Patent ID: 7357706

Claim:
A method of separating the meat of egg-bearing shrimps from the shells and eggs of said shrimps, comprising the following steps: a) steam boiling said shrimps at a high pressure exceeding the atmospheric pressure, and at an elevated temperature exceeding the boiling temperature of water at the atmospheric pressure for a specific period of time for keeping the meat of said shrimps in a compressed state due to the pressurization, while rapidly heating said shrimps to said elevated temperature for causing the meat of said shrimps to solidify and to loosen from the shells of said shrimps; b) rapidly cooling said shrimps to a temperature at or below the atmospheric temperature for causing substantially all meat of said shrimps to be separated from the shells of said shrimps between an area behind the head of each individual shrimp and a part above the tail of each individual shrimp; c) peeling said shrimps by engaging the shells with rollers to open the shells of the shrimps for allowing the meat loosely contained within the shells of said shrimps to fall out from the shells of said shrimps; d) separating the meat of said shrimps from the shell parts and eggs of the shrimps, by flotational separation of the meat from said shell parts and eggs, by introducing the meat with the shell parts and eggs attached thereto into a brine solution, including 6-14% NaCl by weight, for causing the meat to float on said brine solutions, while allowing the shell parts and eggs to sink; and e) removing the meat from said brine solution.