Process and apparatus for preparing pepperoni

A system for making dried pepperoni comprising:

• ovens for fermenting and cooking a pepperoni meat mixture to produce cooked pepperoni;
• a chiller for cooling the fermented and cooked pepperoni;
• slicers for the cooled pepperoni;
• dicers for dicing the sliced cooled pepperoni;
• a spiral dryer having a conveyor passing therethrough in a plurality of spirally-arranged tiers;
• air conditioning means coupled to the spiral dryer for introducing conditioned air having a relative humidity of less than about 30% and a temperature in the range of about 50.degree. F. to 120.degree. F.

A system for making dried pepperoni comprising:

• an extruder for extruding sheets of a blended pepperoni meat mixture onto screens;
• ovens for fermenting and cooking the sheets to prepare cooked pepperoni;
• chillers for cooling the cooked pepperoni;
• slicers for slicing the cooled pepperoni;
• dicers for dicing the sliced, cooled pepperoni;
• a spiral dryer having a conveyor passing therethrough in a plurality of spirally-arranged tiers;
• air conditioning means coupled to the spiral dryer for introducing conditioned air having a relative humidity of less than about 30% and a temperature in the range of about 50.degree.F. to 120.degree. F.

A process for preparing pepperoni comprising the steps of:

• preparing a pepperoni meat mixture, fermenting the mixture at a temperature of about 100.degree. F. for 12 hours or more, cooking the mixture at a temperature above 120.degree. F. for an hour or more to prepare a cooked sausage;
• cooling the cooked sausage to a temperature sufficiently low to permit slicing;
• slicing the cooled sausage;
• depositing the sausage slices onto the conveyor of a spiral dryer;
• passing conditioned air into and through the spiral dryer, the conditioned air having a relative humidity below about 30% and a temperature in the range of about 50.degree. F. to about 120.degree. F. when introduced into the spiral dryer;
• conveying the sausage slices through the spiral dryer for a time sufficient to reduce the moisture to protein ratio to 1.6:1 or less.