Chicken Back Cutting Technique for Scapula Bone Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for processing chicken do not allow for the creation of a marketable food product that includes both scapula bones from a chicken back piece, as existing techniques are either not applicable to smaller chicken parts or require separating the bones first, making them unsuitable for producing a 'chicken butterfly' or 'chicken cutlet' from scrap meat.
Innovation Solution
A new manual cutting technique involving specific knife movements to separate the scapula bones from the backbone, allowing the chicken butterfly or cutlet to be extracted from the back piece, where the knife is inserted parallel to the backbone and cuts under each scapula bone, then between the bones to remove the backbone, enabling the production of a product with both scapula bones or a cutlet with one protruding bone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If existing cutting methods are used to separate scapula bones from the backbone, then the bones can be removed, but the method requires separating the bones first which makes it unsuitable for producing a 'chicken butterfly' with both scapula bones intact
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting process is divided into three distinct steps: (1) inserting the knife parallel to the backbone adjacent to the first scapula bone, (2) inserting the knife parallel to the backbone adjacent to the second scapula bone, and (3) inserting the knife above the backbone to cut between the scapula bones. This segmentation allows systematic separation while preserving both scapula bones in the final product.
Solution Approach 2:
The knife is inserted and positioned adjacent to each scapula bone before making the final cut. This preliminary positioning ensures that the scapula bones are properly exposed and separated from the backbone in a controlled manner, enabling the creation of the chicken butterfly product with both bones intact.
2Productivity
If automated high speed processing is used for whole chicken carcasses, then productivity is improved, but the method cannot be applied to smaller chicken parts like the back piece
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting method is designed to be universally applicable to both whole chicken carcasses and smaller chicken parts like the back piece. The same three-step knife insertion and cutting process can be used regardless of the size of the chicken portion being processed, making the method versatile for different production scenarios.
3Loss of substance
If the back piece is sold as scrap meat, then resource utilization is maximized, but the potential for creating a marketable food product is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The scapula bones are extracted from the back piece along with the attached meat to create the chicken butterfly product. This extraction process transforms the scrap back piece into a marketable food product by separating and preserving the valuable scapula bone portions with their associated meat.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding the back piece as scrap, the method recovers the scapula bones and the meat attached to them, transforming these previously wasted parts into a valuable food product. The recovery process involves carefully separating the scapula bones from the backbone while preserving the attached meat for consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
Method for obtaining a food product for human consumption from a chicken back piece (2), the food product comprising at least one scapula bone (3, 4) of the chicken, the method comprising the steps: inserting a knife (6) in the length direction adjacent to the backbone (5) on its first side and subsequently on its second side in the width direction (W) of the backbone (5) and cutting the meat in the first and second width direction (W) under the first and second scapula bone (3, 4); inserting the knife (6) in the width direction (W) above the backbone (5) and subsequently cutting in the length direction (L) between the backbone (5) and the scapula bones (3, 4) so that the food product (8) comprising both scapula bones (3, 4) is removed from the backbone (5).