Meat Product Segmentation for Uniform Cooking Thickness

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Solution Overview

Problem

Poultry and meat products with irregular shapes often result in uneven cooking, leading to overcooked or undercooked portions due to variations in thickness, which can cause a less palatable texture and taste due to prolonged cooking times and moisture loss.

Innovation Solution

A method involving cutting poultry or meat products at an angle of 45° to 55° from a flat surface to create fillets with substantially equal thickness, increasing surface area and uniformity, by making an incision from the thick edge towards the thin edge without cutting through, allowing the product to be opened and spread for even cooking.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If poultry or meat products with irregular shapes are cooked, then the cooking process can be completed, but some portions become overcooked while other portions remain undercooked due to thickness variations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecooking uniformityVSAvoidthickness uniformity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The poultry or meat product is divided into multiple portions by making incisions through the thick edge toward the thin edge, creating separate sections that can be opened and flattened to achieve more uniform thickness across all portions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The product is transformed from a three-dimensional irregular shape to a more uniform two-dimensional flattened shape by opening along the incisions, enabling even heat distribution during cooking

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Reliability

If prolonged cooking times are used to achieve safe minimum internal cooking temperatures in irregularly shaped products, then food safety is ensured, but the product loses moisture and develops less palatable texture and taste

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefood safetyVSAvoidmoisture loss

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The product is pre-cut and flattened into uniform thickness before cooking, which eliminates the need for prolonged cooking times and prevents moisture loss while ensuring food safety is achieved efficiently

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If poultry or meat products with increased surface area and reduced thickness are prepared, then cooking time is reduced and cooking uniformity is improved, but the product structure must be modified through cutting and opening

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecooking speedVSAvoidproduct structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The product is segmented by making incisions and opening along these incisions to create a flattened structure with increased surface area and reduced thickness, enabling faster and more uniform cooking

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS9867381B2Method for preparing poultry and meat products

Publication Date: 2018.01.16 MAS MARKETING HLDG

AI summary

A method for preparing a meat or poultry product includes placing a product having a thick edge and an opposing thin edge on a flat surface and creating an incision in the thick edge of the product along a line that falls approximately midway between an upper surface and a lower surface, the incision lying in a plane that cuts the product into a first fillet portion and a second fillet portion connected by a center portion each with substantially uniform thickness.