Utilization of vegetable proteins in meats of large cross sectional area

Comminuted meat products such as luncheon meats, sausages, paté, etc, and whole meat cuts such as ham, corned beef, steaks, and roast are two principal forms in which meat is consumed. Soy protein products have been used in comminuted meat products for several years. New developments have made it possible to incorporate isolated soy protein into large pieces of muscle tissue. A brine containing isolated soy protein is injected or massaged into the muscle using cured meat technology. Alternately, the intact muscle pieces can be injected first with brine and then the protein incorporated by massaging or tumbling. This process can be used to increase yield 20–40% over the green weight. Product quality attributes include normal appearance, improved firmness and slicing characteristics over brine‐cured hams, combined with less weepage under vacuum packaging.