# Bologna problem



## mikedixon (Mar 27, 2011)

I made nearly 30 lbs of trail bologna using a Con Yeager kit.I cooked the sticks in 2 different ovens, 1 gas, 1 electric. On every stick in the electric oven, the casing split almost completely off every stick. Will this still be okay to eat? I don't see any reason why it shouldn't because the casing just holds the sausage in shape right? The shape is fine, but I am a little concerned about cooling it now. I wrapped it in aluminum foil and cooled it off in the cold water. Seems ok, but I wonder why the casing split in one oven and not the other. I made this to try to sell, but I am afriad to because the casing is gone. Thoughts?


----------



## bassman (Mar 27, 2011)

Sounds like the thermostat is off on the oven and just overcooked it.


----------



## mikedixon (Mar 27, 2011)

I cooked summer sausage on it the day before yesterday, and it came out great. Could be though. I will have to check that out.


----------



## bassman (Mar 27, 2011)

mikedixon said:


> I cooked summer sausage on it the day before yesterday, and it came out great. Could be though. I will have to check that out.




Could it be that you had that particular batch stuffed too tight?  That could possibly cause splitting also.  No matter what, it looks like you'll be eating a lot of bologna.


----------



## mikedixon (Mar 27, 2011)

The fellas at work and I can make short work of it, no problem. Some Ritz crackers and cheese and all that bologna, there will be some happy maintenance men!


----------



## graniteman (Mar 28, 2011)

I have a buddy who is a butcher and makes sausage, trail bologna, you name it he makes it.  He wants to know what type of meat, temp of ovens, size of casings.  hopefully he can shed some light on your problem.


----------



## mikedixon (Mar 28, 2011)

Deer and wild hog, 2 inch casings, temp 170 for 2 hours then 250 until internal temp reaches 167-160. The strange part is that it only did it in the electric oven not in the gas oven. It is mighty good. One guy bought 5 sticks of it from me, and one of my daughters' friends bought 3, so it must be okay.


----------



## BGKYSmoker (Mar 28, 2011)

mikedixon said:


> Deer and wild hog, 2 inch casings, temp 170 for 2 hours then 250 until internal temp reaches 167-160. The strange part is that it only did it in the electric oven not in the gas oven. It is mighty good. One guy bought 5 sticks of it from me, and one of my daughters' friends bought 3, so it must be okay.




Bingo......to high a starting temp and to high a finish temp, thats why the casing split. IT is to high 160-67

Start low temp and work to high not exceeding 175-180 Yeah i know it can take like forever.


----------



## mikedixon (Mar 28, 2011)

170 is as low as either oven will go. Why would it split on one and not the other, do you think? and internal temp was 157 - 160, not 167 like I wrote earlier. I just noticed I had a typo.


----------



## DanMcG (Mar 29, 2011)

I'm with Nepas on this one to high a temp to start and finish. Two thoughts on the electric ones splitting,  Electric is a dry heat compared to gas and at those hi temps the casing could have dried to fast and to the point that they split before  the sausage expanded. Also if you oven is like mine, it will swing 20 degrees above the set temp while heating element is on. you need to get a digital thermometer and check the temp on that oven.

Ya might try simmering them in a 175° water bath, That's how I do my large bologna's.


----------



## weisswurst (Mar 31, 2011)

I have to agree with Nepas. Starting temp too high . Finishing temp also way too high. Why in one oven and not the other ? Regardless 165 or so is too high to start and 250 is about 75- 80 degrees too high for finishing. If your oven will not go below 170 , try a couple of things. Stuff firmly but not overly. Leave your oven door open far enough to keep the temp down. Keep a casserole dish filled with cold water in the oven.Can you put the product on the unlit side of a a double burner outdoor grill.

  I have seen the recipes for different products that say 250 or even higher. Any one can do anything they want but if one is trying to make what is traditionally known as bologna the temps have to be lower. Otherwise you end up with some kind of cooked salami hybrid product. If one likes it , thats great.I make an uncased product using hamburger and a couple of spices.It is rolled tightly and placed on a broiler pan. I do it at about 135 for about 3 hours then about 160 for 2 hours then about 180 for another 2 hours . I place a pan of Hot water under it to keep the out side from drying out.It is very tasty on crackers or in a sandwich. Some times i add olives . This would be the type of product the  Sausage maker ( Reytek Kutas would have called " cooked salami ) The meat is cured for 3 days with morton Tenderquick . trail Bologna sounds like somethig the old timers conjured up on the trail moving west. To feed the Cowboys and bribe Indians.But it isnt. For those who dont know it is called Trail because it is made in a tiny Amish community in Holmes county Ohio named Trail.It is course and rather greasey.as apposed to course and robustly spiced.In thier recipes they still put everything in it including stuff we normally wouldnt eat. Sorry for rambling . Bologna is bologna and other stuff is other stuff. Happy Sausage making . Weisswurst


----------



## Bearcarver (Mar 31, 2011)

I make my Bologna & Beef sticks without casings, so the fact that the casings split open shouldn't have anything to do with whether you can eat it or not.

If it isn't too hard, and if it tastes good----eat it.

Bear


----------



## weisswurst (Apr 1, 2011)

as far as the split bologna being edible. There is no reason why it cant be eaten and enjoyed. I m pretty good at making different things but they do not always turn out as planned. Most of the time they are still very good. as Bearcarver said , i make a lot of uncased stuff and it is very good.I have had bologna split on me because of flare ups or screw ups. i just cut out the scorched area and enjoy , and try not to repeat the screw up.Happy sausage making. Weisswurst


----------



## mikedixon (Apr 8, 2011)

Well, I'm happy to inform everyone that all 60 pounds of summer sausage and bologna was either sold or consumed. It was mighty good. As far as a finishing temp too high, I left the sausages in the oven 10 or 12 hours at 170, I grew tired of waiting on the internal temp to reach 157. I have too many other things to do with my oven to tie it up that long, ( cheesecakes, pies and cakes). Sorry if I am  not the  die hard smoke grinder that some of you are, and I hate to break tradition, but hey, it works. By the way, in my struggle to cook all this meat, I went to Gander Mountain and bought their meat mixer, and to Northern Tool and got their sausage stuffer. That made the job very much easier. I highly recommend them.


----------



## Bearcarver (Apr 9, 2011)

mikedixon said:


> Well, I'm happy to inform everyone that all 60 pounds of summer sausage and bologna was either sold or consumed. It was mighty good. As far as a finishing temp too high, I left the sausages in the oven 10 or 12 hours at 170, I grew tired of waiting on the internal temp to reach 157. I have too many other things to do with my oven to tie it up that long, ( cheesecakes, pies and cakes). Sorry if I am  not the  die hard smoke grinder that some of you are, and I hate to break tradition, but hey, it works. By the way, in my struggle to cook all this meat, I went to Gander Mountain and bought their meat mixer, and to Northern Tool and got their sausage stuffer. That made the job very much easier. I highly recommend them.


Glad it came out good!

The oven being only 13˚ higher than your internal temp target really makes it take a long time. If I'm trying to finish my meat at 160˚, after I have enough smoke on it, I'll go to 190˚ in my smoker.

Bear


----------



## pantherfan83 (Apr 11, 2011)

You might try finishing your bologna in a water bath as somoene else suggested.


----------



## BGKYSmoker (Apr 11, 2011)

Glad it turned out good for you.

IMHO 157 is to high...But thats just me.


----------



## solaryellow (Apr 11, 2011)

I am wondering if the cycling of the element is what split your casings in the electric. Electric isn't consistent like gas.


----------



## Bearcarver (Apr 11, 2011)

solaryellow said:


> I am wondering if the cycling of the element is what split your casings in the electric. Electric isn't consistent like gas.


Hmmm, I think he has a Brinkman. I don't know how consistent they are.

I know my MES 40 when set at 170˚ (on my ET 732), will run from about 167˚ to 175˚.

Bear


----------



## solaryellow (Apr 11, 2011)

mikedixon said:


> I made nearly 30 lbs of trail bologna using a Con Yeager kit.I cooked the sticks in *2 different ovens, 1 gas, 1 electric.* On every stick in the electric oven, the casing split almost completely off every stick. Will this still be okay to eat? I don't see any reason why it shouldn't because the casing just holds the sausage in shape right? The shape is fine, but I am a little concerned about cooling it now. I wrapped it in aluminum foil and cooled it off in the cold water. Seems ok, but I wonder why the casing split in one oven and not the other. I made this to try to sell, but I am afriad to because the casing is gone. Thoughts?







Bearcarver said:


> Hmmm, I think he has a Brinkman. I don't know how consistent they are.
> 
> I know my MES 40 when set at 170˚ (on my ET 732), will run from about 167˚ to 175˚.
> 
> Bear


Since he said oven, I am assuming that is what he meant.


----------



## Bearcarver (Apr 11, 2011)

solaryellow said:


> Since he said oven, I am assuming that is what he meant.


OOOOPS, sorry Solar!

When I hear or read electric, my one track mind always thinks electric smoker.

So far I have never gone from smoker to electric oven.

I used an electric oven enough, before I bought a smoker

My error,

bear


----------



## solaryellow (Apr 11, 2011)

Bearcarver said:


> OOOOPS, sorry Solar!
> 
> When I hear or read electric, my one track mind always thinks electric smoker.
> 
> ...




No worries.


----------



## randy 59 (Jun 12, 2013)

One reason, and this is only my guess, is that the electric oven is a dry heat, which could be drying your casing. Where as, gas heat has a lot of moisture in it. I learned this whem using my motorhomes stove for some heat, because my furnace would not start. I was not cooking anything at the time. I got an excessive amoint of moisture on the windows just from the gas..


----------



## jp61 (Jun 12, 2013)

I might as well take a guess too...

Maybe it was do to..... stuffed too tight, high heat, dry heat, old casing or just Murphy's law?


----------



## jcj112562 (Jun 16, 2013)

If moisture in the oven could cause the casings to split, or to be more precise, a lack of moisture, then Randy above is correct, gas ovens put out a good bit of moisture from combustion, where electric elements do no such thing.  It is why it is OK to hold fried chicken in an electric (if hold it you must), but do it in gas, and you get soggy breading.

John


----------



## boykjo (Jun 17, 2013)

I'm sure this bologna has long been eaten.............................


----------



## jp61 (Jun 17, 2013)

I couldn't agree more.....


----------



## reinhard (Jun 17, 2013)

Assuming the casings were fibrous, in my opininon it could be three things.

1. The casings were overstuffed

2. The temp was too high

3. The casings were not soaked long enough [I dont think this was mentioned as probable cause] I had a bud of mine just stuff in dry fibrous casings and this happened. Fibrous casings should be soaked properly.

Reinhard


----------



## weisswurst (Jun 17, 2013)

please send me the sausage. I will be happy to examine , test, taste whatever I need to do. After I finish it I will give you an honest opinion. No? OK. To your knowledge did you have any " flare-ups "in Oven? Excess fat dripping down.I would start out by checking temps of both ovens with same thermometer. I also ease the temps up.For example , I never take it to the higher temps right away.

   Pack your meat as cold as you possibly can. One more question. Does the meat at the tear area taste slightly burnt and is it drier? Whatever the cause , the meat should be just fine to eat. I think all of has had that happen for whatever reason.I might doctor it up a little but I would not , could not , throw it away.If you are in the early stages of sausage business I would not offer this for sale.Not for safety reasons but you want your sausages to be at their best. Hope this helps. Weisswurst happy SM


----------



## gsxrjenny (Nov 27, 2014)

What is your recipe?  I just made my first batch of deer bologna and it was awful!!


----------



## weisswurst (Nov 28, 2014)

What was awful about it? Weisswurst


----------



## DanMcG (Nov 28, 2014)

What was your recipe Gsxr. The more info you can share the easier it is for us to help ya, recipe and cooking procedure is most important for starters.


----------



## gsxrjenny (Nov 30, 2014)

It crumbles when you cut it...seems dry ...and flavor is off...I did 3 lbs venison to 1 lb pork 90% lean...probably need more fat, huh?


----------



## DanMcG (Nov 30, 2014)

Yeah that's real low, you have 2.5% fat and you really want 20-30%


----------



## weisswurst (Dec 1, 2014)

I agree about fat content suggested by DanM. If I were using beef I would stick to about 20% With venison it wouldn't hurt to have it about 30% A couple of questions .. were you making a " Venison Bologna " based on a recipe from a book or  a friends recipe? Were you trying to make a ring bologna , Bologna stick or as it is sometimes called a chub or " large " bologna that will fit a slice of bread? What type of casing did you use? What is your basic process? As one of the guys mentioned , the more info we have the better able we are to offer help. This is a great web with very knowledgeable people. Always willing to help. Happy SM Weisswurst


----------

