From meatballs to dough balls, EnSight Solutions has helped a variety of food processors turn ingredients into a quality ball-shaped final product through forming solutions. Let’s take a look at EnSight meatball formers, the machines that complement them and the non-meat products they can help form as well.
Forming Solutions
The Bridge line of equipment has been a member of the EnSight family for more than 10 years. When EnSight purchased Bridge, we knew we were investing in company with decades of experience in the food processing industry. Not only that, but Bridge has long held a reputation for producing top-quality formers, dumpers and conveyors, all machines that are integral to a good meatball processing line.
The Bridge line is home to the BT Series of forming machines. The lineup includes the BT-001, which is ideal for restaurants, caterers and cruise ships, i.e., smaller processors who want to improve their process and product without taking up too much floor space. On the other end of the spectrum is the BT-008, which is designed specifically for large-scale food processors. The BT-001 will produce up to 3,600 portions per hour, and the BT-008 can produce up to 160,000 portions per hour.
You can learn more about the BT Series’ capabilities on the product page.
It’s not only the production rate that truly sets the EnSight meatball formers apart in the industry, though. The difference is in the bite–the homestyle feel meatballs produced on our machines give consumers.
Other organizations utilize a vacuum to form the meatballs in a mold, pulling out all extra air. This ensures consistent-weighted meatballs every time. But, it can sacrifice mouth feel–the meatball can be extremely firm, sometimes unpleasantly so. EnSight forming machines, though, use mechanical pressure to push the product through the horn. There, we have an iris-like cutter that opens and closes, naturally forming a ball shape. This also allows for a wide range of recipes and ingredient choices. While each ball is uniform in size, they will contain air pockets which reduces exact weight replication. Therefore, if the processor primary value is bite and mouth-feel, the BT series is a clear option.
Forming Line Solutions
A typical large-scale meatball forming operation consists of more than just the former itself. At EnSight, we recommend starting with a grinder to perform a final grind on the meat, ensuring the product is properly broken down. Most organizations then dump the meatball ingredients, e.g., ground meat, spices and binding agent, into a blender to properly disperse all the ingredients. The blended product goes into a buggy, trough or vat, which is then dumped into the former. The augers inside the former push the product into the horn, and the formed balls drop onto a spreading conveyor. These conveyors take the meatballs to the freezer or the cooker.
EnSight can help by designing a full line solution.
Our team can create a blender that is sized right and features the right ribbon agitator to perfectly mix the amount of ingredients needed. We can also design dumpers to the right height and capacity. And, we can design a conveyor system with freezer or oven belts, depending on the process. In the end, we can provide a high-quality full line solution that helps the processor increase production, quality and safety.
Smaller processors like caterers and restaurants don’t usually need such a large-scale operation. They will hand fill the BT-001 hopper, and it comes standard with a 3’ discharge conveyor.
Non-Meatball Solutions
The BT Series machines might have been designed with meatball processors in mind, but these machines offer benefits for a variety of other food processors.
When determining if a BT machine will work for a specific product, the biggest consideration is the consistency of the final product. If the product is new to the EnSight team, we will ask the processor if they can take the product in hand and form it into a ball, much like one would do with a snowball. If it’s too crumbly or too thick, it won’t work with the EnSight machines. If they can form a ball though, there’s a very good chance a BT former will work.
This applies to everything from meats to cookie dough, cheesecake and more.
At EnSight Solutions, our team is on-hand and ready to help you enhance your forming operation. Once we determine that your product’s consistency will work with our machine designs, we will start talking rates of production, binding agents and what other machines would be ideal for the line. Our team will offer advice and help guide you to the solution that meets your needs.
After we hone in on the solution, we can work out a plan to loan a BT-001 to the customer to test in their facility. If the BT-001 works for their process and product, then we just have to discuss which size of former will be best!
And in the end, you’ll be producing the homestyle bites your customers know and love, but at a much higher rate and consistency than if you were doing it by hand. To learn more, please contact our sales consultants.
