A quick nod to SmokinAl back in this thread here: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...g-fried-bologna-sandwiches-bologna-with-qview for inspiring me to make my own big-ol' bologna. It HAD to happen. The Universe willed it, and so it was. Who am I to argue?
First, I started with these:
For the meat, I went with 3 lbs of 93/7 ground beef, and 7 lbs of pork sirloin roasts. The beef was already fine ground, and I ground the pork through a coarse plate, then reground through a fine plate.
From there, I used Rytek's recipe, but cut the salt down to 68g for 10 lbs. I also used Hungarian Paprika for a little more punch. With NFDM, spices, water, this came to around 12 lbs.
Blended this all up, stuffed them (which was a riot, I'll tell you - crank, crank, crank on the stuffer, and the casing barely blows up. Refill, crank, crank...).
Because of the physical limitation of the smoker, I used two of these casings. I can't hang any chub over about 20 inches in the smoker and get a decent, even smoke/cook without burning the bottom end. Here's a pic of the stuffed chubs - and yeah, that's a US quarter on one of them, just to give a size reference.
A couple of days to rest in the fridge 'cause life gets in the way... and then into the smoker.
Started off with 1.5 hours of dry/normalize time at 130F.
1.5 hours of hickory smoke at 130F
1 hour of hickory smoke at 140F
0.5 hours of hickory smoke at 150F
0.5 hours at 150F
1 hour at 160F
1 hour at 170F
175F until IT of 155F (which took FOREVER, about 12 more hours).
Into an ice bath until IT below 100F
Into the fridge. Here's the finished product, which weighed in at exactly 11 lbs combined:
Out, and onto the slicer. We got a 10" Cabela's slicer, and it is NICE.
Here's the first chub all sliced up:
This bologna does NOT have a first name, and if it did, it would NOT be W-I-M-P-Y. What it does have is a nice, healthy seasoning blend, definitely kicked up by the Hungarian Paprika, and a little bit of texture (fine ground, not emulsified). After grinding up the meat, I was a little concerned that there would not be enough fat/moisture to keep this from being dry and crumbly, but it is just right. Overall, I'm pleased with the outcome, and glad I took the plunge on 10 lbs rather than just 5. A lot will be distributed amongst the family, some frozen, and some fried up and consumed shortly.
First, I started with these:
For the meat, I went with 3 lbs of 93/7 ground beef, and 7 lbs of pork sirloin roasts. The beef was already fine ground, and I ground the pork through a coarse plate, then reground through a fine plate.
From there, I used Rytek's recipe, but cut the salt down to 68g for 10 lbs. I also used Hungarian Paprika for a little more punch. With NFDM, spices, water, this came to around 12 lbs.
Blended this all up, stuffed them (which was a riot, I'll tell you - crank, crank, crank on the stuffer, and the casing barely blows up. Refill, crank, crank...).
Because of the physical limitation of the smoker, I used two of these casings. I can't hang any chub over about 20 inches in the smoker and get a decent, even smoke/cook without burning the bottom end. Here's a pic of the stuffed chubs - and yeah, that's a US quarter on one of them, just to give a size reference.
A couple of days to rest in the fridge 'cause life gets in the way... and then into the smoker.
Started off with 1.5 hours of dry/normalize time at 130F.
1.5 hours of hickory smoke at 130F
1 hour of hickory smoke at 140F
0.5 hours of hickory smoke at 150F
0.5 hours at 150F
1 hour at 160F
1 hour at 170F
175F until IT of 155F (which took FOREVER, about 12 more hours).
Into an ice bath until IT below 100F
Into the fridge. Here's the finished product, which weighed in at exactly 11 lbs combined:
Out, and onto the slicer. We got a 10" Cabela's slicer, and it is NICE.
Here's the first chub all sliced up:
This bologna does NOT have a first name, and if it did, it would NOT be W-I-M-P-Y. What it does have is a nice, healthy seasoning blend, definitely kicked up by the Hungarian Paprika, and a little bit of texture (fine ground, not emulsified). After grinding up the meat, I was a little concerned that there would not be enough fat/moisture to keep this from being dry and crumbly, but it is just right. Overall, I'm pleased with the outcome, and glad I took the plunge on 10 lbs rather than just 5. A lot will be distributed amongst the family, some frozen, and some fried up and consumed shortly.
