Gritty texture in venison bologna (others may call it summer sausage)

[MitchJr1974]

Wow.. How to make this short. Im a newbie in the smoking department. Making my own venison bologna (summer sausage) recipe. First batch came out with venison flavor, gritty texture. Second batch I adjusted some things and added some things. Came out great except for that gritty texture. In Pa we call it venison bologna but to others, this process is referred to as summer sausage. Mix is not emulcified like bologna mix is. Grinding only. Problem I'm having is gritty texture. Flavor, smoke, and seasonings are there in taste. 10 pound venison, 1 pound beef fat. Half cup NFDM, 1/2 cup ice water, 1/2 cup vegetable oil. 2 tsp curing salt. Im able to maintain temps through smoking process and pull out when IT is 160°. Starting temp in unit is 140° for 3 hours, 160° 2 hours and if IT is still low I go to 180° in unit til IT is 160° normally 6 hours and done. Comes out gritty. Binding isn't a problem. Binds very well. Smoke ring is about 1/16-1/8 inch. I can only guess that it's not staying cold enough through mixing/grinding process. Kinda at a loss. Both batches I've run are edible, and sustainable but the turn off is that gritty/grainy texture. I can cut off a hunk and squeeze moisture to drip out so I know it's not dry by any means. Could it be from the NFDM?? Again, im at a loss. Appreciate any input and will offer any answers to questions I probably didn't cover in this post.

 

[Brokenhandle]

You don't have enough fat. Most try for at least 80/20. Easy way to remember is 4 lbs meat, 1 lb fat. So you should use 2 1/2 lbs fat to 10 lbs venison. I would switch to pork back fat, the beef fat might be part of the issue. How many times are you grinding it? If you take your smoker to 180 you're risking fat out which can lead to texture issues. You can smoke at lower temps for longer times to pasterize the meat. I think there's a sticky with table for pasterizing times and temps in the sausage section.

Ryan

 

[SmokinEdge]

I agree with Ryan ^^^^^^^ That said, couple things stand out to me, first is you need more fat 20% minimum but 30% is good too, also don’t add oil to the mix. When we mix sausage batter we mix until we get good protein extraction and the mix becomes very sticky, take a small amount on your hand then turn your hand upside down and the mix should not fall off it should stay stuck to your hand, adding oil to the mix will have the effect of fat out which will make the finished sausage grainy even crumbly, add more fat not oil.

 

[okie sawbones]

I agree with these guys. For 10 pounds of venison, you need to add approximately 4 lbs. of pork fat (makes it 30% fat). Lose the oil. Also you are cooking too long. Cook to 155 degrees max, then dunk in ice water.

 

[Murdy]

More fat definitely, I used to work at a commercial sausage kitchen, and we ran 30%. We'd grind bologna once with coarse plate and once fine; summer got one coarse and one medium, IIRC. Also, summer and bologna are 2 different sausages. If you're using a summer recipe, summer is typically a coarser sausage, so maybe find a bologna recipe if that's what you are aiming for.

 

[MitchJr1974]

2 cycle grinding. I worry that of I use pork fat that its going to overpower venison flavor. Im figuring there is no way around it though and will have to use pork fat. Appreciate your help.

 

[zwiller]

Welcome!

Agree with others on the fat but also 160F IT is pretty high and made things even worse. Some like it in 140's but I like mid 150s. Around here bologna/SS terms are tossed around as nearly the same.

I can only guess that it's not staying cold enough through mixing/grinding process.

on this I like to break up the process steps over a few days and that inherently keep things cold and also does other good things like aid protein extraction/bind and flavors marry.

Buddy of mine makes KILLER venison SS/bologna and swears on pork fat (fatback) as was already mentioned. Pork fat is VERY mild and better mouth feel than beef.

Not sure if you've seen this but have ran this myself a few times and very tasty. https://www.conyeagerspice.com/bologna-pa-deer/

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Your over working the meat and smearing the fat (melting) thus making for the grit.

Keep your meat very cold, use a frozen sports wrap on your grinder neck if needed. Freeze the meat in between grinds if needed.

 

[tallbm]

2 cycle grinding. I worry that of I use pork fat that its going to overpower venison flavor. Im figuring there is no way around it though and will have to use pork fat. Appreciate your help.

Hi there and welcome!

I think the guys are giving you great info. Definitely need more fat and the 20% ratio is easy when you remember 4 pounds meat and 1 pound fat. You add more fat than that and you know you are 20%+. All my 80/20 stuff comes out amazing.

Personally I have no issue using beef fat but I encourage you to try pork fat and get the ratio and process right then you can come back and do a beef fat version with the same meat/fat ratio. Pork back fat is like the "easy button" so look at using pork backfat as your dry run to ensure things are good before attempting beef fat again.
Also don't use hard deckle beef fat from a brisket or the stringy skin/fat from the top of a brisket. Hard deckle fat won't render and stringy skin/fat won't grind into fat it will just bind up on the cutting blade and auger of the grinder.

I hope this info helps along with the good info others have provided :)

 

[Murdy]

Just curious, as a long time resident of Wisconsin, what I think of as bologna is very different than summer sausage. Are we talking about Trail Bologna or Lebanon Bologna here?

 

[boykjo]

Yep, More fat, Lose the oil..... Also be sure your meat is not freezer burnt if your using stored meat. Stored meat should be vacumm sealed and kept fresh. This will also make for a grainy texture.

 

[slavikborisov]

Wow.. How to make this short. Im a newbie in the smoking department. Making my own venison bologna (summer sausage) recipe. First batch came out with venison flavor, gritty texture. Second batch I adjusted some things and added some things. Came out great except for that gritty texture. In Pa we call it venison bologna but to others, this process is referred to as summer sausage. Mix is not emulcified like bologna mix is. Grinding only. Problem I'm having is gritty texture. Flavor, smoke, and seasonings are there in taste. 10 pound venison, 1 pound beef fat. Half cup NFDM, 1/2 cup ice water, 1/2 cup vegetable oil. 2 tsp curing salt. Im able to maintain temps through smoking process and pull out when IT is 160°. Starting temp in unit is 140° for 3 hours, 160° 2 hours and if IT is still low I go to 180° in unit til IT is 160° normally 6 hours and done. Comes out gritty. Binding isn't a problem. Binds very well. Smoke ring is about 1/16-1/8 inch. I can only guess that it's not staying cold enough through mixing/grinding process. Kinda at a loss. Both batches I've run are edible, and sustainable but the turn off is that gritty/grainy texture. I can cut off a hunk and squeeze moisture to drip out so I know it's not dry by any means. Could it be from the NFDM?? Again, im at a loss. Appreciate any input and will offer any answers to questions I probably didn't cover in this post.

Wow.. How to make this short. Im a newbie in the smoking department. Making my own venison bologna (summer sausage) recipe. First batch came out with venison flavor, gritty texture. Second batch I adjusted some things and added some things. Came out great except for that gritty texture. In Pa we call it venison bologna but to others, this process is referred to as summer sausage. Mix is not emulcified like bologna mix is. Grinding only. Problem I'm having is gritty texture. Flavor, smoke, and seasonings are there in taste. 10 pound venison, 1 pound beef fat. Half cup NFDM, 1/2 cup ice water, 1/2 cup vegetable oil. 2 tsp curing salt. Im able to maintain temps through smoking process and pull out when IT is 160°. Starting temp in unit is 140° for 3 hours, 160° 2 hours and if IT is still low I go to 180° in unit til IT is 160° normally 6 hours and done. Comes out gritty. Binding isn't a problem. Binds very well. Smoke ring is about 1/16-1/8 inch. I can only guess that it's not staying cold enough through mixing/grinding process. Kinda at a loss. Both batches I've run are edible, and sustainable but the turn off is that gritty/grainy texture. I can cut off a hunk and squeeze moisture to drip out so I know it's not dry by any means. Could it be from the NFDM?? Again, im at a loss. Appreciate any input and will offer any answers to questions I probably didn't cover in this post.

20-30% pork back fat or just get a fatty piece of pork… I do venison bologna and have no issues… don’t use oil and I run about 10% distilled water when I mix

 

[archeryrob]

I agree with the others on the fat. 10% is low, but I only use 14% and it is fine. I do not use oil or NFDM in bologna. I mix deer 50/50 with 73% beef as the wife complains about the "deer" meat and this cuts it for her. At least, it makes sense in her head. I mix for 15 minutes and get a good bind from proteins extraction, so that is not it.

Another thing I do is only cooking bologna to 145 IT and maintaining that. I found that cooking hours on end dries the logs a bit and it becomes difficult to raise their temperature after 6 hours. So I only cook to 145 and rest it 10 - 15 minutes or how ever long I need.

Internal cooking temperature for summer sausage and snack sticks

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