Quick frozen chicken meatballs refer to the chicken meatballs that are processed, rapidly frozen (below - 25 ℃) and stored in a frozen state (below - 18 ℃). This paper introduces the characteristics and processing technology of quick frozen chicken meatball, and the key points in the production that need to be controlled.

Quick frozen products refer to the foods that are rapidly frozen (below - 25 ℃) and stored in a frozen state (below - 18 ℃) after processing. Quick frozen food can keep the original freshness, color, flavor and nutrition of natural food to the greatest extent. This kind of product must be kept below - 18 ℃ during storage and circulation, so it has a long shelf life and is easy to store, with a shelf life of up to 12 months.

There are many ways to eat quick frozen chicken balls. Here are some common ways to eat them.

1. Frying: No need to defrost. After unpacking, put it into 170 ℃ - 180 ℃ oil and fry it for 2-3 minutes until golden.

2.中式炒菜：解冻后，放入加油烧热的炒锅与葱、姜等调味料炒至入味，加入蔬菜和盐炒熟即可。

2. Chinese fried vegetables: after thawing, put in a hot oil frying pan and stir fry with onions, ginger and other seasonings until they taste good. Add vegetables and salt and stir fry until cooked.

4. Hot pot: After boiling the soup of hot pot, directly put chicken balls into boiling water and boil for 3-5 minutes, then take them out, or dip them in various hot pot condiments.

Product characteristics of quick frozen chicken balls:

1) It is characterized by white color, uniform particles and beautiful and attractive appearance.

2) The cooked products taste crisp, salty and fragrant, fresh and glossy, nutritious and not greasy, and are suitable for eating at dinner.

3) It is suitable for frying, Chinese frying, making soup, hot pot and other convenient features.

4) It does not contain any preservatives and hair color agents, and is a pure natural green food.

5) Quick frozen food can keep the original freshness, color, flavor and nutrition of natural food to the greatest extent.

6) Refrigeration below - 18 ℃, so the shelf life is long and easy to store, and the shelf life can reach 12 months.

7) Variety of flavors: original flavor, mushroom, coriander, seaweed and other flavors can meet different consumption requirements.

1. Equipment

Meat grinder, meatball beater (chopping machine), meatball molding machine, boiling tank, quick freezing warehouse, etc.

2. Manufacturing process flow

Process flow: raw meat thawing → pretreatment and ingredients → filling (beating) → molding → cooking (frying or boiling) → cooling → quick freezing → quality inspection and packaging → sanitary inspection and refrigeration

3. Key points of manufacturing process

3.1. Selection of raw meat

Fresh (frozen) chicken breast meat, chicken skin and appropriate amount of pig fat from non epidemic areas that have passed the veterinary health inspection are selected as raw meat. Due to the low fat content of chicken, adding proper amount of pork with high fat content can improve the taste and tenderness of the product.

3.2. Ingredients and seasoning

Take ZB-80 chopping and mixing machine pot as an example, chicken 16kg, pig fat 2kg, chicken skin 2kg, salt 1.35kg, white granulated sugar 0.3kg, ball glue (shaping thickener) 200g, ball improver (compound phosphate) 240g, ginger 600g, scallion 1.8kg, monosodium glutamate 200g, chicken essence 200g, white pepper 75g, ice egg liquid 3kg, corn starch 5kg, ice water 18-20kg

3.3. Treatment of raw materials and auxiliary materials

Select fresh scallions of good quality, peel off the old skin to remove the dead green leaves, peel off the ginger, and wash it Φ 8-10mm orifice plate meat grinder shall be used for standby after rough grinding; Cut the chicken breast, chicken skin and pig fat into strips after slightly thawing, and use Φ Grinded by 12-20mm orifice meat grinder. The raw materials shall be chopped and mixed immediately after being twisted or placed in the environment of 0-4 ℃ for standby.

3.4. Filling (beating)

Weigh the roughly ground meat accurately according to the formula, pour it into the chopper, chop and mix it into mud, and then add the meatball improver, salt, seasoning, meatball glue and proper amount of ice water in order. Chop and mix at high speed into thick and fine stuffing, finally add starch, and the remaining ice water, chop and mix evenly. During the whole chopping and mixing process, the temperature of the meat stuffing should always be controlled below 10 ℃.

3.5. Forming

Manually or with the meatball molding machine, adjust the speed of the meatball molding machine to make the meatballs full and round, and immediately put the chicken balls out of the molding machine into a hot water tank at 80-85 ℃ for 3-5 minutes to shape. Or put the chicken balls from the molding machine into the hot oil pan and fry until the shell is beautiful light brown or yellowish brown. Remove the meatballs from the oil pan, cool them properly, and then put them into the boiling water pan to cook.

3.6. Cooked (fried or boiled)

After molding, boil in hot water at 90-95 ℃ for 5-10 minutes. In order to ensure that the chicken is cooked and sterilized, the center temperature of the chicken ball should be up to 72 ℃ and maintained for more than 1 minute. The cooking time should not be too long, otherwise it will cause the meat balls to become oily and affect the flavor and taste.

3.7. Pre cooling (cooling) After the meatballs are cooked, they shall enter the pre cooling chamber for pre cooling. The pre cooling temperature shall be 0-4 ℃, and the central temperature of the meatballs shall be below 8 ℃. The air in the precooling chamber needs to be forced cooled by a clean air machine. In winter, the meatballs can be naturally cooled before entering the precooling chamber for precooling, which can save some energy consumption.

3.8. Quick freezing

Transfer the cooled meatballs to the quick freezing warehouse for freezing. The temperature in the quick freezing room is below - 25 ℃ for 24 hours, so that the center temperature of the meatballs can quickly drop to below - 18 ℃ and leave the quick freezing warehouse.

3.9. Quality inspection and packaging

The weight, shape, color, taste and other indicators of meatballs shall be inspected. After passing the inspection, the qualified products shall be packaged in small film bags and then packed.

3.10. Health inspection and refrigeration

Requirements for health indicators; The total number of bacteria is less than 5000/g; Escherichia coli group, negative; No pathogenic bacteria. The qualified products are refrigerated in the refrigerated warehouse below - 18 ℃, and the product temperature is below - 18 ℃, and the storage period is about 12 months.

4. Several problems needing attention in the production process

1) When selecting raw materials, fresh (frozen) chicken breast meat from non epidemic areas that has passed the veterinary health inspection must be used to ensure the quality of meatballs. Chicken breast meat does not contain tendons and has less fat, which is conducive to filling and protein extraction.

2) In the selection of additives, the selection of compound phosphate and shaping thickener is the key to ensure the quality and yield of pills. Excellent compound phosphate can effectively extract meat protein, enhance the elasticity, crispness and fresh taste of meatballs; The excellent shaping thickener can increase the added water content of the balls, have good plasticity, ensure the appearance of the balls is even, beautiful and attractive, and can also improve the product yield and reduce the product cost.

3) The temperature of the quick freezing room must be below - 25 ℃, preferably below - 30 ℃, to ensure the freshness of the product during storage, and to maximize the original freshness, color, flavor and nutrition of the chicken balls.