Meat such as poultry may be rapidly cooked in a closed and sealed pressure vessel subjected to a mixture of superheated steam and superatmospheric compressed air at a temperature of least 400.degree. F. and at an internal chamber pressure of at least 15 psig fed from an air compressor through a heat exchanger. Water is mixed with the heated superatmospheric compressed air such that a mixture of superheated steam and superatmospheric compressed air is created prior to mixture entry into the interior of the pressure vessel. Preferably, meat is cooked rapidly at a temperature within the chamber in the range of 400.degree. F. to 600.degree. F. and at pressures ranging from 15 to 150 psig. A pressure relief valve coupled to the pressure vessel exhausts the mixture of superheated steam and superatmospheric compressed air to maintain the desired gas pressurization within the chamber.
The present invention relates to a method of processing fish in a food processing unit (72), which method comprises the following steps: thawing (44, 62) during a thawing period by ejecting steam and water within the food processing unit (72) while continuously re-circulating air, cooking (46, 64) during a cooking period by firstly discontinuing ejecting water while continuing ejecting steam into the food processing unit, and secondly re-circulating air to maintain the ambient temperature at a predetermined temperature, cooling (48, 66) during a cooling period by discontinuing ejecting steam while ejecting water and continuously re-circulating exterior air communicated to the food processing unit (72). The food processing unit (72) is calibrated for determining the duration of the thawing, cooking, and cooling periods by using a temperature sensitive device to measure a core temperature of the fish and to establish the duration of the three periods according to the core temperature.
