# 25 LBS of Lebanon Bologna



## couger78

Here’s a _relatively_ QUICK N EASY version of Lebanon Bologna from a recipe I got here on the *SMF* ([URL]http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/92786/50-lbs-of-lebanon-bologna[/url]

I love the stuff and was hoping to replicate the smokey bologna at home. I've read positive reviews of this recipe here, so here we go...

Start with a load of beef (25 pounds of lean beef). The local market has a nice '2 for 1' deal on some nice cuts so I took advantage & saved some big $$....








I’m going to do a single medium grind (4.5 mm plate).

*Grinding under way*:







In less than 4 minutes, I've a big lug of lean ground beef…







To the meat I’ll be adding the follow ingredients. The recipe called for _‘dark brown sugar’_ but all I had was the light brown. Easy fix. I added some molasses. For a_ 'Sweet Lebanon Bologna" _I would double the amount of sugar, but since this was my first go at this recipe, I played it safe. I didnt want twenty-five pounds of "too sweet" meat!







I mixed the dry with an ample amount of chilled water and mixed the load.

*All mixed & ready to stuff*:







I finally broke down & purchased a smaller stuffer (5 pounder). Normally I’d use my hydro-cannon (12 pounds), but it’s in need of repair. So rather than use my grinder as a ‘stuffer’ again —which would be absolutely nutz for doing a 25-pound batch— we’ll break in this little Grizzly.







I’m using 4” clear fibrous casing for these bolognas. I’m estimating about 3 or so total. The new stuffer makes filling these chubs MUCH easier than the grinder (_“doh! No kidding!’_). The hardest part of the whole job was taking photos while doing it. The *red tape* you see on the work surface indicates the maximum length I wanted to make these chubs. This is important as we’ll see later.







I used ½” hog wire to seal the ends of the chubs. I wanted something strong as each of these chubs weighs about 8 pounds.







_*All chubbed up.*_ Three large monsters and a pee-wee chub.







*Now to the smoker…*

The recipe calls for a LONG smoke. (12-16 hours minimum, longe =better), but there's no way that's going to happen. My plan is to give the chubs a good dose of heavy smoke for 6-8 hours and finish them in a water bath. After an hour of drying (no smoke) @ 130°), I’ll be using hickory pellets for smoke. Even temps of about 140-145° for a good part of the smoking process. I’ll amp up the temps as we close in on last two hours.

*Two-hours in:* Starting to pick up a good hickory red.







*Six-hours in:*  Getting a nice even color. Two more hours & we’ll hit the poacher…







*Regarding the poacher:* My turkey poacher will hold a 22 pound turkey, but I need to make sure the length of large chubs don't exceed the poaching basin. I set a determined length (with the* red tape*!) when stuffing the chubs. Unfortunately, one turned out a bit longer and so I had to squeeze him in on the diagonal. Total time in the poacher to get it to 154° was abut 2 hours per load. The poaching liquid turned amber from the hickory smoke off the casing.







The other two I was able to fit together and they took about the same time as the first chub: about 2 hours to reach the final IT.

The little 'chubbette' I poached in a pot on the stovetop. The little guy only took about 25 minutes to hit the desired IT.

*Tub for Two:*







The chubs went to an ice bath to cool and will now hang a night or so in my fridge to firm up before slicing.

_*More to come.*_

I’m working concurrently on a seven-pound batch of Braunschweiger, so I’m a bit behind in uploading all the photos.

Kevin


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## pops6927

Wow!  Looks delicious!  Can't wait to see the money shot of the slices!  And, Braunschweiger?  Oh yes!


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## sam3

Thanks for posting that recipe Kevin. This is definitely on my to do list.

They look incredible!!


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## BGKYSmoker

Looks great Kevin

Here is the original posted way back. You can reduce it down.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/92786/50-lbs-of-lebanon-bologna


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## smokinhusker

Nice! Can't wait to see one sliced. Braunschweiger is good stuff!


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## couger78

After a nice of 'chilling' in the fridge, the chubs are now ready to slice.







Since I only ground the meat once, I expected a coarser texture than my other 'smooth' bolognas. So I was happy to see that the slices held together nicely. Taste? Very nice smokey taste with a bit of sweetness & tang—pretty much what I remember Lebanon bologna to taste like! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





It's not as dark as the store-bought stuff, but the taste is there! The slices have a nice, dense outer ring where the heavy some has penetrated. Very tasty! The fact that its very lean sausage (less than 20% fat) is a plus without losing any flavor.







After slicing up the lot, now comes the vac-seal bags.

This should keep us in bologna for awhile!

It goes great on a roll with some horseradish mustard!

..and now to finish that batch of *braunschweiger*!

Kevin


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## johnyd

Nice!! i like the poacher! sure looks easier than using a stock pot on the stove

Great looking dog roll!! 

Heres an old story ( sorry to hijack)

When I was a young man in my 20's I spent time working in an isolated area with a team of 5 other guys.... We would drive in to our work place once a week by launch ( 3 hr trip)

So we took enough food for the whole week ( 5 young fellas can eat a lot of tucker in a week)

Lunch usually consisted of a Bologna sandwich......y'know the kind 

1/2 inch slab bologna 1/2inch slab o'cheese, some jam or whatever ya fancy,and another slab of Bologna on top....... ta dar..... sandwich

Anyway we knicknamed the bologna "dog roll" for its size and obvious similarity

We sent the aprentice armed with a shopping list to buy the groceries, and we would pick him up in an hr.

All good .... make the journey to our spot in the "sounds" ( Marlborough Sounds NZ ) Go to work the next day and after a hard mornings slog, we're ready for our lunch.

Out comes all the makings........WTF !!! REAL DOG ROLL !!!

Funniest thing was, the boss says to the youngster "if we eat that we'll all get bloody salmonella poisoning!!  

From that day forward that youngmans nickname was "salmo"


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## johnyd

Like the sliced shots too!


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## mballi3011

Holy Cow that looks awesome.


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## diggingdogfarm

Looks excellent!!


I grew up in PA........love Lebanon bologna!!!


~Martin


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## couger78

Well, as the bologna continues to disappear around here at an alarming rate (the result of having three always-hungry young adult sons!), I did manage to get the majority of the 25lb load vac-sealed in 2 lb bags. Ten pounds is destined for a Men's group get-together this sunday at the church, (plenty of hard rolls, cheese & other fixins' to be there), so that'll certainly clear some room in the fridge.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Kevin


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## boykjo

looks awesome cougar.......always look forward to your posts.................
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Joe


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## DanMcG

Great looking Bologna Kevin...


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## venture

Looks super as always, Kevin!

How you got that texture with a medium grind is beyond me?

That is why I am still here learning from folks like you!

Good luck and good smoking.


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## ironhorse07

Looks great! Gotta try some of that.


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## backyard bbq

awesome...one question as I am new to making bologna (not used to eating this stuff tho).  I noticed on the original recipe they smoked to final int and you are finished them in a hot bath instead.  Can you explain to me what is the difference?  is it depend what casings you use?  Thanks (northern berks county raised love me some of this)


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## dirtsailor2003

backyard bbq said:


> awesome...one question as I am new to making bologna (not used to eating this stuff tho).  I noticed on the original recipe they smoked to final int and you are finished them in a hot bath instead.  Can you explain to me what is the difference?  is it depend what casings you use?  Thanks (northern berks county raised love me some of this)


x2


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## couger78

backyard bbq said:


> awesome...one question as I am new to making bologna (not used to eating this stuff tho).  I noticed on the original recipe they smoked to final int and you are finished them in a hot bath instead.  Can you explain to me what is the* difference*?  is it depend what casings you use?  Thanks (northern berks county raised love me some of this)


The biggest difference in finishing with a hot (165°) bath is the time. Conventional finishing in a smoker will take considerably longer for the chubs to reach the desired IT. Most chubs—smaller than these Lebanon monsters—will usually be ready after about 30 minutes in the bath, as opposed to an additional 3-4 hours in a smoker. Water is a much better conductor of heat than air so the 'cooking' process is greatly expedited.

Having done samples both ways (finishing some chubs in a smoker and some with the bath), I didn't notice any real difference in 'smokiness' of the final products. Those chubs finished in the bath are less wrinkled, more plump and moister than those finished in the smoker. I do finish the smaller meat sticks in the smoker—never bath—but for larger chubs, water-bath is my preferred method.

Kevin


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## dirtsailor2003

Couger78 said:


> The biggest difference in finishing with a hot (165°) bath is the time. Conventional finishing in a smoker will take considerably longer for the chubs to reach the desired IT. Most chubs—smaller than these Lebanon monsters—will usually be ready after about 30 minutes in the bath, as opposed to an additional 3-4 hours in a smoker. Water is a much better conductor of heat than air so the 'cooking' process is greatly expedited.
> 
> Having done samples both ways (finishing some chubs in a smoker and some with the bath), I didn't notice any real difference in 'smokiness' of the final products. Those chubs finished in the bath are less wrinkled, more plump and moister than those finished in the smoker. I do finish the smaller meat sticks in the smoker—never bath—but for larger chubs, water-bath is my preferred method.
> 
> Kevin


Kevin,

Thanks for the information, really helpful for this sausage newbie to be!


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## backyard bbq

Thanks Kevin.  Great job!


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## BGKYSmoker

Kevin

How did this taste with ECA vs using Starter culture?

I have a customer i mean friend who wants 50lbs of sweet lebnun made.

Thanks


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## roller

Very Very nice job!!


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## couger78

nepas said:


> Kevin
> 
> How did this taste with ECA vs using Starter culture?
> 
> I have a customer i mean friend who wants 50lbs of sweet lebnun made.
> 
> Thanks


Rick, I'd be hard pressed to explain the difference as I've only made it with the ECA.

For me, going the ECA route was simpler than the starter culture (no fermentation time required). So using it can be a time-saver, especially on big batches.

I have discovered that ECA can tend to make some of the sausages I've made progressively more 'sour' the longer the meat sits. I'm not sure that is the case with starter cultures once there fermentation stops.

Kevin


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## driedstick

Man them look great. still have some or you out.


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## couger78

driedstick said:


> Man them look great. still have some or you out.


That bologna was gone in about 4 weeks post-production.....


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