In the production of meat products use trimming. It is needed in order to reduce costs and time for transportation, transportation, processing and storage of products. It can be of three types - pork trimming, mutton and beef. The first one will be discussed.
What is pig trimming?
Trimming is an English word, literally translated as “trim”. It is obtained as a result of cutting, deboning, stripping or trimming into pieces of meat carcasses. There is no connective tissue, bone, or pig skin in trimming. The resulting pieces should not contain more than 70% fat, this is a kind of standard that manufacturers adhere to. But this rule does not apply to natural small pieces of meat that do not contain bones, because they can be eaten after heat treatment.
It should be noted that the definition of “trimming” should not be confused with natural boneless small-piece meat semi-finished products or simply meat trimmings that can be eaten after a certain heat treatment.
How is trimming done?
At the processing plants, the pieces of meat that go into retail sale are cut to the desired condition and shape, so that they have a salable appearance and look attractive in packages in store windows. After this action, small pieces of meat that are called trimmings remain. These residues are frozen and sold in large quantities for future use.
It is impossible to buy trimming at retail, because it is sold only at wholesale bases and warehouses. Previously, manual cutting of meat was used, but progress does not stand still, and now manual and automatic trimmers are used in the meat industry. Hence, trimming got its name - a product obtained using a trimmer.
First, the largest pieces from the carcass of a pig are cut using automated lines, and then the resulting raw material is finalized with manual trimmers. Thanks to this technique, the process takes little time and saves labor and the budget of the enterprise. Below is a photo of pig trimming.
Trim Types
Pork trimming varies according to the place of cut meat. It happens:
- Case trimming is when pieces of meat are cut from the whole carcass: from a loin, shoulder blade, neck, etc. It has a standard size: ten by ten centimeters, but no more.
- Head - respectively, meat is cut only from the head. It is more rigid and sinewy, it looks like minced meat and in common people is called "pork head meat".
Also in the production of this product very often indicate various numbers, usually two of them. For example, trimming pork 80/20 - what is it? Or 70/30, 95/5, 50/50? By these proportions is meant the percentage of lean and fatty meats.
Suppose that on the packaging the manufacturer declared "80/20 pork trimming" - this means that the product contains 80% lean meat and 20% fat. It happens that only one number is indicated, then this means that trimming is only from lean meat. The numbers can be different, there is no specific standard for numbers. It all depends on the manufacturer, market demand, equipment capacity and capabilities, as well as on what type of product meat is used for.
Also on the packaging is written "trimming pork GOST" - this means that the products fully comply with all safety requirements and have passed the appropriate check. The declared standard of meat products is regulated by GOST R 52427-2005 "Meat industry. Food products. Terms and definitions."
Production application
Pork trimming is the raw material for the production of various types of sausages, sausages, semi-finished products, sausages, cutlets. Absolutely all enterprises use trimming in the manufacture of semi-finished products. This significantly saves time, finances, labor and, of course, significantly increases profits and production.
Most of the raw materials obtained go to the production of minced meat and cooked sausage. Naturally, before going on sale, the products undergo heat treatment. Trimming with a leaner meat content, for example 80/20 or 70/30, is used in the manufacture of sausages, sausages or sausages. Trimming 50/50, with a high content of fatty meat, is used to cook your favorite jelly or minced meat.
It turns out that pork trimming is a raw material for the manufacture of semi-finished products, which, before becoming edible, goes through several stages of processing. It is used only in large-scale production, but is unsuitable for human consumption.