MULTI-TIER AND SPIRAL MICROWAVE OVEN DRYERS FOR RAPID PREPARATION OF DRY SAUSAGE

A process for manufacturing dry sausage including preparing a dry sausage meat mixture, stuffing the moisture into a casing or mould, or extruding into a mould, fermenting the mixture, hat treating the sausage log, optionally removing the outer casing from the sausage log, cooling tire sausage log to a temperature sufficiently low to permit cutting, cutting the sausage, placing the sausage pieces onto a conveyor, optionally a multi-tier or spiral conveyor assembly, and passing the conveyor and sausage pieces through a chamber. The process also includes introducing a supply of conditioned, air into the chamber, the air having a relative humidity below about 60% and a temperature in the range, of at least about 40° F. to 130° F., and introducing a supply of microwaves into the chamber. The air supply and microwaves are selected to reduce the moisture content of the sausage pieces to a predetermined moisture to protein ratio.