Smoking apparatus for processing porkhide dog chews

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and appartus of processing porkhide dog chews. The method includes the step of first subjecting pigskin rawhide to defatting and depilation treatment. Then the rawhide is split to obtain a first, a second, a third and a fourth layer of rawhide material. The rawhide material undergoes defatting, rinsing, and sun-drying to produce a finished hide product. The hide product is smoked to achieve objectives of dying and flavoring to result in a finished porkhide dog chew product.

1 . A smoking apparatus for smoking porkhide products comprising: 
 a smoke generator ( 1 ) heated to cause smoking fuels, disposed in the smoke generator ( 1 ), to produce hot smoke due to heating and oxygen-deficient carbonization;    a smoke box ( 2 ), for containing the smoke;    a box rack ( 3 ) for supporting a shaped hide product in the smoke box ( 2 ), above the smoke generator ( 1 ); and    a box cover ( 4 ) for containing and redirecting the rising smoke such that the smoke falls back slowly to the box rack ( 3 ) and comes into contact with the shaped hide product on the box rack ( 3 );    wherein the shaped hide product, undergoing the smoking process, becomes dyed and flavored, resulting in a finished porkhide dog chew.    
   
   
       2 . The smoking apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the smoke box ( 2 ) internal diameter is greater than 50 cm and less than 120 cm, the height from the smoke generator ( 1 ) to the box rack ( 3 ) is no less than 20 cm and the height from the box rack ( 3 ) to the box cover ( 4 ) is no greater than 25 cm.  
   
   
       3 . The smoking apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the smoke fuel is composed of a starch smoke fuel and a sugar smoke fuel, such that the weight of the starch smoke fuel is from fifty-five to sixty-five percent of the total smoke fuel weight, and the weight of the sugar smoke fuel is from forty-five percent to thirty-five percent of the total smoke fuel weight.  
   
   
       4 . The smoking apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the starch smoke fuel is further defined as shredded sweet potato and the sugar smoke fuel is further defined as dark brown sugar, wherein the sweet potato is sixty percent of the total weight, and the dark brown sugar is forty percent of the total weight.