Primary meat processing: consistency, technology

Any enterprise that works with meat products, conducts the harvesting of meat in accordance with a certain technological cycle. Primary meat processing involves a number of operations - from thawing and drying to dressing. Let's consider each stage in more detail.

Thawing meat

This is the slowest process. Thanks to this, the meat juice, which is contained in frozen meat in the form of crystals, is slowly absorbed into the muscle fibers, and this allows the meat to restore its properties almost completely. Slow melting leads to the fact that meat loses only about 0.5% of the weight, if it melts in half. Primary processing of meat and by-products begins with thawing, and this process involves the observance of a number of rules:

• The meat must thaw before it is cut to pieces;
• Thawing occurs in chambers where the humidity is 85-90% at a temperature of 4-6 degrees;
• Thawing in the chambers takes 2-3 days.

Meat can thaw and quickly, but at a temperature of 16-18 degrees. After thawing, the meat is kept in the chamber for about 24 hours, but already at a temperature of +2 degrees.

Features of defrosting

Primary processing of meat begins with defrosting, which makes it possible to restore its original properties. You can not defrost the meat in water, cut the carcass into small pieces, since in this case the raw material significantly loses the meat juice, the nutritional value of meat is reduced, the quality of the semi-finished products becomes worse.

An important role in defrosting is washing the meat. It is necessary in order to remove from its surface microorganisms, spores, microbes and bacteria, which can be very much. When washing with warm water, it is possible to remove from the meat surface contamination by almost 99%.

Washing and drying

The technology of primary meat processing necessarily includes washing and drying. In muscle fibers, the product is practically sterile, which can not be said about its surface. If the surface is not treated in time, microorganisms from the surface of the meat will get inside the semi-finished products, and they will be spoiled. To reduce bacterial contamination and remove mechanical impurities from the carcass, use of warm water washing is used. This is enough to reduce the surface contamination of microorganisms by 95-99%. Washing is done twice, and you can not use the same water again.

The technology of primary processing of meat and meat products assumes washing by hanging meat on hooks and rinsing with clean running water from a hose, a hosepipe or a special shower. Washing of meat can be performed in baths with nylon or herbal brushes. The washed carcasses are cooled using cold water. After that, the meat undergoes drying.

Discussion

Primary processing of meat involves drying the carcass. For this purpose circulating air passing through the filters is used at a temperature of up to 60 degrees. If the enterprise is small, the meat can be laid on the grilles under special washbaths or hung on the hooks, after which drying takes place either in the air or by wiping with cotton napkins. The task of the process is not only to dry the surface of the meat, but also to prevent the reproduction of microbes.

Division into parts

The stages of primary meat processing are as follows:

• Thawing of meat;
• Washing;
• Drying;
• Division into parts;
• Boning;
• Lining and stripping;
• Manufacturing of semi-finished products.

The carcasses are cut into pieces in accordance with the properties of the muscular and connective tissue and taking into account how the meat will be used in the future - for frying, cooking, quenching and so on. Note that parts of the same carcass differ in nutritional value, and in chemical composition, caloric content, and taste properties. Therefore, the carcass is divided into commodity varieties - that is, for trade or for catering networks.

Beef cut

The primary processing of beef meat involves cutting the carcass. This is done in the following way: half-carves are cut into the back and front half, and the division is carried out along the last edge. The front half is divided into cuts in the form of a scapula, a neck, a dorsal-thoracic part, and a back half - on a tenderloin, a back foot and fillets. When cooking cut pieces of beef carcass, which are cut, belong to three varieties:

1. The first grade is a fillet tenderloin, dorsal and lumbar parts, supernatant part. They are used most often for frying, as this meat contains 3-4% of connective tissue.
2. The second grade is a scapula, a brisket and a backing. This meat is used for extinguishing and cooking.
3. The third grade is cutlet meat, shank. Here already up to 23% of connective tissue, so this meat is used in the preparation of cutlets and broths.

A special cutting grade and tools such as a butcher's ax or a circular circular saw are used for the cut. The chopping chair can be either round, or square. They are made of hardwood.

Cutting of different meat products

There are different kinds of meat raw materials. The primary processing of meat and the quality of the finished product will be different and nutritional value, and the ratio of muscles, fat and bones. Correspondingly, carcasses are cut into different varieties. In Russia, there is a unified scheme for carcass cutting, which are offered for retail trade. A separate scheme is used for the culinary cut, when smoked products are produced, sausages. Beef, according to standards, is divided into 3 varieties, veal - 3 varieties, pork - two varieties.

Cutting and meat trimming

Primary meat processing includes work on the boning. This process involves the removal of bones from halves. The boning is carried out on a special table with the help of boning knives. After this operation, the vein is performed, that is, the meat is finally cleaned of films, bones, cartilage, veins for obtaining different kinds of meat. In these operations an important role is played by the skill of the escalator and the tenant, since the yield of marketable meat depends on the professional approach.

Processing of poultry

The sequence of primary processing of poultry meat is somewhat different, since the main task of the initial stage of processing is to reduce the amount of blood in the carcass. From the degree of bleeding depends on the commercial appearance of carcasses and the features of their further storage. If the carcasses are badly bleached, the tissues will partially or completely redden, especially in the neck and wings. And if blood remains in the blood vessels of the carcass, this creates favorable conditions for the development of microbes.

The technology of primary meat processing assumes removal of plumage, on the quality of which the quality of carcasses depends. Tears, scratches affect the decrease in the grade of the chicken. Before the feathers are removed, the bird undergoes heat treatment in production. When scalded, the bird is immersed in a bath of heat treatment, where water circulates actively. This weakens the connection between the feather and the skin, so feathers are easily removed. The water temperature in the bath is maintained at the desired level thanks to automatic regulation.

Depending on the cooling methods, the heat treatment can be soft and hard. Soft modes are used when cooling carcasses of broiler chickens, and hard modes are used to cool gutted carcasses. Depending on whether the technology of heat treatment is observed, the quality of scalding will also change. If the heat treatment temperature is below normal, the plumage removal will become more difficult.

Removal of feathering is carried out with the help of machines and machines of different types, so that about 95% of the feather cover is removed automatically. During the operation of automatic machines, water is continuously supplied, the temperature of which is 45-50 degrees. Removed feathers are washed with water in a special chute, which is mounted on the floor of the shop. After the plumage is removed, the carcasses are fed to the portion of the pre-incubation, which is done manually. A special knife first removes the remaining feathers from the wings, neck, back and other parts of the carcass. The waxy pen is removed by the gas singeing chamber.

Evisceration of chicken

The quality of meat is affected by the quality of giblets evisceration. When primary processing of raw materials, this process is paid close attention. All procedures are carried out on a thoroughly cleaned workplace of a veterinary expert, equipped with special equipment. Most often evisceration is performed manually using a number of automatic systems. All technological operations must be performed correctly, so as not to damage the intestine, gall bladder - otherwise it will contaminate the meat with microbes and deteriorate its quality.

Features of chicken freezing

For long-term storage or transportation, chicken meat is frozen. For this, already cooled and chilled carcasses are taken. Freezing should be carried out quickly, which will affect the uniform distribution of ice crystals in the muscle tissue. Slow freezing will affect the formation of a small amount of ice crystals, which will disrupt the composition of the tissue and affect the decrease in the juiciness and tenderness of the product. At large enterprises, freezing is performed in chambers and apparatus, in which air acts as a coolant. Depending on the fatness of the chicken, the freezing time can be up to 72 hours. The consumer receives chicken meat either in chilled or frozen form. If the carcasses were stored and transported correctly, this will not affect the deterioration of the taste of the chicken.

How to create semi-finished products

After the initial treatment, the meat is divided into various parts that are fed into production. Stripped pieces of meat are also used for the production of semi-finished products. Most of these products are created from minced meat. It, in turn, is prepared and crushed in industrial meat grinders. Then the primary and thermal processing of meat is performed. Its task is to bring the product to the state of culinary readiness, while destroying microorganisms and increasing the resistance of products to any storage conditions. Due to the heat treatment of meat and meat products, the product undergoes a number of changes - physical and chemical.

By-products

After the primary processing of meat, internal organs remain, which are valuable in terms of cooking. The nutritional value of the tongue and liver is not inferior to the value of meat, and the lungs, ears, and tracheas have a low nutritional value. By-products are used in the preparation of a number of culinary products. Thus, after the initial treatment, the meat is divided into a number of products that are used for trading purposes. If the technological process and all its phases are observed, the meat products are cut and delivered to the counters in proper condition.