Meat tumbler

Meat tumbling apparatus comprising a drum rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, said drum having an opening therein, a door for closing said opening to permit loading and unloading of pieces of meat into and from the drum, means on the drum providing a multiplicity of teeth exposed to the inside of the drum, and means for raising pieces of meat in the drum above said axis and then allowing the meat to drop downwardly onto said teeth as the drum is rotated about said axis;

• said teeth being of such size and configuration as to form a mass of small cuts in the surfaces of the pieces of meat sufficient to increase significantly the exposure of myosin protein at the surfaces of the meat, said means for providing said multiplicity of teeth and said means for raising the pieces of meat comprising members that are radially outwardly of said axis and located to provide circumferentially spaced groups of teeth and meat raising elements, the teeth of each group being presented generally toward said axis, the circumferential disposition of the groups of teeth and of said meat raising elements extending over a full circle of rotation and with the spacing from group to group being less than 180.degree. and such that pieces of meat are raised and dropped downwardly in the order of one-half a revolution of drum rotation, and in which the members comprise rods that extend generally parallel to said axis.