Apparatus and Method for Manufacturing Sausages

A method for manufacturing sausages including:

• using a rotatable coextrusion head, coextruding a sausage filler paste mass and a settable casing paste material so as to form a continuous sausage rope wherein the casing paste material is extruded directly onto the sausage filler paste mass where the casing material adheres to the sausage filler paste mass and sets over a predetermined period of time to form a circumfused casing layer on the surface of the sausage filler paste mass;
• gripping and pulling the sausage rope from the coextrusion head while holding the sausage rope against rotation;
• and
• at predetermined time intervals after coextrusion of the filler paste mass and the casing paste material and prior to complete setting of the casing paste material, forming individual sausage portions in the sausage rope by pulling the sausage rope at a speed greater than a speed of expulsion of the sausage filler paste mass so as to stretch the sausage rope at regions defining voids in the sausage rope;
• and simultaneously causing the extrusion head to rotate in order to form a twist in the sausage rope at said regions.

An apparatus for manufacturing sausages, including:

• a rotatable coextrusion head for coextruding a sausage filler paste mass and a settable casing paste material so as to form a continuous sausage rope wherein the casing paste material sets over a predetermined period of time on the surface of the sausage filler paste mass to form a circumfused casing layer on the surface of the sausage filler paste mass;
• a first pumping device for feeding the sausage filler paste mass to the coextrusion head;
• a second pumping device for feeding the casing paste material to the coextrusion head;
• a third pumping device for feeding a fixing solution onto the extruded casing paste material;
• a conveyor for gripping the sausage rope for pulling the sausage rope from the coextrusion head while holding the sausage rope against rotation, the conveyor having a first end and a second end;
• a drive motor disposed to rotate the rotatable coextrusion head;
• and
• a pipe having a first end in fluid communication with the third pumping device and a second end;
• wherein the rotatable coextrusion head includes a central passage in fluid communication with the first pump, an annular die cavity disposed radially outward of the central passage and defining an annular gap about the central passage;
• wherein the second end of the pipe is adjacent the annular gap of the rotatable coextrusion head.