Abstract:
A method for cutting extra-large poultry to fit within existing industrial fryers and remain as recognizable pieces to the consumer is provided. The method provides for the cuts necessary to create pieces of poultry from the extra-large poultry that are sized comparably to a normal sized bird. Furthermore, the method provides for keeping the cut pieces in a shape that the consumer recognizes as a particular piece of poultry.

Description:
This application is a Division of application Ser. No. 13/245,589, filed Sep. 26, 2011 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Industrial equipment to fry poultry is designed for birds weighing about three (3) to about four (4) pounds (about 1.3 kilograms to about 1.8 kilograms). Unfortunately, there are too few birds in this weight range to meet the retailers&#39; increased sales demands. To provide for this increased sales demand, poultry producers are using their supply of poultry weighing between about five (5) and about nine (9) pounds (about 2.3 kilograms to about 4.1 kilograms). However, the resulting cuts of poultry are too large for the fryers, and the cut pieces are unrecognizable to the consumer. 
     The consuming public is reluctant to buy an end-item poultry product not having the recognizability of a familiar cut. If the cut does not look right, the consumer is often dissatisfied with the product they received. A breast piece must appear as a breast piece and a thigh piece must appear as a thigh piece. 
     Similarly, packaged poultry in the market must also be presented with cuts that are recognizable to the consumer. Although boneless products have greater latitude for appearance, the aforementioned problems are applicable to both “bone-in” and “boneless” types of cuts. 
     Therefore, there is a need for new approaches to cutting bigger poultry so that the pieces are sized for use in existing equipment, and for those pieces to retain the appearance of traditional poultry cuts. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In a first aspect, the inventive method for cutting a poultry carcass comprises the following steps:
         (a) separating a leg and a thigh from a first and a second side of the poultry carcass;   (b) separating each leg from each thigh;   (c) separating a wing from the first and second sides of the poultry carcass, wherein the wing includes a drumette and a flat with a flipper;   (d) separating the drumette from the flat and flipper;   (e) separating a breast portion from the poultry carcass;   (f) butterflying the breast;   (g) splitting the breast into two halves; and   (h) splitting each breast half into at least three pieces, the three pieces being about the same size.       

     In a second aspect, the inventive method for cutting a poultry carcass comprises the following steps:
         (a) removing a leg and a thigh from each side of the poultry carcass;   (b) deboning the thigh and leg;   (c) cutting the leg meat from the thigh meat;   (d) cutting the thigh meat into two substantially equal halves;   (e) removing a wing from each side of the poultry carcass, wherein the wing includes a drumette and a flat with a flipper;   (f) removing the drumettes from the flats with the flippers;   (g) removing the flippers from the flats   (h) separating a breast section from the poultry carcass;   (i) butterflying the breast section;   (j) deboning the breast section;   (k) cutting the breast meat into two halves; and   (l) cutting each breast half into at least three pieces.       

     In another aspect, the inventive method for right-sizing an extra-large chicken for industrial fryers comprises the following steps:
         (a) cutting a chicken into pieces using at least fourteen (14) cuts, wherein the resulting pieces include:
           (i) at least two leg pieces;   (ii) at least two thigh pieces;   (iii) at least two wing drumette pieces;   (iv) at least two wing flat pieces;   (v) at least six breast pieces; and   
           (b) right-sizing the pieces to fit within an existing industrial fryer, wherein each breast piece and thigh piece is comparably sized with breast and thigh pieces from a chicken about one-half the size of the extra-large chicken.       

     In yet another aspect, the inventive method for cutting a poultry carcass comprises the following steps:
         (a) separating a hind saddle from a fore saddle of the poultry carcass, wherein the poultry carcass includes at least a breast, a plurality of rib bones, a leg, a thigh, and a backbone, wherein the breast forms a breast cavity associated with the poultry carcass, and the separating step further includes the steps of:
           (i) removing a tail from the poultry carcass;   (ii) cutting into the breast cavity between the rib bones and the leg and thigh, wherein the cutting is sufficiently deep to define a bend in the backbone between the fore saddle and the hind saddle;   (iii) cutting the backbone at the bend;   
           (b) separating the hind saddle into separate pieces, the hind saddle includes at least a leg quarter having the leg and thigh, the thigh having a femur bone, which is connected to the leg at a knee joint located between the leg and thigh, wherein the separating step further includes the steps of:
           (i) separating the leg quarter at a midline of the backbone;   (ii) separating the leg from the thigh at the knee joint;   (iii) cutting the thigh into about two equal pieces, wherein the cutting includes cutting perpendicular to the backbone and continuing parallel to the femur;   
           (c) separating the fore saddle into separate pieces, the fore saddle including the breast, a keel, the backbone, a wing having a humerus bone connected to a wing socket, a drumette, a flat, and a flipper, wherein the separating step further includes the steps of:
           (i) removing the wings from the breast where the humerus bone connects to the wing socket, the wing socket being connected to a bone when the breast has the bone in the breast;   (ii) cutting the flipper off of the wings;   (iii) separating the drumette from the flat at a joint therebetween;   (iv) splitting the breast with the bone in the breast into a pair of breast halves, the separating occurring along a midline of the keel and backbone; and   (v) cutting each breast half into about three equal portions, wherein a keel piece is created by cutting the breast half perpendicularly to the backbone and in front of a last rib, a center cut is created by cutting the remaining breast half portion perpendicularly to the backbone and in front of the wing socket, thereby leaving a breast piece with ribs as the third piece.   
               

    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a normal poultry carcass and an extra-large poultry carcass positioned side-by-side for comparison. The illustrated poultry carcasses are eviscerated and have a fully clean body cavity. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a poultry carcass separated into a fore saddle and a hind saddle. 
         FIG. 3A  is an illustration of the hind saddle prior to the hind saddle being further processed. 
         FIG. 3B  is an illustration of a combined leg and thigh, also referred to as the leg quarter, after separation from the hind saddle and having the bone-in. The leg and thigh are illustrated with the skin. 
         FIG. 3C  is an illustration of both poultry legs and thighs separated from each other. The leg and thigh are illustrated with the skin. 
         FIG. 4A  is an exploded view of the bone-in leg separated from thigh. The legs are illustrated as still having the skin. One thigh is illustrated as still having the skin and the other as having the skin partially removed. 
         FIG. 4B  is an exploded view of the boneless leg separated from boneless thigh. One leg is illustrated as still having the most of the skin and the other is illustrated as having no skin. One thigh is illustrated as still having most of the skin and the other as having no skin. 
         FIG. 4C  is an exploded view of the bone-in thigh cut into two pieces. The skin-side illustrated on top is approximately one-half of the thigh and the meat-side illustrated on bottom is the other one-half of the thigh. The meat-side illustration includes a portion of the rib meat. 
         FIG. 4D  is an exploded view of the boneless thigh cut into two pieces. The meat-side illustrated on top is one thigh split into two pieces. The skin side illustrated is the other thigh split into two pieces. 
         FIG. 5A  is an illustration of the fore saddle. The fore saddle is illustrated with skin. 
         FIG. 5B  is an illustration of the fore saddle with the wings separated from the breast portion. The fore saddle and wings are illustrated with skin. The center cut-line for the fore saddle is also illustrated. 
         FIG. 5C  is an illustration of the breast portion separated into two portions. The backbone, ribs and breast bone are illustrated in the breast portion on the left side of  FIG. 5C .  FIG. 5C  also illustrates the meat-side of the breast portion. The back portion is illustrated on the right side of  FIG. 5C , which also illustrates the skin-side of the breast portion. 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of the wing with the drumette separated from the wing flat with a flipper. The drumette and wing flat with flipper are illustrated with skin. 
         FIG. 7  is a plan view of the bone-in butterfly breast portion. The breast portion is illustrated with skin. Additionally, the breast portion includes a portion of the back meat with skin. 
         FIG. 8A  is a plan view of the bone-in separated breasts from the butterflied breast portion in  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 8B  is a plan view of the separated boneless breast portion with the skin removed. 
         FIG. 9A  is a plan view of each boneless breast portion cut into three pieces. The breast pieces on the left side of  FIG. 9A  are presented meat-side up and the breast pieces on the right side of  FIG. 9A  are presented with skin-side up. 
         FIG. 9B  is a plan view of each bone-in breast portion cut into three pieces. The breast pieces on the left side of  FIG. 9B  are presented skin-side up and the breast pieces on the right side of  FIG. 9B  are presented with meat-side up. The breast pieces on the top, right side of  FIG. 9B  include a portion of the backbone and ribs. The breast pieces on the middle, right side of  FIG. 9B  include a portion of the ribs. 
         FIG. 10  is a top view of bone-in poultry pieces. 
         FIG. 11A  is a top view of boneless breast meat progressing from the butterflied condition, the separation of the breast into two large pieces, and the separation of each breast piece into smaller, individual pieces. 
         FIG. 11B  is a top view of boneless dark meat progressing from the filleted stage of the combined leg and thigh pieces, to the separated leg and thigh pieces, and to separation of the thigh pieces into smaller, individual pieces. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to the drawings, the inventive method is illustrated and generally designated by the numeral  10 . As shown by the drawings and understood by those skilled in the art, inventive method  10  provides a method for cutting large poultry, and the applicable steps therefor, such that poultry pieces are right-sized to fit within industrial fryers and remain recognizable by the consumer. Poultry carcass  12  may be any poultry, but for ease in understanding the invention, a chicken is used in the some of the following illustrations. As referred to herein, poultry carcass  12  is eviscerated and has a fully cleaned body cavity. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-6 , the steps of separating parts of poultry carcass  12  involve cutting. Cutting may include separating the parts of poultry carcass  12 , removing the parts of poultry carcass  12 , severing the parts of poultry carcass  12 , or other similar descriptions. Extra-large poultry carcass  12  in  FIG. 1  is presented to the right of normal poultry carcass  13  for illustration purposes only. Poultry carcass  12  is any large bird capable of satisfying the requirements of this inventive method. 
     In operation, poultry carcass  12  is positioned on a cutting device. When using poultry carcass  12  that is identified as extra-large, the bird weighs between about five (5) and about nine (9) pounds (about 2.3 kilograms to about 4.1 kilograms) without giblets (WOG). 
     The cutting device may be any cutting device used in the industry, which includes numerically controlled water jets, rotary knives, band saws, hand-held knives, shears and combinations thereof. Once poultry carcass  12  is positioned on the cutting device, the order of the steps to create poultry pieces that are right-sized for existing industrial equipment and recognizable by the consumer is dependent upon the particular capability of the cutting device. The order of the steps may vary depending upon the cutting device. Preferably, the cutting device is automated to allow for rapid processing of poultry carcass  12 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates separated fore saddle  14  and hind saddle  16 . Fore saddle  14  and hind saddle  16  are separated from poultry carcass  12  using industry practices. 
     Fore saddle  14  includes breast  18 , back  20  and wings  22 . Hind saddle  16  includes legs  24  and thighs  26 .  FIGS. 3A-3C  illustrate hind saddle  16 , hind saddle  16  separated into combined leg  24  and thigh  26 , and separated leg  24  and thigh  26 . Leg  24  and thigh  26  are separated using a cutting device.  FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate fore saddle  14  separated into combined breast  18  and back  20  with separated wings  22 .  FIG. 5C  illustrates a split breast  18  and back  20 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4A-4D, 10, 12 and 13B , leg  24  is depicted as being separated from thigh  26 .  FIG. 4A  illustrates leg  24   a  and thigh  26   a  with the bone-in. Leg  24   a  is separated from thigh  26   a . When creating a boneless cut, the bone is removed using industry practices. As illustrated in  FIG. 4B , boneless leg  24   b  and boneless thigh  26   b  are deboned prior to separating the meat of boneless leg  24   b  and boneless thigh  26   b . Once thigh  26   a  and/or  26   b  is separated from leg  24 , it is further cut into two substantially equal thigh halves, as illustrated in  FIGS. 4C and 4D . Thigh  26   a  is illustrated as having two substantially equal thigh halves  28   a  and  28   b  in  FIG. 10 . In  FIG. 10 , thigh half  28   a  contains meat from thigh  26 , the backbone  30 , and femur bone  32  (substituting for a rib) of poultry carcass  12 , and thigh half  28   b  contains the backbone  30  meat only from thigh  26 . Boneless thigh  26   b  is illustrated in  FIG. 11B  as two substantially equal thigh halves  28   c  and  28   d.    
     The substantially equal thigh halves  28   a - d  of thighs  26   a  and  26   b  are cut to appear as easily recognizable poultry parts for the consumer, and to fit within existing industrial fryers. Each substantially equal half of boneless thigh  26   b  takes as long to cook as a normal sized thigh  26  from a normal sized poultry carcass  12 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5A , fore saddle  14  is illustrated with first side  34  and second side  36 , having wings  22  still attached thereto.  FIG. 5B  illustrates fore saddle  14  with wings  22  separated from first and second sides  34  and  36 . Wings  22  are separated using the cutting equipment described above.  FIG. 5C  illustrates breast  18  and back  20  split down middle  38  of fore saddle  14 . 
     As part of the process for separating the pieces into smaller and recognizable parts, wing  22  is further separated into smaller parts. Referring to  FIG. 6 , drumette  40  is illustrated as being separated from flat  42  with flipper  44  of wing  22 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5A-11A , and in particular to  FIG. 5B , fore saddle  14  is split along back  20  and butterflied using industry practices. The butterflied fore saddle  14  is illustrated in  FIG. 7  with the bone-in.  FIG. 8A  illustrates the butterflied bone-in breast  18  split down middle  38 . If breast portion  18  is to be boneless, breast portion  18  is further separated from the bone using industry practices.  FIG. 8B  illustrates butterflied boneless breast  18  split down middle  38 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 9A-11A , breast portion  18  is split into two breast halves  46   a  and  46   b . Each breast half  46   a  and  46   b  is cut into at least three breast pieces  48   a ,  48   b  and  48   c.    
     Similar to boneless thigh  26   b , breast pieces  48   a ,  48   b  and  48   c  are cut to visually resemble recognizable breast pieces of a normal sized poultry carcass  13 . Additionally, breast pieces  48   a ,  48   b  and  48   c  are sized to fit within existing industrial fryers such that the breast meat cooks at the same rate as a normal sized breast piece from a normal sized poultry carcass  13 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , using the inventive method, a finished set of bone-in pieces of poultry carcass  12  is illustrated. Breast pieces  48   a  include rib bones  50 . Breast pieces  48   b  include a portion of breastbone  52 . Breast pieces  48   c  include keel portion  54  of breast portion  18 . As illustrated, there are at least two legs  24 , at least two thighs  26 , at least two wing drumettes  40 , at least two wing flats  42  with flippers  44 , and at least six breast pieces  48   a - c . This embodiment right-sizes poultry carcass  12  by using 14 to 16 cuts to provide 14 to 16 pieces of poultry. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11A , breast portion  18  is illustrated in stages of cutting after separation from poultry carcass  12 . As illustrated, breast portion  18  is deboned prior to splitting it into breast halves  46   a  and  46   b . The deboning process may occur as defined by the industry practices and/or the particular cutting device used. 
     Halves  46   a  and  46   b  are illustrated with the breast shoulder, which is breast piece  48   a . The breast center is illustrated as breast pieces  48   b . The breast tip, or keel, is illustrated as breast piece  48   c . Breast pieces  48   a - c  have the recognizable appearance of breast pieces from a normal size bird. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11B , boneless leg  24   b  and boneless thigh  26   b  are illustrated. The deboned combined poultry part is illustrated as combined leg and thigh  56 , or boneless leg quarter  56 . Bone-in leg quarter  56  is illustrated in  FIG. 3B  as combined leg and thigh  56 . Boneless leg  24   b  and boneless thigh  26   b  are separated. As discussed above, boneless thigh  26   b  is further separated into substantially equal thigh halves  28   c  and  28   d . Thigh halves  28   c  and  28   d  have the recognizable appearance of a thigh from a normal size poultry carcass  13 . 
     In many embodiments, it is desirable to retain the skin on poultry carcass  12  and the resulting pieces. This provides a crispier, more genuine fried poultry experience for the consumer. However, many consumers prefer a skinless product. Accordingly, the inventive method also provides for removing the poultry carcass skin using industry accepted practices. 
     In the boneless embodiment, the pieces resulting from this inventive method provide the consumer with the experience of eating poultry as if it were on the bone, but without the inherent problem found in dealing with the bone. It offers a sensory experience of eating cooked poultry, but with the convenience of a boneless product. However, because the pieces of poultry have the appearance of traditional pieces of poultry, the consumers are satisfied they are purchasing the actual product they desire. 
     In another embodiment, the method of cutting poultry carcass  12  includes first separating hind saddle  16  from fore saddle  14 . Poultry carcass  12  includes breast  18 , a plurality of rib bones  50 , a leg, a thigh, and backbone  30 . Breast  18  forms a breast cavity associated with poultry carcass  12 . The separating step further includes the steps of removing a tail (not shown) from poultry carcass  12 . The breast cavity is cut between rib bones  50 , and leg  24  and thigh  26 . The cutting is sufficiently deep to define a bend in backbone  30  between fore saddle  14  and hind saddle  16 . Backbone  30  is cut at the bend defined thereon. 
     Hind saddle  16  is separated into separate pieces. Hind saddle  16  includes at least a leg quarter  56  having leg  24  and thigh  26 . Thigh  26  has a femur bone, which is connected to leg  24  at a knee joint located between leg  24  and thigh  26 . The separating step further includes the steps of separating leg quarters  56  at a midline (not shown) of backbone  30 , and then separating leg  24  from thigh  26  at the knee joint. Thigh  26  is cut into about two equal pieces. The cutting includes cutting perpendicular to backbone  30  and continuing to cut parallel to the femur. 
     Fore saddle  14  is separated into separate pieces. Fore saddle  14  includes at least breast  18 , keel portion  54  (also called keel  54 ), backbone  30 , and wing  22 . Wing  22  has a humerus bone connected to a wing socket, drumette  40 , flat  42 , and flipper  44 . The separating step further includes the steps of removing wings  22  from breast  18  where the humerus bone connects to the wing socket, the wing socket being connected to a bone when breast  18  has the bone-in-the-breast. Flipper  44  is cut off of the wings. Drumette  40  is separated from flat  42  at a joint therebetween. Breast  18 , having the bone-in-the-breast, are split into a pair of breast halves  46   a  and  46   b . The separating occurs along middle  38 , also referred to as midline  38  of keel  54 , and backbone  30 . Each breast half  46   a  and  46   b  is cut into about three equal portions. Keel portion  54 , or keel piece  54 , is created by cutting breast half  46   a  or  46   b  perpendicular to backbone  30 , and in front of a last rib bone  50 . A center cut is created by cutting the remaining breast half portion  46   a  or  46   b  perpendicular to backbone  30  and in front of the wing socket. The third breast piece  18  is the remaining breast half portion  46   a  or  46   b  with rib bones  50  and rib meat. 
     Other embodiments of the current invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of this specification or practice of the invention disclosed herein. Thus, the foregoing specification is considered merely exemplary of the current invention with the true scope thereof being defined by the following claims. Thus, the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned and alluded to, as well as those which are inherent therein.