we had a power outage last ngiht, so while sitting around in the dark, what else was there to do but crack one of these open and see what the finished product is like?
i didn't get any pictures due to the circumstances, but here are some notes:
were there any issues with case sticking to the bologna? nope - peeled right off, just like it was supposed to.
bologna chub was firm, and sliced very easily with no dryness or crumbliness at all - reminded me of slicing a summer sausage. looks like the combination of ground oats and beer worked perfectly as a binder, as advertised.
colour, as far as i could tell, was just right. i'll be able to better evaluate this tonight, where i'll have good light by which to see it, but it seemed that there was just the right amount of pink with no gray or brown to speak of. more on this later.
the texture of the bologna was not totally smooth like commericial bologna, but it was not coarse like a commercial bratwurst or kielbasa, either - somewhere in-between, with good body and mouth-feel.
flavour was very good - the coriander and pepper came through well and it had a nice, mild savoriness that was really nice. the hint of sweetness from the brown sugar was just right to bring everything into balance. the beer not only worked very well with the ground oatmeal to hold the product together, but also - as far as flavour goes - it came through just right, adding a little extra something to the background that, to me, gave it a nice german character.
smoke flavour was not present as much as i personally would prefer, which is unusual for the big chief since usually i have to be careful not to get TOO much smoke in. the flavour was there, but really hanging in the background - a farther back than optimum, i think. four pans of hickory should have worked quite well, so i can only assume that the sub-zero outside temperatures somehow kept the smoke from penetrating well into the bologna, even though it was indeed warm inside the smoker. i think the next time the temperature is below 20 degrees, i'll simply add liquid smoke and do it in the oven, and see if there is a difference.
i would have liked more garlic, but that's just me.
because i used TQ, i did not add any salt. the resulting bologna did taste like it needed more salt, and i am not sure why. i suppose it is possible that the oatmeal soaked up the salt - or, it is also possible that they bologna simply needed salt added. the salt level seemed just right when i did the fry test, so i am guessing that the "cooking" process somehow had some effect, but i am not experienced enough to know the particulars. next time i make this, i will add salt and see what happens
hot water soak - after trying it, i absolutely do not see any point in the "soak in 180-degree water until it floats" part of the instructions. for one thing, it never did float, and for another, i think it might have robbed some of the salt and smoke flavour away (i could be wrong about this). in any case, from now on, i will simply smoke it, finishing in the oven if necessary, then do the ice bath for 10 minutes and bloom for an hour.
bottom line - very, very good recipe, and the adjustments that i used in preparation and also decided on after tasting it should tweak it right in line with my tastes and available ingredients to give me a "perfect" (for me) house bologna recipe. this will definitely be made again.
reccomend? yes! i absolutely would recommend this to anyone looking for a good bologna recipe. if you do want to try it, i suggest making it as closely to the recipe as possible the first time, adjusting for your preferred cure or binding product if necessary, so that you have a base line from which to tweak, if needed, to your individual tastes.
very good stuff, for sure!