Experiment Summary

We are planning to cook 126* unique combinations of raw protein formats and cook methods to identify the top combinations to be used in future Cook From Raw tests. For each protein we will come up with a top 3 ranking of the highest visual quality combinations, and a top 3 ranking of the highest yield (least shrink) combinations.

Visual Quality - Participants will rank combinations on a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best). Highest quality is defined as having a resemblance to current IQF proteins, good particulation, and good color etc.

Yield - The yield of each combination will be determined by dividing the cooked net weight by the raw net weight.

This experiment is part of the larger goal of saving the company money by cooking raw proteins instead of buying already cooked proteins. Additionally, cooking from raw could potentially replace our HPP lethality CCP, which would also save the company a lot of money.

*126 unique combinations =

3 proteins (beef, chicken, and pork)

x 2 fat options (lean and fatty)

x 3 prep styles (ground, diced, and whole muscle)

x 7 cook methods (steam, heat, steam/heat, sous vide, boil, pan fry, and pressure cook)

Goals

Per protein, rank the top 3 combinations of cooking method and protein format that have the highest visual quality e.g. Beef Visual Quality

Steam/Heat Lean Whole Muscle Beef
Steam Fatty Whole Muscle Beef
Pan Fry Lean Whole Muscle Beef

Per protein, rank the top 3 combinations of cooking method and protein format that have the highest yield e.g. Beef Yield

Sous Vide Lean Whole Muscle Beef
Sous Vide Fatty Whole Muscle Beef
Boiled Lean Whole Muscle Beef

Requirements

All necessary measuring, cooking (including utensils), cooling, vacuum sealing, and photography equipment including:

Measuring Equipment
Table Scales
Thermometers
Cooking Equipment
Sous Vide Cooker
Pressure Cooker
Boiling Pot
Frying Pan
Electric Stove
Rational Ovens
Speed Racks
Perf Pans
Hotel Pans
Large Mixing Spoons
Knives
Cutting Board
Cooling Equipment
Speed Racks
Refrigerator
Vacuum Sealing Equipment
VC999
Film
Photography Equipment
Camera
External Lighting Source(s)
White Backdrop
126 lbs of raw protein

Setup

Set up cooking method equipment
All proteins split into 1lb portions

Outline

This larger experiment will be broken down into smaller experiments, organized by cooking method. All protein formats will be cooked in the following order: steam, heat, steam/heat, sous vide, boil, pan fry, and finally pressure cook

For each protein format...

Portion out the raw protein into a 1 lb portion
1. Record the raw protein net weight [(exact) e.g. 0.98 lbs]
2. Photograph the raw protein
Cook the raw protein according to SOPs/agreed upon guidelines
1. Record the cook duration
2. Record the protein temperature post cook
3. Record the protein net weight (yield will automatically be calculated)
4. Photograph the cooked protein
Record visual quality observations and other relevant notes
Vacuum seal the cooked protein using VC999
1. Photograph the cooked protein in the vacuum sealed bag
2. Label the vacuum sealed bag and store it in the freezer

Possible Experiment Reduction

At key points during the experiment, we'll have an "off-ramp" discussions to decide if we can and should eliminate some future tests. The two "buckets" to be discussed are...

Ground vs Whole Muscle
Diced vs Whole Muscle (protein diced before cooking vs post cooking)

If there is a overwhelming consensus that e.g. Whole Muscle combinations are producing better visual quality and yield results than all the Ground combinations, then we will consider eliminating all Ground combinations moving forward.

Schedule


Week 1	Steam, Heat, Steam/Heat
Week 2	Sous Vide, Boil (1/4) Off-ramp discussion
Week 3	Boil (3/4) Off-ramp discussion
Week 4	Pan Fry Off-ramp discussion
Week 5	Pressure Cook

Analysis

Review experiment photographs and frozen samples, one protein at a time. Assign a visual quality score (1 = worst, 10 = best) for each protein format and cook method combination.

Ties (if in the top 3) should be broken by additional review of the photographs and samples and then coming up with a new score to the tenths place (e.g. 8 > 8.2)
For each protein, determine the top 3 combinations of cooking method and protein format

Sort the entire data table by protein, then by yield

For each protein, determine the top 3 combinations of yield