Process for producing a fish product

Abstract

Red or dark meat portions of whole fish are restructured and preferably combined with light meat fillets or loins to produce a palatable, nutritious fish product. The process comprises comminuting the red meat, trim, carcass and skin of the fish to form a minced meat mass that is colored with a heat stable dye to resemble the natural color of tuna and subjected to plastic flow at temperatures of about 70.degree. C. to about 90.degree. C. and hen decolored and dewatered to form a restructured product which after retort cooking, has the chewy texture, aroma, color and flavor of the more desirable loin or fillet portions of the fish. The restructured product may be combined with cooked loins or fillets to produce a product which closely resembles 100% loins or fillets.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.