Ready-to-eat meats are now available as fresh, frozen, par or fully cooked, slow cooked, pre-marinated, boneless, bone-in, formed or natural products. The popularity of these products has grown significantly in the last decade and is fuelled by consumers demanding convenience and retail and food outlets ready to provide it.
These time-saving alternatives enable home cooks and restaurants alike to create delicious meals in a fraction of the time spent previously. Available in numerous varieties, these products have become the cook’s secret to replicating a home cooked gourmet or restaurant quality meal in minutes, rather than hours and it is this convenience factor that’s driving the growth of this market.
There are many factors to consider when determining the best oven or fryer for your meat, seafood or poultry application. Heat and Control will work with you to understand your specific product objectives and ready-to-eat meat processes and a number of innovative solutions are available.
Airforce® Impingement Oven
A genuine impingement oven is the industry standard for manufacturers producing par and fully cooked ready-to-eat meats. A true impingement oven will use high velocity airflow above and below the belt that is distributed evenly across the width of the belt, and along the length of the oven.
Heat and Control’s AirForce Impingement Oven can cook dramatically faster than other comparable ovens through the use of technology that quickly and evenly transfers heat across the full width of the product conveyor. It has been proven to deliver faster cooking and greater uniformity than any other impingement oven and can cook your chosen meat product to precise specifications thanks to a patented moisture-controlled heating system which delivers higher yields and uniform cooking across the width, which means you don’t over-cook the product on one side of the oven.
SureCoat® Breading Applicator
The Heat and Control SureCoat Breading Applicator can uniformly apply pre-dust, breading and flake coatings to meat, poultry and seafood products. The breading is quickly transferred by large diameter, adjustable-speed augers. The top and bottom coating can be adjusted independently for superior coverage of all product surfaces using flour or batter pre-dust, granular and non free-flowing breadings, even delicate Japanese crumb and flake coatings.
Correct processing, packaging and storage is vital to the food safety of ready-to-eat meat products and food processors should prioritize quality testing to safeguard both their brand and consumers. Food processors can ensure quality by using modern recipes, consistent processing and by partnering with a quality equipment manufacturer such as Heat and Control.
Branders and Searers
Create another layer to your consumer’s experience by creating delicious, exciting food products that really stand out.
The Heat and Control range of quality branders and searers can give food producers the control they need for surface enhancement when preparing and cooking high quality prepared food products. Precise control enables different finishes to be achieved through the number of burners used and the adjustment of the individual angle and height of each burner in addition to variable conveyor speed to control the exposure time. Branding can be applied to the top, bottom, or both sides and can include custom markings such as diamonds. The floating ring top wheel can conform to variations in product thickness, such as that found in chicken breast fillet. Control over branding colour is easily adjustable and there is the ability to adjust branding depth and speed to suit the product’s requirements. Standard horizontal bar or custom-designed branding wheels follow the contours of the product’s thickness.
The Rotary Brander includes a variable speed conveyor, belt rinse system for easy clean-up, and self-contained combustion and control systems. The operating and combustion controls are fully pre-piped and wired to reduce installation time and costs. Remote control panels and roll-away units on casters allow for more production flexibility and can be custom made to suit your specific plant requirements.
Breaded Products Fryer
Efficient and superior frying of a wide variety of breaded and uncoated prepared food products.
The Breaded Products Fryer offers clean, efficient, high-capacity frying for products, such as chicken nuggets, bone-in chicken, meat patties, tempura shrimp, breast fillets and meatballs. Every minute, 100% of the system oil volume circulates between the fryer, filter, and external heat exchanger for superior oil quality, resulting in the highest quality product.
Incoming oil and product velocities are carefully matched to preserve product coatings and orientation. Gentle-Flow oil inlets eliminate high velocity currents and maintain uniform oil flow and temperature across the width of the pan. Needing only enough oil to cover your products, this fryer’s total system oil volume is 25–40% less than comparable direct heated fryers. The result is faster oil turnover and longer product shelf life.