Home-Made Bologna for the New Year

[Kevin A]

Here's my first go in the New Year at making Bologna. I've had many requests form the boys to make some - but I wanted to make something UNLIKE the smooth pink stuff one now finds in the supermarkets. I remember year ago getting a 'courser-textured' stronger-flavored bologna from our local butcher shop that you had to 'peel' each slice before eating. Good stuff. Made great fried bologna sandwiches! So here we go...

I had 5 pounds of extra-lean ground beef (90/10) and a 5lb pork shoulder on-hand. The ingredients to be added to the meat shown below:


Cubed the 5lbs of pork and prepped to grind:


Used a 4.5mm plate the first time through:


I then added the 5lbs of lean ground beef to the pork:


I dissolved the cure and kosher salt into 8 oz of water & then added it to the meat:


Mixed in the solution well and let the mixture sit overnight in the fridge:


Next day, I added all the spices and dissolved the SPC and nonfat dry milk in water and pour the solution into the meat & spice mixture:


The mixture really had a nice aroma. So much so that it attracted the attention of my kitchen helper...


Meat well-mixed:


Casings soaking in warm water while I prep to regrind the meat mixture through a finer plate:


Using a extra-fine (3.0mm) grinding plate for the final grind. This is a slow process as the meat paste gets sticky and is a challenge sometimes to get the paste through the grinder. STILL, it is a quicker process than doing the emulsification way with a processor.



Had enough meat to fill one large chub (a little over 8.5lbs), and limited the length so it fit my poacher; and with the leftover I filled two ring casings:


Prepping the smoker: got the smoker up to 110 and hung the chubs with NO smoke for the first 60-90 minutes to dry:


I began applying smoke for the next three hours. Two hours in:


Time to pull from the smoker and prep for the poacher:


I heated the water in the poacher to 165 and plopped the big boy into the hot bath. It was soon joined by other two smaller chubs:


The smaller chubs reached the desired IT (155) in about 30 minutes, while the larger chub will continue to stay in the hot bath.  I pulled the smaller rings, ice-bathed for a quick cool, and let them bloom:


Money shot of the smaller rings. Very tasty little cracker-sized rings of bologna. Just need some ritz crackers:


Two hours later, the Big Boy reaches 155 so out it comes & into an ice bath. Letting it bloom:


Slicing the chub into 'serving slices':


Sliced and ready to pack up or fry & eat!



SAMPLE TIME: I took a batch of my uneven slices and fried 'em up. Very tasty! Not nearly as overly-salty or mushy as the store-bought stuff. Pan full of Bologna Pac-Men:


Great way to start the New Year!

Kevin

[devo]

Another excellent post Kevin

[viper125]

Looks most excellent! Sounds a lot like the trail baloney I make. Cant help it but bologna is one of my favorites.

[ghost9mm]

As always Kevin your presentation is great and your money shot is awesome...

[DisplacedCoonass]

I never thought I'd eat bologna again after being a kid, this gives me hope.

[SouthernSmoked]

Dang Kevin....That looks awesome!!

This morning I ordered a bundle of LEM Jumbo Red Fibrous Casing just to do bologna. Can be stuffed to 4.69".

I really liked the way that yours turned out.

Hoping to have the same success.

[MTFiddler]

great job, perfect sandwich material.  Willing to share the recipe?

Lon

[Kevin A]

great job, perfect sandwich material.  Willing to share the recipe?

It's basically Len Poli's recipe for basic bologna with a minor variation on the 2nd grind (no emulsification) and smoking/poaching part.
I prefer to measure by weight rather than volume (except for liquids).

BOLOGNA
makes 10 lbs -can be ring or large chub

5 LBS   PORK SHOULDER
5 LBS   LEAN GROUND BEEF
66g      Kosher Salt
85g      Non Fat Dry Milk
           (or 55g NFDM; 30g SoyProtein)- this is what i used
36g      Dextrose
12g      Cure#1
7.0g      White Pepper
6.0g      Paprika
4.5g      Nutmeg
3.0g      Garlic powder
2.0g      Allspice
2.0g      Coriander
1-1/2 cups  Ice water

Soak Casing in warm water.
Use a medium plate (4.5) to grind pork. Mix salt and cure together in 1/2cup warm water.
Mix this solution into meats until well-mixed. Let sit for an hour or so in fridge. Add remaining ingredients and grind again through fine plate (3.0). Stuff into casings. Air dry. Preheat smoker to 100 and hang bologna for an hour. Raise temp to 130 for another hour. Smoke time: 90 minutes-2hours. Raise temp to 160 and hold until IT of bologna reaches 155.   Alternatively, poach chubs in hot bath @165 degrees until 155 IT is reached. Cool bologna in ice bath and hang to bloom. Refrigerate. Slice after well-chilling.

[pikeman_95]

Kevin
Very Very nice. Great looking texture and technique. You are always making such good product and your post are very educational. I like the texture and it looks so great. I love a bologna sandwich whit horseradish mustard.
Are you going to share the recipe. I would love to add this to my list of things to do.

Kirby

[anderson5420]

Yes, looks great, bet it tastes great!  Well done!

[rigstar]

those look very good,
thanks for the recipe Kevin!!

[Sam3]

Fantastic post Kevin. Thanks for sharing the recipe too!

[NePaSmoKer]

Nice looking bologna

;D

[Sailor]

Great post Kevin.  You are becoming a sausage makin machine.  Nice job!

[OU812]

I'd hurt my self on some of that fried bologna! (with some Mac N Cheese)  ;D

Looks great Kevin!