Pork is the culinary name for meat that comes from the pig. Pork is eaten in many parts of the world. It is one of the most consumed meats worldwide. Pigs have been raised and slaughtered since 5000BC for food consumption. Pork has high nutrition value and due to the development of the meat processing equipment it can be processed into many things nowadays. The main purpose of pork meat processing is to preserve meat and make the meat tasty.
The Main Areas of Pork Meat Processing
Pork meat processing can be divided into three areas, slaughtering, meat cutting and further processing.
Cutting is a size reduction of large to medium sized parts of food materials. After cutting the meat, the fresh meat may be stored and dispensed under refrigeration. It can be sold in portions, or it may be combined with other food.
The further processing of meat into ham, sausage, bacon, etc. is primarily done for preservation purposes but it is also important to produce tasty food.
● For coarse-ground products, the meat particles are substantially reduced and then restructured back into a different physical form and they are used to make dry sausage and smoked sausage.
● The goal of muscle product processing is to keep an original intact tissue appearance in the finished product, such as ham, roast, bacon.
● The emulsifying process forms a matrix in which the fat particle is encapsulated with the protein membrane. The emulsifying process is required for products like ham.
● Grinding reduces the meat particle size, and the mixing assures uniformity of chemical composition and protein extraction.
● The chopping process also reduces particle size an obtains salt-soluble protein.
● Preservation involving heat and dehydration produces foods that can be kept for a long time. Preservation techniques such as smoking, salting of meat, sausage, etc. are also used for diversification of the market selection.
The Main Equipment Involved in the Pork Meat Processing
The main processing equipment includes brine injector machine, meat tumbling machine, meat smoking machine for muscle products; meat grinding machine, meat mixing machine, sausage filling machine and meatball forming machine for coarse-ground products; and the meat chopping machine and emulsifier for emulsified products. Besides these machines, there are automatic meatball production line which can produce meatball automatically and meatballs produced by the meat production line are with good taste, smooth surface and high flexibility; meat patty production linefor making tasty pork meat patty.
Processed Products Made of Pork Meat
The pig provides a wide range of quality food products and nowadays many of these products are in the form of processed products that come prepackaged with other ingredients for convenience.
Black pudding is an early processed food with formal recipes for its use dating back to 1600. Typically made with pigs blood and liver and mixed with cereal filling, black pudding provides a nutritious food.
A large leg of boned pork provides an excellent value sundry roast that will often provide other meals in the form of curries and simple fry ups. Choice cuts of pork meat like this are much cheaper kg for kg than comparable lamb and beef joints.
Ham. Ham is one of the principle products made of pork meat. Ham is cooked and prepared under a number of traditional recipes and today they are often supplied vacuum packed. Many Italian dishes use ham in the preparation of pasta and pizza dishes.
Smoked bacon, a traditional feature of the cooked English breakfast and now the “ all day” breakfast. Nowadays smoked bacon can be made by the meat smoking machine.
Pork sausages are now produced under a large number of recipes. And the product of sausage realizes the fully-automatic production with the development of meat processing machine, the automatic sausage filling machine and the automatic sausage tying machine.
Pork meatballs. Classic meatballs are delicious and easy to make, providing the perfect accompaniment to pasta, potatoes and grains. A basic pork meatball recipe combines fresh minced pork meat, finely chopped onion, beaten egg, herbs and seasoning.
Besides the above mentioned processed pork meat products, there are others such as pork pate, pork pies, pork meat pizza, hot dogs and spam, etc. Thanks to the meat processing technology and equipment, all the processed products made of pork meat can supply you the same outstanding nutritive values and delicacy.
