Abstract:
A method and apparatus for removing grease from meat includes a mesh basket for holding the partially cooked meat, a pressure plate for exerting a sustained force on the meat within the mesh basket, one or more spacers for placing on top of the pressure plate, a container for holding the mesh basket with the one or more spacers partially extending beyond an opening in the container and a lid that can be pressed onto the container, sealing the opening and placing sustained force on the spacers, thereby placing sustained force on the pressure plate, thereby compressing the partially cooked meat and extracting grease and excess liquids from the meat through the mesh basket and into the bottom of the container. A handle is provided to hold the container so as to pour out the grease and excess liquids through a flow conducting member, perhaps a spout.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to a meat degreaser. More specifically, it refers to an apparatus for exerting pressure on partially cooked meat to remove grease and excess juices.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     There is much concern regarding the intake of excess fat and grease. Excess fat and grease has been linked to obesity and other medical problems. In an attempt to reduce fat and grease, various devices have been developed to partially remove fat and grease from meat. For example, the Hamburger Degreaser illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,250 to Ferguson has a container for holding a fully cooked hamburger with a draining plate at the bottom and a pressing component to place pressure on the fully cooked hamburger, thereby pressing out grease and fat from the fully cooked hamburger through the drain plate and into a storage compartment. This device is useful for hamburgers, but has several limitations, one being that it would be difficult to adapt to other meats such as steak, roasts, turkey and filets. Furthermore, its construction requires the hamburger to be completely cooked. Finally, pressure must be exerted continuously by a user in order to extract grease and fat, requiring the user to press on the meat for a sustained period of time.  
         [0005]     What is needed is an apparatus for exerting sustained pressure on partially cooked meat to remove grease and excess liquids.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     For the purposes of this application, grease and excess liquids will include any liquid components of the meat being processed. For example, grease, fat, blood components and water. Furthermore, partially cooked meat refers to any type of meat that has been cooked to any temperature or any level of doneness. For example, partially cooked meat may refer to a chicken breast that has been boiled for 1 minute, a portion of chop meat that has been fried until brown or a can of fully cooked tuna fish.  
         [0007]     In one embodiment, an apparatus for removing grease and excess liquids from partially cooked meat is described, including a container having a closed bottom surface, an open top and an angular sidewall, also having an exterior and an interior surface and a top annular rim, the sidewall enclosing a cavity; a means for gripping the container mounted on the exterior surface; a means for conducting a flow of the grease and excess fluids from the container mounted on the exterior surface; and a lid adapted to seal tightly against the top annular rim. Configured to fit within the container is a mesh basket for holding the partially cooked meat and a pressure plate configured to apply sustained force to the partially cooked meat thereby pressing the grease and excess liquids from the partially cooked meat. In some embodiments, spacers are provided to fill the void between the top of the partially cooked meat and the lid, so that various quantities of partially cooked meat may be placed in the mesh basket on top of the pressure plate, preferably extending above the top annular rim, possibly by an inch or so, thereby exerting sustained pressure on the partially cooked meat when the lid is closed and latched. Perhaps a small spacer may be used for a large quantity of partially cooked meat, for example 1.5 pounds of partially cooked hamburger meat and a larger spacer may be used for a smaller quantity of partially cooked meat, such as a 6 ounce can of tuna fish.  
         [0008]     In another embodiment, an apparatus for removing grease and excess liquids from partially cooked meat is described including a container having an opening; a means for gripping the container mounted on an exterior surface of said container; a means for conducting a flow of the grease and excess fluids from the container mounted on the exterior surface; and a means for covering said opening with a lid. Configured to fit within the container is a mesh basket for holding the partially cooked meat. Also included is a pressure means consisting of a pressure plate configured to apply sustained force to the partially cooked meat thereby pressing the grease and excess liquids from the partially cooked meat.  
         [0009]     In another embodiment, a method of removing grease and excess liquids from a partially cooked meat is described including placing said partially cooked meat in a mesh basket, placing the mesh basket into a container, placing a pressure plate into the mesh basket and covering the partially cooked meat, placing one or more spacers above the pressure plate whereby the top of the one or more spacers extends above the top of the container, placing a lid on top of the container, pressing down on the lid and latching it, thereby exerting a sustained pressure on the one or more spacers and on the pressure plate, thereby pressing grease and excess liquids from the partially cooked meat, and pouring the grease and excess liquids out of the container through a flow conducting member.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates an external view of an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates an expanded view of an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  illustrates an expanded view of an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  illustrates a cut-out view of an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  illustrates a cut-out view of an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  illustrated a top view of a lid of an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the following detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures.  
         [0018]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an external view of the present invention is shown. In this, a container  110  is shown having a lid  160  that may be secured to the container by a latch  150 / 152 . In this embodiment, a twist latch is shown comprising a hook  150  and a receptor  152  that engage by placing the lid  160  onto the top rim of the container  110  and twisting the lid  160  until the hook  150  engages with the receptor  152 . In other embodiments, other means known in the industry of securing the lid  160  to the container  110  may be used including, but not limited to, a retaining wires and pressure fits. A lid grip  165  may be included in some embodiments to help in placing and removing the lid  160 . The container  110  may also have a grip  140  for gripping the container. Also shown is a flow conducting member or spout  130  to help direct the outward flow of grease and excess fluids through an opening in the side of the container  110 .  
         [0019]     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , an expanded view of the present invention is shown. In this the container  110  is shown having a lid  160  that may be secured to the container by a latch  150 / 152 . In this embodiment, a twist latch is shown comprising a hook  150  and a receptor  152  that engage by placing the lid  160  onto the top rim of the container  110  and twisting the lid  160  until the hook  150  engages with the receptor  152 . In other embodiments, other means known in the industry of securing the lid  160  to the container  110  may be used including, but not limited to, a retaining wires and pressure fits. A lid grip  165  may be included in some embodiments to help in placing and removing the lid  160 . The container  110  may also have a grip  140  for gripping the container. Also shown is a flow conducting member or spout  130  to help direct the outward flow of grease and excess fluids from the container  110 . In this view, a mesh basket  210  for holding partially cooked meat is shown. This basket may be constructed from a wire mesh such as used to form a kitchen strainer or colander or may be a perforated metal (or other sturdy material such as plastic or Teflon) container whereas the wire mesh or perforations are sized large enough to allow grease and excess juices to flow through the openings yet retain most of the meat. The basket is sized to fit within the container  110  and provide sufficient clearance from the interior surface  290  of the container  110  such that grease and excess juices may flow along the interior surface  290  of the container  110  when the container  110  is tilted.  
         [0020]     Configured to fit within the mesh basket  210  is a pressure plate  240  for pressing against the partially cooked meat. It is preferred that the pressure plate  240  is a solid material, substantially disk-like in shape and having a diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the mesh basket  210 , such that it fits snuggly within the mesh basket  210 . Configured to fit above the pressure plate  240  are one or more spacers (two are shown  220 / 230 ). The spacers are configured to fit within the mesh basket  210  and fill the void between the pressure plate  240  and the lid  160  when the lid  160  is closed. It is preferred that the spacer(s) extend above the top annular rim  205  of the container  110  before the lid  160  is closed, possibly an inch or so above the annular rim  205 , thereby placing a sustained pressure on the contents of the mesh basket when the lid  160  is closed and latched. The spacers  220 / 230  may be substantially disk-like in shape and have a diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the mesh basket, though they may not fit as snuggly as the pressure plate  240 .  
         [0021]     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , an expanded view of the present invention is shown. In this the container  110  is shown having a grip  140  for gripping the container. Also shown is a flow conducting member  130  to help direct the outward flow of grease and excess fluids from the container  110 . In this view, a mesh basket  210  for holding partially cooked meat  310  is shown. This basket may be constructed from a wire mesh such as used to form a kitchen strainer or colander or may be a perforated metal (or other sturdy material such as plastic) container whereas the wire mesh or perforations are sized large enough to allow grease and excess juices to flow through the openings yet retain most of the meat. The basket is sized to fit within the container  110  and provide sufficient clearance from the interior surface  290  of the container  110  such that grease and excess juices may flow along the interior surface  290  of the container  110  when the container  110  is tilted. In this embodiment, the mesh basket  210  has a lip  350  that engages with a stop  360  that extends from the inside surface of the container  110 . The lip  350  and stop  360  may hold the mesh basket  210  at or above the bottom surface  330  of the container  110 . In some embodiments, the bottom of the container  110  is raised slightly in the center, forming a raised bottom  320  for the mesh basket  210  to rest upon. Some embodiments may not have a lip  350  and stop  360  and rely only upon the raised bottom  320  to support the mesh basket  210 . Some embodiments may not have the raised bottom  320  and only have a lip  350  and stop  360  to support the mesh basked  210 . Some embodiments may have both the raised bottom  320  and the lip  350 /stop  360  to provide extra support for the mesh basket  210 .  
         [0022]     Configured to fit within the mesh basket  210  is a pressure plate  240  for pressing against the partially cooked meat  310 . It is preferred that the pressure plate  240  is a solid material, substantially disk-like in shape and having a diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the mesh basket  210 , such that it fits snuggly within the mesh basket  210 . Configured to fit above the pressure plate  240  are one or more spacers (two are shown  220 / 230 ). The spacers are configured to fit within the mesh basket  210  and fill the void between the pressure plate  240  and the lid  160  when the lid  160  is closed. It is preferred that the spacer(s) extend above the top annular rim  205  of the container  110  before the lid  160  is closed, possibly an inch or so above the annular rim  205 , thereby placing a sustained pressure on the partially cooked meat  310  that is held in the mesh basket when the lid  160  is closed and latched. The spacers  220 / 230  may be substantially disk-like in shape and have a diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the mesh basket, though they may not fit as snuggly as the pressure plate  240 .  
         [0023]     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , an expanded view of the present invention is shown with the mesh basket  210  inserted into the container  110 . In this the container  110  is shown having a grip  140  for gripping the container. Also shown is a flow conducting member  130  to help direct the outward flow of grease and excess fluids from the container  110 . In this view, a mesh basket  210  for holding partially cooked meat  310  is shown inserted into the container  110 . This basket may be constructed from a wire mesh such as used to form a kitchen strainer or colander or may be a perforated metal (or other sturdy material such as plastic) container whereas the wire mesh or perforations are sized large enough to allow grease and excess juices to flow through the openings yet retain most of the meat. The basket is sized to fit within the container  110  and provide sufficient clearance from the interior surface  290  of the container  110  such that grease and excess juices may flow along the interior surface  290  of the container  110  when the container  110  is tilted. In this embodiment, the mesh basket  210  has a lip  350  that engages with a stop  360  that extends from the inside surface of the container  110 . The lip  350  and stop  360  may hold the mesh basket  210  at or above the bottom surface  330  of the container  110 . In some embodiments, the bottom of the container  110  is raised slightly in the center, forming a raised bottom  320  for the mesh basket  210  to rest upon. Some embodiments may not have a lip  350  and stop  360  and rely only upon the raised bottom  320  to support the mesh basket  210 . Some embodiments may not have the raised bottom  320  and only have a lip  350  and stop  360  to support the mesh basked  210 . Some embodiments may have both the raised bottom  320  and the lip  350 /stop  360  to provide extra support for the mesh basket  210 .  
         [0024]     Configured to fit within the mesh basket  210  is a pressure plate  240  for pressing against the partially cooked meat  310 . It is preferred that the pressure plate  240  is a solid material, substantially disk-like in shape and having a diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the mesh basket  210 , such that it fits snuggly within the mesh basket  210 . Configured to fit above the pressure plate  240  are one or more spacers (two are shown  220 / 230 ). The spacers are configured to fit within the mesh basket  210  and fill the void between the pressure plate  240  and the lid  160  when the lid  160  is closed. It is preferred that the spacer(s) extend above the top annular rim  205  of the container  110  before the lid  160  is closed and optionally latched, possibly an inch or so above the annular rim  205 , thereby placing a sustained pressure on the partially cooked meat  310  that is held in the mesh basket when the lid  160  is closed and latched. The spacers  220 / 230  may be substantially disk-like in shape and have a diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the mesh basket, though they may not fit as snuggly as the pressure plate  240 .  
         [0025]     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , an expanded view of the present invention is shown with the mesh basket  210  inserted into the container  110  and the lid  160  closed. In this the container  110  is shown having a grip  140  for gripping the container. Also shown is a flow conducting member  130  to help direct the outward flow of grease and excess fluids from the container  110 . In this view, a mesh basket  210  for holding partially cooked meat  310  is shown inserted into the container  110  with a lip  350  engaged with a stop  360  that extends from the inside surface of the container  110  and the mesh basket  210  resting upon the raised bottom  320  to support it.  
         [0026]     Shown in  FIG. 5  within the mesh basket  210  is a pressure plate  240  for pressing against the partially cooked meat  310 . Above the pressure plate  240  are two spacers  220 / 230  that are exerting a sustained pressure on the partially cooked meat  310 , pressing out grease and excess liquids  510 , thereby allowing the grease and excess liquids  510  to collect at the bottom of the container  110  and later be poured from the container  110  through the flow conducting member  130  when the container  110  is tilted.  
         [0027]     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a top view of the lid  160  of the present invention is shown with a grip  165 . The lid  160  is preferably disk-shaped and is configured to fit tightly onto the top annular surface of the container  110 , thereby substantially sealing the container so that grease and excess liquids  510  can flow out of the flow conducting member  130  without leaking between the lid  160  and the container  110 . This seal will help in the use of the present invention, but, in some embodiments, may be a partial seal or a weak seal being that by slowly pouring the grease and excess liquids  510  out of the flow conducting member  130  may prevent the grease and excess liquids  510  from reaching the lid  160  and leaking between the lid  160  and the container  110 .  
         [0028]     Equivalent elements can be substituted for the ones set forth above such that they perform in substantially the same manner in the same way for achieving the same result.  
         [0029]     It is believed that the system and method of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description. It is also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein before described being merely exemplary and explanatory embodiment thereof. It is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.