It has been a commercial and domestic practice to either mechanically or chemically tenderize and add flavor to meat through various different methods including: pounding; piercing; injecting; marinating and basting. Commercial processes include large machines capable of processing large quantities of meat through an industrial process not practical for domestic use. Typical domestic processes include specialty devices that pierce the meat to tenderize it or use dimpled hammers that pound the meat to tenderize it, followed by marinating in a solution for a period of time. The two basic processes described are intended to break-down meat fibers and create a more tender, flavorful meat.
Most commercially processed meats undergo some type of tenderizing process similar to those described above. Most of the commercial processes include basting/marinating solutions that contain preservatives, sodium, coloring and flavorings, some of which are that may be considered unhealthy.
A domestic application of the above commercial processes that an individual can use to both mechanically and chemically tenderize and marinade a variety of meats would be something that is desirable. While there are several devices that currently exist, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,700 to Flemming, U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,814 to Jaccard, U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,476 to Jaccard, U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,001 to Poster, all of these patents describe either mechanical or chemical tenderizing either as a commercial or domestic application. However, none of these patents apply both a mechanical and a chemical process in a single domestic application.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,700 to Flemming, the appliance is used for pre-basting, seasoning and tenderizing meat and poultry. The appliance comprises in a single hand held unit, one or more hollow needles through which liquid such as baste or tenderizer is injected into the meat or poultry, a reservoir which accommodates the liquid and an electrically operated pump, which pumps the liquid from the remote reservoir through the injection needles.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,841 to Jaccard, the invention is a hand held meat tenderizer which creates a plurality of incisions that are made simultaneously in a meat cut utilizing a plurality of penetrating or piercing blade elements with a stripping plate intended to retract the blade elements and remove the meat from the device.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,814 to Jaccard, the invention involves a powered handheld meat tenderizer. The tenderizer has features that provide easy access to the blades for cleaning, oiling and blade replacement. Since a motor provides the energy to move the blades in an up and down motion, little, if any manual pressure is required during the tenderizing process. The blades are movably attached to the power source and are easily activated by a trigger or other activating means similar to those used on an electric drill.
The present device described in this disclosure combines the two meat preparation processes of tenderizing and basting, including an efficient method of infusing marinade solutions in a simple handheld device for domestic use, while overcoming the inherent drawbacks of prior art.