First PA Dutch sweet bologna is in the home stretch

[tddeangelo]

I got it in my head to do sweet bologna and found a simple recipe on a hunting forum I frequent. 

Got to looking for muslin bags, and my google searches led me to a Mennonite run country store that I've only know about since I can remember, and never though of it!

Walked in, found the bags, along with about ANYTHING anyone could ever want for sausage making and smoking. All right there, on shelves, to look at, compare, and see/touch/etc. before buying. It's like a Christmas Miracle! :)

Ok, so maybe not quite that dramatic, but I thought it was pretty cool. On the shelf was a premixed recipe for PA Dutch sweet bologna. PERFECT. I grabbed that. Easy is good at this early stage in my smoking career. 

Mixed up a batch last night, let it cure for around 12 hrs and stuffed the bags this morning and got it in the MES30. Have been creeping up the temps steadily through the day like I did with snack sticks. 

I did a fry test last night after I mixed a second time to make sure it had uniform color/consistency. It was SUPERB. 

I've been taking pics as this unfolds. 

Mixed meat (80/20, venison/pork....12.5lbs total):

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• tddeangelo
• Dec 23, 2016

Stuffed bags...

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• tddeangelo
• Dec 23, 2016

I filled the bigger one fairly full, worrying it wouldn't all fit in the two bags I got. Then realized I should have stopped sooner, but it was tied and that was that. 

Then I realized--- I needed them to hang! Well, shoot. So I managed to rig them up on the metal rack. It worked. I really do need to not fill the two bags, as the left bag really should be a bit shorter to fit right, but it is what it is at this point. This was at 6:45AM that I got them into the smoker. 

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• tddeangelo
• Dec 23, 2016

Probe's now in the top of the left roll, a couple inches from the top and in fairly deep, and at about 135. So....we're getting there. The store's recipe says to go for an IT of 150. It'll probably be a couple hours yet, unless I hit a stall. 

Then a cold water bath and then I'm guessing let them at room temp for a couple hours to bloom?

More to come....

 

[Bearcarver]

Sounds Great Neighbor!!

Lots of Mennonite & Amish places around here like that.

I'll bet that's gonna be Awesome!!

Be Back:

Bear

 

[crankybuzzard]

This should be really good. I'm in

 

[tddeangelo]

Ok, out and doing holiday prep stuff, but some quick picks I grabbed....

Water bath after they hit temp-



Sliced the end to take a peek---



And cut the end up and had to hurry to get a pic before the kids devoured the bit I sliced--



It's pretty darn good!

 

[SmokinAl]

Oh Boy!

That looks delicious!

Point!

Al

 

[chef jimmyj]

Looks like a proper Deer Bologna from here. Nice color and bind...JJ

 

[crazymoon]

TDD, Nice job ,your sausage looks excellent ! 

 

[tropics]

That looks great any chance of posting the recipe.Points

Richie

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Love that Amish sweet. Very popular when we lived in Lancaster County.

I get the mix in 10lb bulk from my friend who owns a business. Just add any extra honey if you want sweeter and some cure 1.

I make my own cloth bags.

 

[tddeangelo]

 
That looks great any chance of posting the recipe.Points

Richie

I would if I could! It's premixed, bought from a local shop. I only have a rough idea of what's in it. Eventually, I'll be learning to make it with my own blend, but for now, this works pretty well, and is easy to do. 

 
Love that Amish sweet. Very popular when we lived in Lancaster County.

I get the mix in 10lb bulk from my friend who owns a business. Just add any extra honey if you want sweeter and some cure 1.

I make my own cloth bags.

That's essentially what I was working with. They had the bag premeasured for 12.5lbs of meat, and needed to add 1/2oz of pink cure 1. They even had pink cure in various premeasured amounts, including a one oz bottle. I just got that and divided it in half, and off we went. 

I need a mixer, though. It wasn't impossible to do by hand, and if I had a bigger bowl that would help, but a mixer is the real answer. I have some gift cards to Cabela's and I'm trying to decide if I want to use them on a mixer or a stuffer, because my next target is ring bologna. I have a Cyclone Stuffer for my Cabela's grinder and that works ok.....just a mess to clean, but it works. 

 

[BGKYSmoker]

You can use AC LEGG #116 Stick mix, just add the honey to it.

Do you have a kitchenaid mixer? If you do the dough hook works great for mixing meat.

Nice sweet chubs BTW

 

[tddeangelo]

Unfortunately, no KitchenAid here. Cabela's has a sale going on the mixer attachments for their grinders, and I happen to have some gift cards and a coupon, so that might be the route to go. 

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Great td !!

----

Nice Job!

Bear

 

[BGKYSmoker]

 
Unfortunately, no KitchenAid here. Cabela's has a sale going on the mixer attachments for their grinders, and I happen to have some gift cards and a coupon, so that might be the route to go. 

Just watch the inside brass bushing, they sometimes shave metal. If the meat inside is black on both ends of the bushings it has metal in it. They were supposed to fix that problem but not sure if they did.

I used to work at the Cabelas camping dept in Hamburg, if you go there and see the camping girls, Lena and Lana tell them i said high from Rick

GL

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Great looking sausage!

I'd vote for a dedicated stuffer over a mixer. Having a proper sized container to mix helps. Buy a meat lug. When you buy your stuffer. Candelas has them. You can fit 15-20 pounds of meat in the meat lug and mix by hand.

That's just my opinion. I'd be lost without my stuffer. Most of the sausages I like have a courser texture so a mixer wouldn't be used.

 

[tddeangelo]

You mean like a bus tray? I have those for bringing in meat from the carcass to the house. I put the cuts in one, trim meat in another. 

I don't know why I didn't think to mix in there.... d'oh! Then I could portion it out into mixing bowls to cure, or even just toss it in my "deer fridge" that I have in my shed to age meat in warm weather. 

Man...never even thought of that. 

Thank you!

 

[tddeangelo]

Any issues running a handpowered stuffer? Or will I come to regret that and want an electric one eventually?

 

[SmokyMose]

I think most folks here use hand cranked stuffers. Easier to control.

 

[disco]

Beautiful balogna bro!

Disco

 

[HalfSmoked]

Great looking bologna looked and sound real easy.

Warren