Apparatus and method for removing bones from a disassembled animal carcass

An apparatus and method for removing bones from a sub-primal cut meat portion, and more particularly, an apparatus and method for removing bones from a chuck blade sub-primal cut meat portion where said apparatus includes a carousel-type conveyor system arrangement having at least one mounting station and at least one meat cutting station. The carousel-type conveyor has a mounting fixture that is adapted to hold and manipulate and orient the meat cut such that bone removal can be performed effectively. The carousel-type conveyor in one embodiment is a rotation table which transitions the mounting fixture with the sub-primal cut mounted thereon to a position adjacent a cutting station. Each cutting station includes at least one reciprocating chisel blade assembly that is utilized to sever the meat from the bone by repetitively plunging and retracting a chisel blade into and from the meat and bone interface with a reciprocating stabbing action thereby severing the meat from the bone. The maneuvering and cutting pattern of the chisel blade assembly is controlled by a controller which can be a PLC or a computer or any other appropriate computing device.