In this overview we will distinguish between ham or ham-type products and emulsified processed meat products . Ham or ham-type products are normally made from cuts or pieces of meat having a size of at least like a fist. Cooking During brine preparation care must be taken to properly dissolve all dissolvable ingredients. Injection of the brine is done by multi needle injectors by passing the meat one or more times through the injector until the desired level of injection is reached. The purpose of the injection is to distribute the brine components as effectively as possible throughout the meat.
Tumbling is a very important part of the overall process.
Tumblers are tanks with baffles which can hold up to many tons of injected meat. During slow rotation of the tumbler the brine is massaged into the meat for optimal distribution, and the salt- and phosphate soluble meat proteins are extracted and give the meat pieces a very sticky surface. Tumbling is done under vacuum and can last from few hours to more than 24 hours depending on the type of product. After tumbling the meat is wrapped in a plastic film and put into moulds. The cooking process and the final internal temperature has an impact of the water holding capacity of the meat proteins, i.e. the cooking loss.