the practicing of this invention results in a dehydrated meat product which has an expanded meat matrix . the expanded matrix allows the meat to be more easily and completely rehydratable . boneless meat is used which may be from any suitable meat cut from any animal species which is customerily used as a source of food for human consumption . typically , it is expected that the meat will be beef , veal , lamb , pork , chicken or turkey . the meat is trimmed of all heavy connective tissue and excess fat . trimming is essential if rehydration is to be complete . then it is cut into pieces suitable for grinding , flaking or chunking . up to 50 percent , but usually not more than 15 percent of the meat , is ground twice through a 0 . 125 inch grinder plate or emulsified in a bowl chopper . the balance of the meat may be flaked or chunked into particles having a volume of 0 . 001 cubic inches or larger , but which are more typically 2 . 5 - 6 cubic inches in volume . flaked meat may be used but chunked meat is preferred in the practice of this invention . the particular brand of flaking machine used is the urschiell comitrol comminution machine , although other standard machines are acceptable . the actual size of the flaking head in the machine can vary from 1 / 4 &# 34 ; to 1 &# 34 ;, although the larger size is preferred . the flakes generated are approximately 1 / 32 &# 34 ; to 1 . 0 &# 34 ; thick . a conventional grinding machine equipped with a kidney plate having minimum openings of 2 . 5 inches may be used for producing meat chunks of suitable size . the finely ground or emulsified meat and the chunked or flaked meat are mixed with water which may be added in the range of 1 . 0 % to 10 . 0 % of formula weight , but is more typically added in the range of 2 . 0 % to 6 . 0 % of the formula weight . if more than 10 % water is added , some of the water will be purged from the meat during the cooking . salt may be added in amounts in the range of 0 . 1 % to 5 . 0 %, but more typically 0 . 5 % to 2 . 0 % of the formula weight and a food grade phosphate , such as sodium tripolyphosphate may be added in amounts of 0 . 1 % to 0 . 5 %, but more typically about 0 . 5 % of the formula weight . the salts which may be used include sodium chloride and potassium chloride . food grade phosphates which are effective include the sodium salts of pyrophosphate , orthophosphate , hexametaphosphate or tripolyphosphate or mixtures thereof . adjunctive , hydrophilic ingredients are added to act as matrix expansion aids , wicking agents and inhibitors of myosin cross linking thereby enhancing the rate and extent of rehydration of freeze dried cooked meats . cellulose derived food grade substances such as carboxymethyl cellulose and microcrystalline cellulose and mixtures thereof have been shown to be effective hydration aids and emulsion stabilizers in the range of 0 . 5 % to 10 . 0 % of the free water content of the meat but their most effective use level is in the range of 0 . 5 % to 5 . 0 %. gum , such as gum arabic , polyvinylpyrrolidone , arabino gallactan , xanthan gum , kayara gum , guar gum , gum tragacanth , locust bean gum and mixtures of these in amounts in the range of 0 . 5 % to 5 . 0 % of formula weight . malto dextrins and other hydrocolloids may be used in levels in the same range . mechanical mixing or massaging of the larger particles of meat in the presence of salt , sodium tripolyphosphate and the finely ground or flaked meat initially results in the extraction of a tacky myosin exudate . this permits forming of the meat flakes or chunks into cohesive logs of any desired geometry . the salts and phosphates in addition to aiding in the extraction of the myosin exudate , increase the water holding capacity of the raw meat . the addition of these solutes and water causes swelling of raw intact muscle and collagen cells , enhancing expansion of the meat matrix . the hydrophillic colloids , cellulose or starch derivatives , because of their affinity for water , assist in the retention of added water within the meat matrix during cooking . a relatively open cooked meat structure having a strong affinity for water after freeze dehydration is the result of adding the above ingredients and subsequently cooking the meat by no - purge techniques . the meat and the added ingredients are mechanically mixed or tumbled until sufficient myofibrillar proteins are extracted to render the mixture moderately tacky . the product is then mixed , ideally at 40 ° f . for sufficient time to allow the added soluble substances to equilibrate throughout the mixture . full equilibration depends on temperature , method of mixing and duration of mixing . a post - mixing quiescent equilibration periodd typically lasting 8 to 16 hours may be used in lieu of prolonged mixing , massaging or tumbling . if a still equilibration period is employed , the mixture is generally remixed following equilibration to assure sufficient plasticity to enable pumping through a commercial stuffing machine . the mixture is then stuffed into moisture and gas impermeable flexible containers such as , but not limited to , casings used to protect hams , restructured roasts , and sausages . the casing used must be essentially water impervious and have an oxygen transmission rate of not more than 10 cc of o 2 / meter 2 / 0 . 001 inch thickness / 24 hours at 20 ° c . and 0 % relative humidity . a casing which meets these requirements is manufactured by walsroder co . of chicago , il . this casing has a fibrous cellulose exterior laminated onto a saran film interior . the technique for filling or stuffing the casings or other container is critical to the success of the cooking process , which must rapidly follow the stuffing procedure . the casing fits tightly to the surface of the meat so as to keep moisture in equilibrium within said meat product during cooking . the filled container must be uniformly free of voids within the mixture and at the interface of the meat and the casings . the absence of voids prevents the water present in the meat from being purged during cooking . the closure of the casings may be , but are not limited to , metal clips or thermal welds and must be watertight . following stuffing , red meat , such as beef , pork , veal and lamb must be cooked at temperatures not to exceed 162 ° f . and at 100 % relative humidity . the center temperature of the meat logs may not exceed 150 ° f ., and must be rapidly cooled to 40 ° f . or below immediately upon reaching this maximum center temperature . during the cooking of the meat logs , the temperature of the cooking medium must be maintained at least 10 ° f . than the center temperature of the meat log . a different cooking procedure must be followed in cooking poultry products such as chicken and turkey to avoid purge . a two - stage process is followed of initiating and maintaining cooking at 150 ° f . and 100 % relative humidity for two hours and then at 175 ° f . and 100 % relative humidity until the product &# 39 ; s center temperature reaches 162 ° f . the poultry logs are then rapidly cooled to 40 ° f . or below . the cooked logs are then frozen and subsequently sliced , diced or cubed into appropriate portion sizes . the portioned meats are then subjected to vacuum freeze dehydration to about a 1 . 5 to 2 . 0 % moisture level . the freeze dried meats are then packages in an airtight container in the absence of oxygen . the freeze dried meat matrices obtained by this process are significantly less dense and contain significantly less rendered fat than those obtained from conventionally cooked meats and have a strong affinity for water . the rate and extent of rehydration of cooked meats prepared for dehydration by the method of this invention is therefore significantly superior to that of meat cooked by other methods . test results showed that meat cooked in the fibrous / saran casing described above sustained 0 % moisture loss during cooking while meat prepared similarly except that a moisture permeable casing made from regenerated cellulose used sustained a 30 % moisture loss . each of these meat logs was frozen , sliced and freeze dehydrated . upon rehydration with 180 ° f . water the meat which had no moisture loss during cooking rehydrated totally in 8 minutes while the meat which lost 30 % of the moisture during cooking was only 50 % rehydrated in 18 minutes . the addition of the matrix expanding ingredients resulted in a meat product 20 %- 30 % less dense than a similarly prepared meat product which did not contain the matrix expanding ingredients . the following examples are only a few of the possible combinations of ingredients which when processed in accordance with this invention are found to readily and completely rehydrate . the examples were prepared as discussed above . ______________________________________ingredient percent______________________________________beef 93 . 75water 3 . 00sodium chloride 0 . 75sodium tripolyphosphate 0 . 50gum arabic 2 . 00 100 . 00 % ______________________________________ ______________________________________pork 91 . 75water 6 . 00sodium chloride 0 . 75sodium tripolyphosphate 0 . 50microcrystalline cellulose 1 . 00 100 . 00 % ______________________________________ ______________________________________chicken 91 . 00water 4 . 00sodium chloride 0 . 75sodium tripolyphosphate 0 . 50malto dextrin 3 . 75 100 . 00 % ______________________________________ ______________________________________turkey 95 . 55water 3 . 00sodium chloride 0 . 75sodium tripolyphosphate 0 . 50xanthan gum 0 . 20 100 . 00______________________________________ the meat products of examples 1 to 4 rehydrated completely when placed in 180 ° water within 8 minutes while similarly prepared meat products which did not have the added water took 30 minutes to rehydrate and even then were frequently incompletely rehydrated .
this invention provides a method of producing dehydrated meat products wh more easily and completely rehydrate than prior art dehydrated meats . this is accomplished by expansion of the cooked meat matrix by the addition of water , salt , phosphate and adjunctive hydrophilic ingredients prior to cooking . this invention is intended for use with formed meats consisting of a combination of chunked , flaked and ground or emulsified meats . the use of a gas and moisture impermeable casing for cooking the meat allows the meat to be fully cooked without concurrent losses in either weight or volume , thus preventing density increase prior to dehydration .