Boning pork: types, techniques, boning rates and meat yield

Entrepreneurs involved in the production of sausages or, for example, semi-finished meat products, often face the need to carry out a procedure such as boning pork. Technologically, this operation is complex. And therefore, both at small and large enterprises of the food industry, usually highly qualified and experienced specialists are responsible for it.

Definition

After slaughter, pig carcasses are bled. This procedure is necessary in order to improve the quality of meat at the exit. After bleeding, carcasses are usually divided into half carcasses. Then they are sent either to their own meat processing plants or sold to other enterprises of this specialization.

Sometimes in the wholesale market there is already cut meat. But such a product often costs unreasonably expensive. Therefore, even small entrepreneurs still prefer to purchase ordinary carcasses and half carcasses and subject them to further processing on their own. This saves on raw materials.

The next operation after bleeding and cutting carcasses into half-carcasses is deboning. This is the name of the procedure in which meat is separated from the bones. When performing pork deboning, it is important that all the required technologies are followed exactly. Otherwise, the meat yield will decrease significantly, and therefore the company will suffer losses.

The main two varieties

Meat can be processed in a similar way using two technologies:

• manual way;
• mechanical.

The first technique is usually used in small and medium-sized enterprises, for example, specializing in the production of ravioli, pasties, smoked meats, etc. The second technology is used in large meat processing enterprises engaged in the production of sausages, sausages, and semi-finished products.

Training

Using this technique, the method for separating meat from bones may depend on:

• the age of the animal;
• the degree of his fatness, etc.

At the first stage, half carcasses are divided into parts. The amount of the latter depends on the type of farm animal. For example, beef half carcases are divided into 7 parts, lamb - into two cuts. Pigs are relatively small. Therefore, their half carcasses are usually divided into 3 parts.

Manual technology

Then proceed to the boning of pork. The rules and regulations when performing this procedure must be observed as follows:

• the shoulder, scapular, femoral and pelvic parts of the carcass are separated in such a way as not to violate the integrity of the muscle mass of meat;
• the lumbar and dorsal-rib part are cut off, observing the boundaries of the longest muscle, subscapular part, pokromka and sternum;
• The dorsal-rib part is either cut off with a layer followed by its separation, or semi-finished products are directly isolated.

Boning the pork carefully, taking care not to damage the muscle tissue. According to the regulations, after this procedure, cuts with a depth of more than 10 mm should not remain on the meat.

Manual boning example: back cut

Each specific part of the carcass must be processed in accordance with certain technologies. For example, a back pork cut is rolled in the following way:

• put the ham on the table with the hypodermic side down, the pelvic bone toward you;
• cut the meat from the inside of the pelvic bone;
• with the movement of the knife, meat is cut from the sciatic bone;
• cut the meat from the outside of the pelvic bone in the direction from the pubic fusion to the ilium;
• take the pelvic bone with your left hand and cut the tendon between it and the femur.

All these operations are performed by moving the knife in the direction first from itself, and then towards itself.

Further:

• make an incision on the lower side of the pubic-ischium and strip the meat from the ilium;
• the pelvic part is taken by the pubic-sciatic fusion, and holding the meat with the right hand, the bone is removed with the left jerk;
• the right part of the back cut is turned with the tibia to itself and cut the meat from its left side;
• meat is separated from the right and left sides of the tibia;
• tibia is separated from the femur;
• cut the meat on the left, and then on the right side of the femur;
• put the femur upright and completely separate the meat from it.

On the left side, meat is first cut from the ilium and it is separated from the pubic-ischial. Then tendons are divided between the femur and pelvic bones. Next, cut the meat from the lower side of the pubic-ischial part. The pelvic bone is removed in a jerk and then boned in the same way as on the right side.

Instruments

Pork is deboned at enterprises using knives made most often of carbon steel with the addition of vanadium, molybdenum, and chromium. Such tools are durable and durable. It is believed that only knives with a hardness of at least 57 units on the Rockwell scale are suitable for boning.

The handles of such tools should also be durable and comfortable for workers. In Russia, in enterprises, boning knives with wooden handles are most often used. Such a tool allows you to perform the operation with the highest quality. Wooden handles do not begin to slip when wet. In addition, these knives are in good balance. However, in some countries it is prohibited to use tools with such handles for boning. This is explained by the fact that for such knives it is difficult to clean the area in the area adjacent to the blade tree, as well as rivets. As a result, harmful microorganisms can start in these places.

Mechanical deboning in large enterprises

Manual technology for boning pork meat is usually used if the meat is intended for the manufacture of minced meat for sale or, for example, modeling dumplings. In the production of sausages, half carcasses are processed using another, simpler technology. Stuffing, since it includes more veins, in this case it turns out to be of lower quality, but the labor costs when using this technique are small.

In such plants, meat is separated from bones either on a conveyor belt, or by several specialists at once. The following technologies can be used for boning pork:

• differentiated - each specific part is assigned to one deboner;
• differentiated vertical - the carcass slowly moves over the conveyor in a suspended state and undergoes phased deboning;
• combined - used on carcass parts that are difficult to process and allows up to 50% of meat to be left on bones.

Also, enterprises can sometimes use the usual manual processing on the table with the efforts of one specialist. This method in this case is called carcass boning.

What equipment is used

When pork is boned, a finished product is obtained containing a certain amount of bones and veins. The minced meat from the meat processed in this way can have different qualities. In this case, it all depends on the qualifications of deboners and the type of equipment installed in the workshop.

At large enterprises, special automatic conveyor lines are used for boning, including pork. Their application allows to optimize production as much as possible. Also, when they are used, losses during boning of pork are reduced.

On the sides of the frame of such conveyors are fixed removable worktops, which are the workplaces of personnel. The speed of the main conveyor belt for such equipment is regulated. Above the main conveyor, an extra one for skins, bones and veins is usually installed. To collect the latter, a special hopper with a plastic assembly capacity is intended. After filling the latter, they simply take it out and send the bones for processing into flour, which is then used as a food supplement for growing farm animals.

Part of such lines is usually, among other things, a system for automated metering of the distribution and cutting of raw materials, to which the scales are connected at three technological points:

• for incoming raw materials;
• bones and waste;
• meat after cutting.

Boning pork: meat yield

The meat on the bones should not remain after processing. The output of this product depends primarily on the qualifications and skills of the deboner. In large enterprises, this indicator is determined by standards. The output standards for meat and offal for beef and pork are shown in the table below.

The meat yield during boning pork from different parts of the carcass can, of course, be uneven. Certain standards, of course, must be observed in this case. They are also indicated in special tables.

Of course, due to differences in the composition of meat on different parts of the half-carcasses, the flesh at the output after deboning is of unequal quality. This is one of the features of the procedure. For example, when boning the shoulder blades, brisket and back, they get more low grades of meat than when processing other parts. In this case, many veins and cartilage remain at the exit.

Zhilovka

This procedure is carried out at the enterprises after mechanical deboning of pork or manual. During its execution, coarse connective and adipose tissue is secreted from meat - veins, cartilage, small bones, large blood vessels, blood clots. Lymph nodes are also removed from the pulp.

During the trimming, among other things, a procedure such as the final sorting of pork is performed. When performing this operation, observe the following rules:

• meat is cut into separate muscle groups;
• cut the muscles in the longitudinal direction into pieces weighing not more than 1 kg (for raw smoked sausages - 400 g);
• the connective tissue is separated from the pieces of meat.

In large enterprises, housing workers, as in deboning, usually specialize in different parts of the carcass.