Method for precooking bacon

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF PRECOOKING BACON STRIPS SUCH THAT UPON SUBSEQUENT SERVING THE BACON NEED ONLY BE HEATED TO THE DESIRED SERVING TEMPERATURE WITHOUT FURTHER COOKING WHICH COMPRISES, ARRANGING BACON STRIPS IN A FLAT HORIZONTAL PLANE BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER FLIGHTS OF A FORAMINOUS CONVEYOR, MAINTAINING THE BACON STRIPS SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT BY PERMITTING THE WEIGHT OF THE UPPER CONVEYOR FLIGHT TO BEAR DOWN ON THE BACON STRIPS, ADVANCING THE BACON STRIPS BY MEANS OF SAID CONVEYOR THROUGH A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING COOKING ZONE LOCATED GENERALLY CENTRALLY BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS OF AN ELONGATED OVEN WHILE MAINTAINING THE STRIPS IN SAID FLAT HORIZONTAL PLANE, BURNING FUEL AT A HEAT SOURCE LOCATED ADJACENT THE UPPER END OF THE OVEN REMOTE FROM THE BACON IN SAID COOKING ZONE TO PRODUCE HOT GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION, THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION AT SAID HEAT SOURCE BEING GREATLY IN EXCESS OF THE TEMPERATURE ADJACENT THE BACON WHILE IT IS BEING COOKED IN SAID COOKING ZONE, DIRECTING SAID GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION DOWNWARDLY IN SAID OVEN FROM SAID HEAT SOURCE, FURTHER DIRECTING SAID DOWNWARDLY FLOWING GASEOUS PRODUCT OF COMBUSTION TO ZONES VERTICALLY ABOVE AND BELOW THE CONVEYOR BY MEANS OF A PLURALITY OF HIGH VELOCITY AIR JETS WITHIN SAID OVEN DIRECTED TOWARD SAID COOKING ZONE FROM ABOVE AND BELOW THE SAME WITH AT LEAST SOME OF SAID AIR JETS BEING ORIENTED SO THAT THE COMBUSTION GASES ARE DIRECTED GENERALLY TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE COOKING ZONE TO PROMOTE LATERAL FLOW OF A MIXTURE OF AIR AND SAID GASEOUS COMBUSTION PRODUCTS UNIFORMLY AND ENTIRELY ACROSS THE LATERAL EXTENT OF THE CONVEYOR, THEN CAUSING SAID AIR-GAS MIXTURE TO BE DIRECTED AGAINST THE BACON ON THE CONVEYOR BY ENTRAINING THE SAME INTO HIGH VELOCITY AIR STREAMS PRODUCED BY A SECOND PLURALITY OF AIR JETS WHICH ARE UNIFORMLY SPACED ABOVE AND BELOW THE CONVEYOR AND WHICH ARE ORIENTED TO DIRECT AIR STREAMS PERPENDICULARLY AGAINST THE CONVEYOR, THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID HEAT SOURCE AND THE VOLUME OF AIR ISSUING FROM SAID TWO SETS OF AIR JETS BEING CONTROLLED SUCH THAT THE TEMPERATURE OF THE AIR-GAS MIXTURE DIRECTLY ADJACENT THE CONVEYOR IS ABOUT 400*F. AND THE VELOCITY OF SAID AIR-GAS MIXTURE DIRECTLY ADJACENT THE CONVEYOR IS ABOUT 400 TO 800 FEET PER MINUTE, SAID BACON SLICES BEING ABOUT 1/12 INCH THICK AND THE SPEED OF THE CONVEYOR BEING CONTROLLED SO THAT THE BACON REMAINS IN SAID COOKING ZONE FOR ABOUT 4 TO 4 1/2 MINUTES AND IS RENDERED ABOUT 75 PERCENT.

Claim 2

THE METHOD OF PRECOOKING BACON STRIPS SUCH THAT UPON SUBSEQUENT SERVING THE BACON NEED ONLY BE HEATED TO THE DESIRED SERVING TEMPERATURE WITHOUT FURTHER COOKING WHICH COMPRISES, ARRANGING BACON STRIPS IN A FLAT HORIZONTAL PLANE BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER FLIGHTS OF A FORAMINOUS CONVEYOR, MAINTAINING THE BACON STRIPS SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT BY PERMITTING THE WEIGHT OF THE UPPER CONVEYOR FLIGHT TO BEAR DOWN ON THE BACON STRIPS, ADVANCING THE BACON STRIPS BY MEANS OF SAID CONVEYOR THROUGH A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING COOKING ZONE LOCATED GENERALLY CENTRALLY BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS OF AN ELONGATED OVEN WHILE MAINTAINING THE STRIPS IN SAID FLAT HORIZONTAL PLANE, BURNING FUEL AT A HEAT SOURCE LOCATED ADJACENT THE UPPER END OF THE OVEN REMOTE FROM THE BACON IN SAID COOKING ZONE TO PRODUCE HOT GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION, THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION AT SAID HEAT SOURCE BEING GREATLY IN EXCESS OF THE TEMPERATURE ADJACENT THE BACON WHILE IT IS BEING COOKED IN SAID COOKING ZONE, DIRECTING SAID GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION DOWNWARDLY IN SAID OVEN FROM SAID HEAT SOURCE, FURTHER DIRECTING SAID DOWNWARDLY FLOWING GASEOUS PRODUCT OF COMBUSTION TO ZONES VERTICALLY ABOVE AND BELOW THE CONVEYOR BY MEANS OF A PLURALITY OF HIGH VELOCITY AIR JETS WITHIN SAID OVEN DIRECTED TOWARD SAID COOKING ZONE FROM ABOVE AND BELOW THE SAME WITH AT LEAST SOME OF SAID AIR JETS BEING ORIENTED SO THAT THE COMBUSTION GASES ARE DIRECTED GENERALLY TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE COOKING ZONE TO PROMOTE LATERAL FLOW OF A MIXTURE OF AIR AND SAID GASEOUS COMBUSTION PRODUCTS UNIFORMLY AND ENTIRELY ACROSS THE LATERAL EXTENT OF THE CONVEYOR, THEN CAUSING SAID AIR-GAS MIXTURE TO BE DIRECTED AGAINST THE BACON ON THE CONVEYOR BY ENTRAINING THE SAME INTO HIGH VELOCITY AIR STREAMS PRODUCED BY A SECOND PLURALITY OF AIR JETS WHICH ARE UNIFORMLY SPACED ABOVE AND BELOW THE CONVEYOR AND WHICH ARE ORIENTED TO DIRECT AIR STREAMS PERPENDICULARLY AGAINST THE CONVEYOR, THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID HEAT SOURCE AND THE VOLUME OF AIR ISSUING FROM SAID TWO SETS OF AIR JETS BEING CONTROLLED SUCH THAT THE TEMPERATURE OF THE AIR-GAS MIXTURE DIRECTLY ADJACENT THE CONVEYOR IS ABOUT 400*F. AND THE VELOCITY OF SAID AIR-GAS MIXTURE DIRECTLY ADJACENT THE CONVEYOR IS ABOUT 400 TO 800 FEET PER MINUTE, SAID BACON SLICES BEING ABOUT 1/12 INCH THICK AND THE SPEED OF THE CONVEYOR BEING CONTROLLED SO THAT THE BACON REMAINS IN SAID COOKING ZONE FOR ABOUT 4 TO 4 1/2 MINUTES AND IS RENDERED ABOUT 75 PERCENT.

Claim 5

The method of precooking bacon strips such that upon subsequent serving the bacon need only be heated to the desired serving temperature without further cooking which comprises, arranging bacon strips in a flat horizontal plane between the upper and lower flights of a foraminous conveyor, maintaining the bacon strips substantially flat by permitting the weight of the upper conveyor flight to bear down on the bacon strips, advancing the bacon strips by means of said conveyor through a horizontally extending cooking zone located between the upper and lower ends of an elongated oven while maintaining the strips in said flat horizontal plane, burning fuel at a heat source located remote from the bacon in the cooking zone to produce hot gaseous products of combustion, the temperature of said gaseous products of combustion at said heat source being greatly in excess of the temperature adjacent the bacon while it is being cooked in said cooking zone, directing said gaseous products of combustion from said heat source by means of a plurality of high velocity jets within said oven directed toward the cooking zone with at least some of the air jets being oriented so that the combustion gases are directed generally toward the center of the cooking zone to promote lateral flow of a mixture of air and said gaseous combustion products uniformly and entirely across the lateral extent of the conveyor, then causing said air-gas mixture to be directed against the bacon on the conveyor by entraining the same into high velocity air streams produced by a second plurality of air jets which are uniformly spaced from the conveyor and which are oriented to direct air streams perpendicularly against the conveyor, the temperature of said heat source and the volume of air issuing from said two sets of air jets being controlled such that the temperature of the air-gas mixture directly adjacent the conveyor is between about 325* and 410* F. and the velocity of said air-gas mixture directly adjacent the conveyor is about 400 to 7,500 feet per minute, the thickness of the bacon slices and the speed of the conveyor being controlled so that the bacon is rendered about 75 percent.

Claim 6

The method of precooking bacon strips such that upon subsequent serving the bacon need only be heated to the desired serving temperature without further cooking which comprises, arranging bacon strips in a flat horizontal plane between the upper and lower flights of a foraminous conveyor, maintaining the bacon strips substantially flat by permitting the weight of the upper conveyor flight to bear down on the bacon strips, advancing the bacon strips by means of said conveyor through a horizontally extending cooking zone located between the upper and lower ends of an elongated oven while maintaining the strips in said flat horizontal plane, burning fuel at a heat source located remote from the bacon in the cooking zone to produce hot gaseous products of combustion, the temperature of said gaseous products of combustion at said heat source being greatly in excess of the temperature adjacent the bacon while it is being cooked in said cooking zone, directing said gaseous products of combustion from said heat source by means of a plurality of high velocity jets within said oven directed toward the cooking zone with at least some of the air jets being oriented so that the combustion gases are directed generally toward the center of the cooking zone to promote lateral flow of a mixture of air and said gaseous combustion products uniformly and entirely across the lateral extent of the conveyor, then causing said air-gas mixture to be directed against the bacon on the conveyor by entraining the same into high velocity air streams produced by a second plurality of air jets which are uniformly spaced from the conveyor and which are oriented to direct air streams perpendicularly against the conveyor, the temperature of said heat source and the volume of air issuing from said two sets of air jets being controlled such that the temperature of the air-gas mixture directly adjacent the conveyor is between about 325* and 410* F. and the velocity of said air-gas mixture directly adjacent the conveyor is about 400 to 7,500 feet per minute, the thickness of the bacon slices and the speed of the conveyor being controlled so that the bacon is rendered about 75 percent.