Title of Invention	AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF CHICKEN NUGGETS
Abstract	The present invention relates to an improved process for the preparation of chicken nuggets. The nuggets of the present invention are prepared from smoked dressed chicken wherein the cooking loss is reduced as well as the texture is improved. Further, the product stability is improved during storage even at minus 18 degree C.

Full Text

The present invention relates to a process for improving the quality of chicken nuggets. The invention, in particular, relates to the process of preparation of chicken nuggets with improved flavour. Comminuted meat products are gaining importance in the consumer market. These are pre-processed products and can be ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook or ready-to-serve. They provide convenience in the preparation and eliminate drudgery to the housewife. Trends in consumer acceptance for the meat products are changing in recent years. Consumers look for better quality of meat products. Value addition to the meat products can be enhanced by the application of modern processing techniques during the preparation of the meat products. Chicken nuggets are gaining popularity in India or elsewhere. Improvements in the quality of chicken nuggets would provide wider market for these products. Poultry industry is one of the rapidly growing food industries in India. Chicken meat or processed products based on chicken meat are widely accepted in the consumer market. A globalization of Indian industry has further opened export markets for the commodities. Thus these products will have potential for marketability in India or abroad and fetch foreign exchange revenues. Improved process for increasing the quality will add value to the chicken nuggets for better marketability and will meet the requirements of the consumers. Reference may be made to Japanese patent Number 3151855 dated 28 June 1991 by Ishikura Masaaki (chicken nuggets containing dietary fibre) where in minced meat was mixed with 0.1-20 wt % each of processed bran and crystalline cellulose, formed, coated with a coating material and fried in obtain chicken nugget. The main drawbacks are (a) The texture and other quality characters unique to chicken nuggets were affected due to the addition of fibre. Reference may be made to U S patent Number 6086941 dated 11 July 2000 by Freda Joseph, A., Freda Joseph, M. and Olson Dennis (meat product having denatured protein surface) wherein an uncooked meat portion that had shape retaining and non-agglomeration properties was formed by subjecting the meat product to a process that causes controlled migration of soluble protein to the surface of nugget portions for positive internal binding characteristics and subsequently heating the portions to a sufficient level to denature the surface proteins. The main drawbacks are (a) migration of soluble protein was limited to the surface of the nugget and hence binding and other quality characteristics was not uniform in the product (b) The storage stability of the product was not studied. Reference may be made to the paper in Fleishwirtschabt, 81(2), 92-95 by Konda Reddy, Kondaiah and Anjeneyulu (Quality of chicken nuggets containing by-products and extends) wherein chicken nuggets were prepared by including by-products or extenders. The main drawbacks were (a) addition of by-products or extenders would disturb the basic quality of chicken nuggets from the point of texture and functional properties such as emulsion stability. Reference may be made to the Journal of Agricultural and Food chemistry, 45(5), 1891-1899, by Prinyawiwatkul, Mcwattera, Benchat and Phillips (Physico-chemical and sensory properties of chicken nuggets extended with fermented cowpea and peanut flours) wherein chicken nuggets were prepared using flours processed from the fermented cowpeas and fermented partially defatted peanuts. The main drawbacks were that he flavour of chicken nuggets was affected However very limited information is available in the literature on improving the quality of chicken nuggets. The main objective of the present invention is to develop an improved process for enhancing the quality of chicken nuggets using chicken. Another objective is to apply smoking technique during the preparation of chicken nuggets for improving the flavour of the product. Yet another objective is to improve the texture quality of the product. Yet another objective is to bring stability to the product during storage. Accordingly An improved process for preparation of chicken nuggets which comprises; (a) smoking the dressed chicken at a temperature of 50 - 55 ° C for 4-6 hours, (b) deboning the smoked chicken and slicing into chunks, (c) cooking of the smoked chunks and subjecting to pressure-cooking at 15lbs pressure for 4-8 minutes, (d) separating juice from above obtained cooked chunks and minced in the ration of 3:1 and mixed for 5 - 6 minutes, (e) adding common salt at 2-3 %, Fat 4-6 %, Liquid whole egg 10-15 %, Soya flour 7.5-12.5 %, wheat flour 12.5-17.5 %, garam masala .75- 1.25 % and black pepper 0.4-0.6 % to the above obtained minced mix, (f) shapping the above obtained minced chicken mix to obtain chicken nuggets. In an embodiment the cooked smoked meat may be mixed with uncooked smoked meat in the ratio of 2:1 to 5:2 and may be mixed for 3-5 minutes The process for the preparation of chicken nuggets is depicted in flow chart. The novelty of the process is (a) chicken nuggets with better quality characteristics in texture (b) process with minimum cooking loss. The following examples are given by way of illustration of the present invention and should not be construed to limit the scope of the present invention. Flow diagram for preparing layer chicken nuggets Dresed chicken (with skin)Remove excess layer, smoking for 5hrs.Cook at 15 IDS, 5 minutes Juice Smoked cookedmeatMince in Hobart mix Addition of salt and mix Addition of fat & mix in Hobart mixture Addition of wrrole egg, soya flour, maida, garam masala, black pepperand cooked out juice Mix in Hobart mixer Shape into nugget Example 1. (1) Two Kg of dressed chicken was smoked at 55° C for 5 hours. Meat from smoked chicken is separated and is sliced into chunks. The smoked meat chunks, 1.50 kg of are subjected to pressure-cooking (15 Ibs for 5 minutes). Juice and smoked cooked meat chunks are separated. The cooked smoked meat chunks along with uncooked smoked meat; 500 g is minced and mixed for 5 minutes in Hobart mixer. Common salt, 25 g is added to the mix and mixed for linute in Hobart mixer. Fat, 100 g is added to the meat mince and mixed in a Hobart mixer for 2 minutes. Liquid whole egg, 250 g, Soya flour, 200 g wheat flour, 300 g garam masala, 20 g and black pepper, 10 g are added to the meat mince and mixed for 5 minutes. Meat dough thus prepared is shaped into nuggets. Nuggets are packed in high density polyethylene bags and stored at -18 C. Data were collected on physical, chemical and sensory characteristics of the results are presented in table 1, 2, 3 and 4 The physical and chemical profile of smoked chicken nuggets is as follows; At 0 day, moisture 42.57 %, pH 6.11, cooking loss 6.1 % shrinkage 4.67 %, WB shear 0.93, protein 30.27 %, fat 15.12 %, ash 2.26 %, TBA 0.43 and FFA 3.08 % and at the end of 6 months storage, moisture 40.21 %, pH 6.16, cooking loss 8.5 % shrinkage 4.59 % WB shear 0.93, protein 31.57 %, fat 18.18 %, ash 2.34 %, TBA 0.57 and FFA 3.68 %. The data revealed the following information during storage; a marginal decrease in moisture content, no definite change in pH, marginal increase in cooking loss, in shrinkage, in WB shear and in protein content, increase in fat, ash, TBA and FFA. In Control (nuggets prepared from unsmoked chicken), the physical and chemical profile as follows: At 0 day, moisture 46.68 %, pH 6.16, cooking loss 11.2 % shrinkage 4.56 %, WB shear 1.08, protein 31.36 %, fat 11.53 %, TBA 0.76 and FFA 3.84 % and at the end of 6 months storage, moisture 49.70 %, pH 6.25, cooking loss 12.8 % shrinkage 4.60 %, WB shear 1.40, protein 29.90 %, fat 11.42 %, ash 2.24 %, TBA 1.30 and FFA 3.94 %. It was observed that during storage an increase in moisture, pH, cooking loss, shrinkage, WB shear, TBA and FFA levels, decrease in protein content and no change in fat and ash contents. The results of the sensory evaluation revealed that smoked chicken nuggets scored an overall score of 8.5 while control nuggets scored an overall score of 7.0. In overall situation, values related to cooking loss, FFA and TBA were less in smoked chicken nuggets as compared to the control samples. Stability, texture and flavour are better in chicken nuggets prepared from smoked chicken as compared to the control samples. Chicken nuggets prepared from smoked chicken are well acceptable up to 6 months storage at -18 C studied in the experiments. Example 2. Chicken nuggets were prepared, packed and stored at -18° C as in example 1. The results of the second set of experiments are presented in table 2a-d The physical and chemical profile of chicken nuggets prepared from smoked chicken is as follows: At 0 day, moisture 44.50 %, pH 6.10, cooking loss 8.9 % shrinkage 5.30 %, WB shear 1.0, protein 30.0 %, fat 13.10 %, ash 2.30 %, TBA 0.47 and FFA 3.00 %. The results of the sensory evaluation showed that chicken nuggets prepared from smoked chicken scored an overall score of 8.5 while control nuggets scored an overall score of 7.0. In overall situation, values related to cooking loss, FFA and TBA were less in smoked chicken nuggets as compared to the control samples. Stability, texture and flavour are better in smoked chicken nuggets as compared to the control samples. Smoked chicken nuggets are well acceptable up to 6 months storage at -18 C studied in the experiments. Example 3. As in example 1, chicken nuggets were prepared, packed and stored at -18 C. The results are presented in table 3a-d The physical and chemical profile of smoked hicken nuggets is as follows; moisture 43.4 %, pH 6.10, cooking loss 10.4 % shrinkage 5.4 %, WB shear 1.02, protein 30.3 %, fat 15.0 %, ash 2.2 %, TBA 0.49 and FFA 3.1% The results of the sensory evaluation showed that chicken nuggets prepared from smoked chicken scored an overall score of 8.5 while control nuggets scored an overall score of 7.5. In overall situation, values related to cooking loss, FFA and TBA were less in smoked chicken nuggets as compared to the control samples. Smoked chicken nuggets texture and flavour scored 9.0 and 8.5 whereas control samples scored 7.0 and 7.5 respectively. The above experiments clearly indicate that the quality of chicken nuggets can be improved by smoking, adding Soya flour, egg, wheat flour, fat, common salt, garam masala and black pepper and by cooking. Example 4 As in example 1, nuggets were prepared using sheep meat. The results are presented in table 4a and 4b The physical and chemical profile of smoked meat nuggets is as follows; pH 6.2, cooking loss 13.4 % shrinkage 7.1%, WB shear 1.6, The results of the sensory evaluation showed that sheep meat nuggets prepared from smoked meat well accepted. Example 1 Table 1a. Physical and chemical profile in chicken nuggets prepared from nuggets smoked chicken (Table removed) Table 1b. Physical and chemical profile in chicken nuggets prepared from unsmoked chicken (control) Table 1c. Sensory profile of chicken nuggets prepared from unsmoked chicken (control) (Table removed) Example 2. Table 2a. Physical and chemical profile in chicken nuggets prepared from (Table removed) Table 2b. Physical and chemical profile in chicken nuggets prepared from unsmoked chicken (control) Table 2c. Sensory profile in chicken nuggets prepared from unsmoked chicken (Table removed) Example 3. Table 3a. Physical and chemical profile in chicken nuggets prepared from smoked chicken. (Table removed) Table 3b. Physical and chemical profile in chicken nuggets prepared from unsmoked chicken (control). Storage period in Months (-18°C) (Table removed) Table 3c Sensory profile in chicken nuggets prepared from unsmoked chicken (control). (Table removed) Table 3d Sensory profile in chicken nuggets prepared from smoked chicken. (Table removed) Exampl-4 Table 4a. Physical and chemical profile in nuggets prepared from sheep meat Table 4b. Sensory profile of meat nuggets prepared from sheep meat. The main advantages of the present invention are 1 Process resulted in the improvement of flavour of chicken nuggets. 2 Cooking loss was reduced. 3. Texture was improved. 4 Product stability was improved during storage at -18° C 5. Ingredients used namely Soya flour; wheat flour, egg, fat, garam masala, black pepper and common salt are safe. 6. Treatment with smoking and using ingredients such as soy flour, wheat flour, egg, fat, garam masala, black pepper and common salt is easily feasible under * * commercial conditions in the existing processing plants. 7. Chicken nuggets prepared from smoked dressed chicken have high scores for organoleptic attributes such as colour, texture, juiciness, flavour and overall quality. We claim: 1. An improved process for the preparation of chicken nuggets which comprises: [a] smoking the dressed chicken at a temperature of 50 to 55 degree C for 4 to 6 hours; [b] deboning the smoked chicken of step [a] and slicing into chunks; [c] cooking the smoked chunks of step [b] at 151 to 120 Ibs pressure for 4 to 8 minutes; [d] separating the juice from cooked chunks of step [c] and mincing with uncooked smoked chunks of step [b] in a ratio of 2:1 to 5:2 and mixing for 3 to 6 minutes; [e] adding 2 to 3% common salt, 4 to 6 % fat, 10 to 15 % whole liquid egg, 7.5 to 12.5 % soya flour, 12.5 to 17.5 % wheat flour, 0.75 to 1.25 % garam masala and 0.4 to 0.6 % black pepper to the minced chunks of step [d] to obtain a mix; [f] shaping the mix of step [e] to obtain desired chicken nuggets. 2. A process as claimed in clainn 1, wherein the cooked smoked chunks are minced with uncooked smoked chunks in a ratio of 3:1 and mixing for 3 to 5 minutes. 3. A process for the preparation of chicken nuggets substantially as herein described with reference to the foregoing examples.

Documents:

347-del-2003 abstract.pdf

347-del-2003 claims.pdf

347-DEL-2003-Abstract-(11-11-2008).pdf

347-DEL-2003-Claims-(11-11-2008).pdf

347-del-2003-correspondece-po.pdf

347-DEL-2003-Correspondence-Others-(11-11-2008).pdf

347-del-2003-correspondence-others.pdf

347-del-2003-description (complete).pdf

347-DEL-2003-Form-1-(11-11-2008).pdf

347-del-2003-form-1.pdf

347-del-2003-form-18.pdf

347-del-2003-form-2.pdf

347-DEL-2003-Form-3-(11-11-2008).pdf

347-del-2003-form-3.pdf