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
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