Apparatus for treating meat, more particularly ham meat

A meat curing machine comprising:

• a. a meat curing tank closed to contain curing fluid and mounted for rotation about a generally horizontally axis, said tank having an elongated tumbling chamber therein, said chamber having side walls extending away from said axis and having at least one end wall opposite said axis of rotation of said tank,
• b. a plurality of meat penetrating means mounted at said end wall of the tank within said chamber and projecting longitudinally inwardly of said chamber parallel to said side walls, said meat penetrating means being adapted to inject curing fluid from the tank into the meat when the meat falls substantially longitudinally onto the penetrating means and is penetrated thereby in use,
• c. input passage means opening into said tank for loading meat into the tank in use,
• d. closure means for closing said tank to permit rotation thereof, and
• e. drive means for rotatably driving said tank about said axis whereby meat located within said tank is tumbled so that it alternately falls into penetrating engagement with said penetrating means and is thereby pierced, and is then tumbled along said side walls of the tank.

A meat curing machine comprising:

• a. a meat curing tank closed to contain a curing fluid,
• b. means for mounting said tank for rotation about a horizontal axis,
• c. said meat curing tank having at least two elongated meat curing chambers each having a radial axis and having side walls extending away from said horizontal axis, said radial axes being circumferentially spaced from one another,
• said chambers each having a closed end at the radially outer end thereof and an open end thereopposite, the open end of one chamber communicating with the open end of each other chamber in a common open end of the curing tank,
• d. a second tank having a meat storage chamber formed therein, said storage chamber having an open inner end adapted to sealingly engage said common open end of said curing tank to place said storage chamber in sealed communication with said meat curing chambers,
• e. means for releasably securing said second tank with respect to said curing tank for rotation therewith,
• f. a plurality of meat penetrating needles mounted in each of said curing chambers and supported at the radial outer ends thereof, said needles extending parallel to said side walls and having free ends projecting towards said horizontal axis whereby meat tumbling under its own weight from one chamber into another meat curing chamber having needles will be penetrated substantially in the direction of the radial axis of that chamber by the needles, and
• g. drive means for rotatably driving said meat curing tank about said horizontal axis with said second tank secured thereto.