibility of the suspension, and in some cases improving it, for instance, with regard to binding and yield. Such a process is described in US-A-4,960,599. The cost saving of injecting trimmings is considerable when the trimmings are of low value compared to whole cuts of meat. In order to impart a specificity to the flavour and to improve the microbiological stability, it has been proposed to ferment the raw marinated meat by using a starter culture in the brine or marinade prior to cooking to produce bacteriocins. However, since the raw marinated meat can under no circumstances be allowed to ferment at a temperature higher than about +8°C prior to cooking, the biggest problem is to find a starter culture that can produce bacteriocins and a specific flavour at low temperature. We have tested some commercially available cultures but the effect on the final quality of the product regarding flavour and microbiological stability is minimal. In addition, the production time before the cooking step must be prolonged considerably. We found that by applying the fermentation step with a starter culture in the meat trimmings prior to incorporation into meat, it was possible to adapt the fermentation parameters such as temperature, time, humidity and ingredients, etc. to their optimal values. Accordingly, in EP 770336 (patent application EP-A-95202882.7) there is provided a process for preparing meat containing meat trimmings therein which comprises incorporating a frozen suspension of meat trimmings in a brine, marinate or pickle into chilled meat characterised in that before freezing, the meat trimmings are fermented with a starter culture. We have now found, surprisingly that, by incorporating a frozen suspension of salami in a brine, marinate or pickle into chilled meat, a clear and pleasant salami taste may be obtained without affecting the standard quality of the meat with regard to shelf-life and lack of visibility of the suspension. According to the present invention there is provided a process for preparing meat containing salami therein characterised in that there is incorporated into chilled meat a frozen suspension of salami in a brine, marinate or pickle. The meat used in the process may be obtained from all types of meat such as pork, beef, lamb, poultry and fish. For example, raw whole cuts of meat may be chilled, e.g. to a temperature from -2° to 12°C, preferably from 2° to 10°C and especially from 3° to 8°C, deboned and the trimmings removed in the usual manner. The salami may be incorporated into trimmed whole meat cuts as such or into smaller portions of meat formed by dividing the whole meat cuts into pieces having an average diameter of from 0.5 to 10 cm, more conveniently from 1 to 5cm. When the salami is incorporated into whole cuts of meat, this may be carried out conventionally by injection, using for instance a multi needle injector. When the salami is incorporated into smaller portions of meat, this may be carried out by mixing the salami with the smaller portions of meat, e.g. with agitation such as stirring or tumbling. For example, a suspension of the salami may be added directly to a tumbler. Before incorporation into the meat, the salami is conveniently tempered to below 0°C, preferably to from -2° to -8°C and ground until the majority of the particles have a size of less than 30mm diameter and their average particle size is from 2mm to 10mm, preferably from 3mm to 7mm diameter. The salami is preferably mixed with a brine, pickle or marinate after freezing to a temperature of from -5° to -30°C, preferably from -15° to -25°C to form a suspension. The brine, pickle or marinate may be at a temperature of 0° to -30°C and preferably from -5° to -12°C. As is well known, a pickle is used for preserving meat and may contain brine, vinegar or other salt or acid liquor while a marinate is used for flavouring meat and may contain brine, vinegar or wine, oil, spices and herbs, etc. For instance, the salami may be mixed with sugar and a nitrite salt such as sodium nitrite. The pH of the mixture is usually in the range of from about 5.2 to 6.3, preferably from 5.5 to 6.0. The mixing may be performed by emulsifying one or more times, e.g. up to four times. The ratio of brine, pickle or marinate to the salami may be from 1:1 to 20:1, preferably from 1.5:1 to 15:1 and more preferably from 2:1 to 9:1. For example a brine may consist of a mixture of nitrite salt, sugar, ascorbate and water. The nitrite and ascorbate salts are conveniently the sodium salts. The frozen suspension of salami in a brine, marinate or pickle is then warmed to a temperature preferably not greater than +1°C, for instance about -2° to -10°C, preferably from -4° to -8°C and incorporated into the chilled meat. Although it is possible to warm the suspension of salami to a temperature up to 5°C if the suspension contains less than 25% salami, especially less than 10% meat, there is no clear advantage to do so. The temperature of the suspension preferably should not exceed +1°C otherwise proteins would be extracted which would cause the suspension to thicken rapidly and this may cause subsequent clogging of the needles when the salami is injected into the meat with needles. The amount of salami incorporated into the meat may vary, e.g. up to 15%, conveniently from 1 to 10% and preferably from 2 to 6% by weight based on the weight of the meat. During the incorporation of the suspension of the salami into the meat, especially by injection, a portion of the suspension of the salami is squeezed out of the meat and may be returned to the batch containing the mixture of salami with brine where it is chilled down again. Any portion of the suspension returned is preferably emulsified at least once, more preferably at least two or three times, with the next batch because it may contain small meat particles which are disrupted from the muscles during injection and which could cause clogging of the needles. When the salami is incorporated by injection, a part of the suspension of the salami is preferably added separately so that some may be absorbed during tumbling since it is not usually possible to incorporate the exact desired percentage of suspension by injection. If desired, in addition to the frozen suspension of salami, there may be incorporated into the chilled meat a frozen suspension of meat trimmings fermented with a starter culture prior to freezing as described in EP 770336 (patent application EP-A-95202882.7), preferably simultaneously with the salami. The amount of frozen meat trimmings may be up to 75%, preferably from 10 to 60% and more preferably from 20 to 50% by weight based on the weight of the salami. After the injection, the meat may be processed conventionally. The meat product may be a chilled product which is either non-cooked or cooked, or it may be frozen, preferably marinated, or dried. Examples of non-cooked chilled meat products are Lardon, bacon, cold smoked ham, etc. An example of a cooked and chilled meat product is cooked ham. For a cooked, chilled product such as cooked ham, the meat may undergo tenderisation, tumbling, moulding, cooking, chilling, storage, slicing and packaging by conventional methods such as are well known in the art. Advantageously, for a meat product which is cooked, such as cooked ham, the meat may be fermented prior to the cooking process. The process of the present invention may provide protection against undesirable bacteria such as Listeria in chilled products and improved flavour in frozen and dried products. The following Example further illustrates the present invention. Parts and percentages are by weight. Example 1 A whole ham was chilled to 5°C and trimmed by removing fat, sinews, etc. before separating into different whole meat cuts. Italian salami was tempered to -5°C and ground in a Kilia grinder to an average particle size of 5mm. The ground salami was frozen to -20°C and mixed in a Hobart mixer with a brine at -8°C composed of 10.08% sodium nitrite salt, 0.18% of sodium ascorbate, 2.28% of dextrose and 87.46% of water (corresponding to an injection level of 40.3% and a 7.2% level of salami in the final product) in a ratio of 3 parts brine to 1 part of salami. The mixing was carried out by emulsifying three times to form a suspension. The suspension was then injected at -6°C into one of the whole cuts of ham through a multi-needle injector and the ham containing the salami was then subjected to tenderisation, tumbling, moulding, cooking, chilling, storage, slicing and finally packaging by conventional methods. The chilled cooked ham had a clear and pleasant salami taste. This is surprising because I) a chilled cooked ham product into which had been injected 4% ham trimmings plus 2% salami oil flavour did not result in a salami flavoured ham, and ii) a chilled cooked ham product into which had been injected 4% ham trimmings plus eight times the standard level of garlic liquid used in German "Saftschinken" did not impart the expected garlic flavour. Example 2 A similar process to that described in Example 1 was followed except that the injection level of the suspension was only 23% instead of the 40.3% level used in Example 1 giving an addition of only 4% salami in the final product instead of 7.2% in Example 1. The chilled cooked ham had a clear and pleasant salami taste. This is surprising because I) a chilled cooked ham product into which had been injected 4% ham trimmings plus 2% salami oil flavour did not result in a salami flavoured ham, and ii) a chilled cooked ham product into which had been injected 4% ham trimmings plus eight times the standard level of garlic liquid used in German "Saftschinken" did not impart the expected garlic flavour. Example 3 By following a similar procedure to that described in Example 2 but using pepper salami from which the outer pepper layer had been removed before grinding, instead of Italian salami, similar results were obtained. Example 4 By following a similar procedure to that described in Example 2 but using Swedish salami, instead of Italian salami, similar results were obtained.

Claims: A process for preparing meat containing salami therein characterised in that there is incorporated into chilled meat a frozen suspension of salami in a brine, marinate or pickle. A process according to claim 1 wherein the raw meat is chilled to a temperature from -2° to 12°C. A process according to claim 1 wherein the incorporation of the salami into whole cuts of meat is carried out by injection using a multi needle injector. A process according to claim 1 wherein before incorporation into the meat, the salami is tempered to below 0°C and ground until the majority of the particles have an average particle size less than 30mm diameter. A process according to claim 1 wherein the salami is mixed with a brine, pickle or marinate after freezing to a temperature of from -5° to -30°C to form a suspension. A process according to claim 5 wherein the pH of the mixture is in the range of from about 5.2 to 6.3. A process according to claim 1 wherein the brine, pickle or marinate is at a temperature form 0° to -30°C. A process according to claim 1 wherein the ratio of the brine, pickle or marinate to the salami is from 1.1 to 20:1. A process according to claim 1 wherein the frozen suspension of salami in a brine, marinate or pickle is warmed to a temperature of not greater than +1°C and injected into the chilled meat. A process according to claim 1 wherein the amount of salami incorporated into the meat is up to 15% by weight based on the weight of the meat. A process according to claim 1 wherein, in addition to the frozen suspension of salami, there is incorporated into the chilled meat a frozen suspension of meat trimmings fermented with a starter culture prior to freezing. A process according to claim 1 wherein after the incorporation, the meat is chilled, frozen or dried. A process according to claim 12 wherein the meat is cooked before being chilled. A process according to claim 13 wherein, prior to cooking, the meat is fermented. A meat product containing salami therein, obtainable by a process as claimed in any of the preceding claims.

Inventors: BODENAS LARS GOERAN, HALDEN JONAS PETER, OLSSON KJELL, ZURBRIGGEN BEAT DENIS, BODENAS, LARS GOERAN, HALDEN, JONAS PETER, OLSSON, KJELL, ZURBRIGGEN, BEAT DENIS, Bodenas, Lars Göran
Applicants: NESTLE SA, SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: A23L1
IPC codes: A23L1, A23B4