Turkey breast defatter

Abstract

An automated poultry defatting apparatus which includes a housing having a product feed inlet and discharge outlet and housing a conveyor aligned to engage the upper surface of a piece of poultry product entering the feed inlet. The apparatus is provided with upper and lower peeling members for engaging the upper and lower surfaces of the poultry product passing between the conveyor and the peeling members. The peeling members have a plurality of grooved rollers that rotate in a cooperative manner to pinch and pull fat off the product while leaving the underlying muscle intact. The conveyor is pivotably mounted to the housing to permit automatic adjustment to a range of sizes of poultry product while maintaining a controlled downward force against the product to maintain firm engagement with the peeling members.

1 . An automated poultry product defatting apparatus comprising, in combination:
 a) a housing mounted to a base and provided with a product feed inlet and a product discharge outlet;   b) a lower peeling member mounted to the base intermediate the feed inlet and the discharge outlet, the lower peeling member including at least one pair of substantially circular, cylindrical lower peel rollers, each lower peel roller aligned in a substantially parallel orientation and in a close-clearance relationship to the adjacent lower peel roller, wherein the lower peel rollers rotate in a cooperative manner directly against external fat on the lower side of a piece of poultry product placed on the lower peel rollers, and thereby pinch the fat between the lower peel rollers to pull the fat off the poultry product; and   c) a conveyor mounted to said housing and aligned to engage an upper surface of the piece of poultry product delivered to the feed inlet and direct the product in a path along, and in firm engagement with, the lower peeling member toward the discharge opening, the conveyor being mounted for selected movement of at least a first end of the conveyor in response to the size of the piece of poultry product.   
   
   
       2 . The automated poultry product defatting apparatus in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein each of the lower peel rollers has a plurality of grooves formed in its outer surface. 
   
   
       3 . The automated poultry product defatting apparatus in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the grooves are helical in shape. 
   
   
       4 . The automated poultry product defatting apparatus in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising a peripheral peeling member mounted to the base adjacent the lower peeling member and having at least one pair of peripheral peel rollers, each peripheral peel roller aligned in a substantially parallel orientation and in a close-clearance relationship to the adjacent peripheral peel rollers, the peripheral peel rollers rotating in a cooperative manner to pinch external fat on an end of the piece of poultry product between the peripheral peel rollers and to pull the fat off the poultry product. 
   
   
       5 . The automated poultry product defatting apparatus in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein each of the peripheral peel rollers has a plurality of grooves formed in its outer surface. 
   
   
       6 . The automated poultry product defatting apparatus in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein the grooves are helical in shape.