# MORE Bologna....



## couger78 (Oct 1, 2012)

I had a chance to make some more bologna this past weekend. Same recipe I've used in the past, but decided to make smaller chubs versus the larger 4"+ diameter chubs I've done before.

Ground up some pork butts and had some lean ground beef to use. The usual list of bologna ingredients:













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__ couger78
__ Oct 1, 2012






After mixing all the ingredients, I re-ground (2nd grind) the batch through a FINE late (3.0) in order to achieve a smooth, fine texture in the final bologna. This will sit in the fridge overnight before I start the stuffing process....













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__ couger78
__ Oct 1, 2012






NEXT DAY: I used some summer sausage fibrous casings I picked up on my last trip to the Cabela's outside of Reno.

They hold about 3.3 lbs fully stuffed. Had just enough leftover to make a mini-chub ("chubbette"? 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






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__ couger78
__ Oct 1, 2012






I hung the chubs in kitchen & put the big floor fan on 'em to blowdry them before I hung them in the smoker.

After about an hour, I hung the dry chubs in the smoker. Using "Pitmaster Blend" pellets in the A-Maze-N smoker, I'll hang these for about 3 or more hours of heavy smoke before I finish them in the poacher.













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__ couger78
__ Oct 1, 2012






More to come.....

Kevin


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## smokinhusker (Oct 1, 2012)

I love garlic bologna and can't find it here at all...might have to give this a try.


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## scarbelly (Oct 1, 2012)

Man that looks good. That is going to be some tasty bologna


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## jkc64 (Oct 1, 2012)

Looks good. Two questions for you. Do you hot smoke for the 3 hours or cold smoke and about how long does the poaching take?

John


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## couger78 (Oct 1, 2012)

jkc64 said:


> Looks good. Two questions for you. Do you hot smoke for the 3 hours or cold smoke and about how long does the poaching take?
> 
> John


John, _this time_ I'll be cold-smoking these chubs for about 4 hours with heavy smoke. I anticipate that these chubs will take about an hour to reach 155° IT in a hot bath of 167°.

If I were to 'hot-smoke' (2-3 [email protected] 140°), the poaching would only take about 20-25 minutes to hit the desired IT.

I wanted to see how the _cold-smoking_ differs in imparting flavor versus my standard procedure.

Kevin


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## jkc64 (Oct 1, 2012)

I look forward to hearing how this smoke turns out. I have a spare smoker that doesn't heat and was hoping to use it to cold smoke sausages and poach just didn't have any idea what the time frame was.

Thanks,

John


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## roller (Oct 1, 2012)

Good job !


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## driedstick (Oct 1, 2012)

Looks good Kev


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## venture (Oct 1, 2012)

Looks good, Kevin.

Can't wait to see the final product!

Good luck and good smoking.


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## couger78 (Oct 1, 2012)

So after 5-1/2 hours of cold-smoking, I pulled the hanging chubs.













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__ couger78
__ Oct 1, 2012






The chubs get plunked into a basin of hot water (167°). Temp probe inserted into one.













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__ couger78
__ Oct 1, 2012






Top placed on the poacher. I'm keeping an eye on both the water temp (dial thermometer) and the IT of the chub (Maverick). I estimate it should take about 30 minutes or so to reach 155.°













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__ couger78
__ Oct 1, 2012






After 35 minutes, I plunged the chubs into an ice bath for a quick cool....













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__ couger78
__ Oct 1, 2012






SLICED: I usually wait 24 hours or so before slicing—this gives the chub a chance to firm up and dry out a bit—but I gave in to temptation and sliced a few to sample. The texture came out nice and the flavor is very good! My son thought it was great fried up!

Kevin

Here's a few thick slices—still moist, but peeled & ready to go! A few days in the fridge & the chubs will continue to firm up nicely & absorb some of the evident moisture.













Bolog_new_slice_lg.jpg



__ couger78
__ Oct 1, 2012


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## diggingdogfarm (Oct 1, 2012)

Looks great, Kevin!!!!!


~Martin


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## bmudd14474 (Oct 1, 2012)

Looks great. I love that Cabela's. Do you get up there often?


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## sam3 (Oct 2, 2012)

Fine job again Kevin.


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## dickstolz (Oct 2, 2012)

I think the process you use is great.  Might want to use garlic on another  batch.


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## boykjo (Oct 2, 2012)

kevin's the master at making some juicy looking sausages.....................looks great.....


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## mike johnson (Oct 2, 2012)

I may have to look in to Cabela's for casings. Im lucky enough to have on 5 min. from my house.

P.S. I hope when I make some bologna it turns out as nice as that.


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## couger78 (Oct 2, 2012)

bmudd14474 said:


> Looks great. I love that Cabela's. Do you get up there often?


I take a trip up to Lake Tahoe with 'the guys' every 6 months or so & we always take the short drive over to the Cabela's near Reno.

It's like a playground for grown men......
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Kevin


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## alelover (Oct 2, 2012)

Great lookin Baloney.


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## daveomak (Oct 2, 2012)

Kevin, morning.... Great looking bologna....  I like your recipes...   Dave


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## bluebombersfan (Oct 2, 2012)

That looks fantastic!!  Did you find a difference in taste doing the cold smoke method?  This looks like a must try!!!  Would you be willing to share your recipe?


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## couger78 (Oct 2, 2012)

BlueBombersfan said:


> That looks fantastic!!  Did you find a difference in taste doing the cold smoke method?  This looks like a must try!!!  Would you be willing to share your recipe?


The bologna has a nice 'smokey' taste—but it compliments, rather than overwhelms the bologna's tangy flavor. I do like the simplicity of cold-smoking versus having to carefully monitor temps when 'hot' smoking. I had planned on doing only 4 hours, but got distracted doing other things & wound up smoking the chubs closer to 6 hours. No problem as two rows of Amazen pellets lasted the duration.

Here's the recipe:

*BOLOGNA*

_makes 10 lbs_

5 LBS PORK SHOULDER

5 LBS LEAN GROUND BEEF

70g   Kosher Salt

85g  Non Fat Dry Milk _(blended until fine powder is achieved)_

       (or 55g NFDM; 30g SoyProtein)-_I used 100% NFDM on this batch_

36g   Dextrose

12g   Cure#1

7.0g   White Pepper

6.0g   Paprika_ (*use Smoked Paprika if stronger smoke flavor is desired)_

4.5g   Nutmeg _(I ran out of nutmeg so used 2.5g of mace with 2.0g nutmeg)_

3.0g   Garlic powder _(add more if you want more garlic kick)_

2.0g   Allspice

2.0g   Coriander

1-1/2 cups  Ice water

Soak Casing(s) in warm water.

Use a medium plate (4.5) to grind pork. Mix salt and cure together in 1/2cup 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.(***OR cold-smoke* for 4-6 hours—this is what I did this time.). Poach chubs in hot bath @167 degrees until 155 IT is reached. Cool bologna in ice bath and hang to bloom. Refrigerate overnight. Slice after well-chilling.

- Kevin


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## driedstick (Oct 2, 2012)

Looks great as usual.


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## bluebombersfan (Oct 2, 2012)

Thanks for posting the recipe!!!!


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## fpnmf (Oct 2, 2012)

Looks perfect!!


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## old frenchie (Oct 2, 2012)

Kevin ... Great looking Bologna !!

Wow, that looks juicy ... wish mine came out that nice.

Roger


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## DanMcG (Oct 3, 2012)

Another excellent looking sausage Kevin, nice work.


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## venture (Oct 3, 2012)

Looks like you hit it again, Kevin!

Good luck and good smoking.


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## squirrel (Oct 3, 2012)

Hi Kevin - Great looking bologna.

Do you have your recipe posted with measurements some where? Thanks, Cheryl


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## squirrel (Oct 3, 2012)

Never mind, I didn't see it my first go around. It's on the second page. Blonde moments are more frequent these days.


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## BGKYSmoker (Oct 4, 2012)

Great work again Kevin. Your photography is top notch to.


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## couger78 (Oct 14, 2012)

Bologna glamour shot! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Boys & I never grow tired of fried bologna sandwiches while watching the NFL or the MLB playoffs!

We've been making a sizable dent in the bologna stockpile.

Kevin













Bolog_new_fry_lg.jpg



__ couger78
__ Oct 14, 2012


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## daveomak (Oct 14, 2012)

Kevin, morning.... That looks awesome..... I haven't had fried bologna in decades....   I had better do something about that.... Dave


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## jp61 (Oct 14, 2012)

Kevin, those look delicious!!! Enjoy!


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## weisswurst (Oct 18, 2012)

Fantastic looking Bologna.Your recipe is almost identical to mine.Sometimes I make a Ring Bologna very similar except it is coaser ground and for that robust ring I use coarse black pepper  , mace and now and then I use whole mustard seeds. Your recipe and finished product ( also your process ) would make a veteran SM envious. Good Going . Weisswurst.


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## couger78 (Oct 19, 2012)

weisswurst said:


> Fantastic looking Bologna.Your recipe is almost identical to mine.Sometimes I make a Ring Bologna very similar except it is coaser ground and for that robust ring I use coarse black pepper  , mace and now and then I use whole mustard seeds. Your recipe and finished product ( also your process ) would make a veteran SM envious. Good Going . Weisswurst.


Thanks, Weiss & others, for the nice comments.

My sons really enjoy this particular recipe for bologna. My youngest had a great suggestion of altering the recipe just a bit to more closely resemble *Taylors ham* (_"pork roll"_), especially when fried.

I would need to add a bit more sweetness & tang to the recipe (& maybe incorporate a bit of smoked bacon into the grind) to get there. Very intriguing! I may have to do that next....

Kevin

Pork roll.._.smokey, and tangier & sweeter than bologna_













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__ couger78
__ Oct 19, 2012


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## sam3 (Oct 19, 2012)

This really is a great recipe. I've made it once before.

Next time I'm going to try it with Beef rounds.


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## biemer19 (Mar 23, 2013)

Kevin,

This looks awesome!!  Up here in Wisconsin, we have a Beef Bologna make by Klements that our family has been buying for years and we love it. I have been making my own sausage for a few months now, and have been thinking about trying bologna.  Your pictures look really similar to that bologna (color, texture, etc)   If i use all beef in your recipe, what fat content would you suggest? Would you think any alterations would be needed to any of your other ingredients?

Thanks,

Biemer


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## couger78 (Mar 24, 2013)

biemer19 said:


> Kevin,
> 
> This looks awesome!!  Up here in Wisconsin, we have a Beef Bologna make by Klements that our family has been buying for years and we love it. I have been making my own sausage for a few months now, and have been thinking about trying bologna.  Your pictures look really similar to that bologna (color, texture, etc)   If i use all beef in your recipe, what fat content would you suggest? Would you think any alterations would be needed to any of your other ingredients?
> 
> ...


Biemer, I used pork shoulder that was probably 25-30% fat with the lean beef. If I were to make an all beef bologna using very lean beef, I'd add 25-30% *PORK fat* in lieu of using beef fat.

Regarding the spices, some bolognas can be really salty—and _some_ folks like that. Much depends upon your tastes. The recipe above lists salt as 1.5%—which I find more than adequate. Some prefer saltier. When fried, the saltiness is more prominent. My next batch, I may use *smoked paprika* in place of the regular,*  *which will add a nice smokey note.

Kevin


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## biemer19 (Mar 24, 2013)

Kevin,

Thanks for the info.  I will definitely be giving this a try in the next couple weeks.  We also fry the bologna (best way to make it).  We put some butter and onions in the skillet with the bologna and then put on rye bread.  Delicious!!!

Thanks again. I will post pics when I give it a try!!


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## weisswurst (Mar 24, 2013)

For any newbies.... This is the way to make good bologna. Notice that he said  he wanted a nice smoke but not over powering.Please pass the rye bread and good mustard. Nice going cougar !!!

   Happy Sausage making... Weisswurst


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## weisswurst (Mar 25, 2013)

uuuummmmm dogie thems gooooood lookin eats. Weisswurst


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