Color stable meat product for an egg product

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a color stable meat product for storage in an egg product and the method of making such products by adding a color agent to a raw meat or by adding a color coating to a processed and/or cooked meat.

1 . A method for producing a food product, comprising:
 adding a comminuted meat composition to a brine mix;   mixing a color agent with the comminuted meat composition and the brine mix to form a meat mixture;   thermally processing the meat mixture to form a color stable meat product; and   adding the color stable meat product to an egg product,   wherein the color of the color stable meat product is retained for substantially the shelf-life of the egg product.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the color agent is selected from a group consisting of caramel coloring and RED LAKE. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the comminuted meat composition is thermally processed by cooking for 3 minutes at 380° F. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the comminuted meat product is comminuted by dicing. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the comminuted meat product includes at least one of ham, turkey, bacon, Canadian bacon, sausage, and pepperoni. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the egg product is a liquid egg product. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the egg product has a shelf-life of about 90 days. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the color stable meat product retains interior and exterior color. 
   
   
       9 . A method for producing a food product, comprising:
 applying a color coating to a meat product;   thermally processing the coated meat product to form a color stable meat product; and   adding the color stable meat product to an egg product,   wherein the color of the color stable meat product is retained for substantially the shelf-life of the egg product.   
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the color coating is a liquid smoke. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the comminuted meat product is soaked in the liquid smoke for 30 seconds 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the comminuted meat product is thermally processed by drying for 2.5 minutes at 350° F. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the color coating includes colored gelatin coatings, colored starch coatings, and colored protein coatings. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the colored gelatin, starch, and protein coatings are heated to 150° F. before the comminuted meat product is soaked in the coating for 30 seconds at 110° F. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the colored gelatin, starch, and protein coatings are thermally processed by drying for 3 minutes at 280° F. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the colored gelatin, starch, and protein coatings are added in amount about 10% by weight of the color stable meat product. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the color coating is a browning agent. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the browning agent is thermally process by cooking for 3 minutes at 350° F. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the color coating is shellac. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the comminuted meat product is comminuted by dicing. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the comminuted meat product includes at least one of ham, turkey, bacon, Canadian bacon, sausage, and pepperoni. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the egg product is a liquid egg product. 
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the egg product has a shelf-life of about 90 days. 
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the color stable meat product retains exterior color. 
   
   
       25 . A food product, comprising:
 a comminuted meat composition;   a color agent mixed with the comminuted meat composition and thermally processed to produce a color stable meat product; and   an egg product,
 wherein the color stable meat product is added to the egg product and retains color for substantially the shelf-life of the egg product. 
   
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the color agent is selected from a group consisting of caramel coloring and RED LAKE. 
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the comminuted meat composition is thermally processed by cooking for 3 minutes at 380° F. 
   
   
       28 . The food product of  claim 25 , wherein the comminuted meat composition is comminuted by dicing. 
   
   
       29 . The food product of  claim 25 , wherein the comminuted meat product includes at least one of ham, turkey, bacon, Canadian bacon, sausage, and pepperoni. 
   
   
       30 . The food product of  claim 25 , wherein the egg product is a liquid egg product. 
   
   
       31 . The food product of  claim 25 , wherein the egg product has shelf-life of about 90 days. 
   
   
       32 . The food product of  claim 25 , wherein the color stable meat product retains interior and exterior color. 
   
   
       33 . A food product, comprising:
 a comminuted meat product;   a color coating, applied to the comminuted meat product and thermally processed to produce a color stable meat product; and   an egg product,
 wherein the color stable meat product is added to the egg product and retains color for substantially the shelf-life of the egg product. 
   
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the color coating is a liquid smoke. 
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the comminuted meat product is soaked in the liquid smoke for 30 seconds 
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the comminuted meat product is thermally processed by drying for 2.5 minutes at 350° F. 
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the color coating includes colored gelatin coatings, colored starch coatings, and colored protein coatings. 
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the colored gelatin, starch, and protein coatings are heated to 150° F. before the comminuted meat product is soaked in the coating for 30 seconds at 110° F. 
   
   
       39 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the comminuted meat product is thermally processed by drying for 3 minutes at 280° F. 
   
   
       40 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the coatings are added in amount about 10% by weight of the meat product. 
   
   
       41 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the color coating is a browning agent. 
   
   
       42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the browning agent is thermally process by cooking for 3 minutes at 350° F. 
   
   
       43 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the color coating is shellac. 
   
   
       44 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the comminuted meat is comminuted by dicing. 
   
   
       45 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the comminuted meat product includes at least one of ham, turkey, bacon, Canadian bacon, sausage, and pepperoni. 
   
   
       46 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the egg product is a liquid egg product. 
   
   
       47 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the egg product has a shelf-life of about 90 days. 
   
   
       48 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the color stable meat product retains exterior color.