Venison bologna fat source?

[archeryrob]

What are you all using for your fat source? I always used 73% beef and mixed 10# beef and 10# venison to get a 13% ratio and that always worked for me. With GB doubling in price in the last couple years I tried adding 20% pig fat to the last batch and had a bunch of the fat render out. It wasn't dry as cooked to 145 IT but it was crumbly. Never let the smokehouse get over 175 either.

Anyone using pig fat and would NFDM help bind it better, or something else? I got a bunch of ground deer and was hoping to not buy half as much ground beef to make bologna and snack sticks. A different fat or binders or another process?

 

[chopsaw]

I always used ground pork butt at a ratio of 50 /50 Pork butt / venison .
I use NFDM . Works well to retain the moisture content in the mix . Potato starch works as well as one of the sausage phosphates . I have STPP and potato starch on the shelf .

 

[zwiller]

Buddy on mine is a pro and makes insanely good venison sausage with pork. I am only privy to some basic info and rest is trade secret but he is old school so doubt any binders. I used to sorta look down on using pork in stuff but no longer do. Better texture and mouthfeel with it IMO. Save money AND better product?! Heck yeah!

chopsaw has you covered on binder options. Bologna/cervelat/summer sausage is probably my fave sausage. It's not as forgiving to run as you would think and has taken a number of things to dial in. 2 things that helped me were PID control and a rest in ambient temps before smoking. I have also been adding humidity to the smoker when I run it. The issue is evaporative cooling. Meat exterior dries/temps stall/takes too long/next thing you know, fat out. Newest thing I have been playing with and pretty excited about is increasing the mix/extraction. I have been hitting it much harder than I ever did and shocked on the quality improvement but have not run bologna doing that yet but is on deck. If you are running 20lbs at a time I doubt you could reach the level of extraction I am getting on my smaller batches unless you have a mixer.

 

[archeryrob]

Chopsaw, how my NFDM do you use in said batch? I can switch to pork easy enough. Cheaper than beef and have to go to the same Mennonite butcher to get pork fat as get pork butt.

zwiller, I got the LEM big bite 12 with the 25# mixer. There is no PID control for the smokehouse, just a wood fire. I've made a lot of bologna and sticks but all being cut with beef and no binders or problems. Venison bacon was done 15# venison to 6# pork fat and no fat out on those. That also had 4.5 cups of NFDM in it and was reground on ultra fine and mixed.

So 4 to 4.5 cups of NFDM to bind 20#'s?

 

[uncle eddie]

Never made bologna - but when making venison sausage, I have come the the same percentage that chopsaw listed above...50% lean venison and 50% pork butt makes a fine sausage blend.

Looking forward to some pictures of your venison bologna...be sure to post them!

 

[chopsaw]

So 4 to 4.5 cups of NFDM to bind 20#'s?

That would be at the upper limit for me . I would be maybe half that , or 1/2 cup per 5 pounds .
If you've had good results at that rate , no real reason to change .
I do it hands on anymore .
I grind season and mix . Then add what I think it needs in liquid and binder . That works with smaller batches , might be hard to do it that way with 20 pounds .

 

[chopsaw]

I can switch to pork easy enough.

If your using butts , grind the whole thing . Then gently mix it into itself , then take the amount you need out of that . Keeps your lean to fat at a good percentage .

 

[Winterrider]

I'm in the 50/50 camp with pork butt also.

 

[archeryrob]

Okay riddle me this. I made two batches both 50/50 deer to pork shoulder.

First batch was Lebanon bologna and came out perfect. The bite with pork might be stiffer and more firm than with beef. I love it.

Second batch made today was Honey BBQ snack sticks and they fatted out on me. Top got up to 151 slowly but I was going to stop at 145. Bottom got up to 130 and slowed and got to 136 and dropped to 135 and stalled. Tops feel cooked and bottom soft and squishy still. Took a fork and poked holes in the bottom of the casings and heating the smokehouse back up to drain the fat out right now.

I am assuming the addition of 5 cups of honey and ketchup in 20# prevents the NFDM from binding? That is the only difference between the recipes. The smokehouse as never allowed over 175.

I am assuming the large amounts of honey and ketchup prevented the dry milk from binding the pork fat. The Bologna was sticky and tight after mixing and the sticks were wet and not bound. Thinking back about them being way different comin g out of the mixer. Assuming all that liquid source prevented the binding of the pork fat.

 

[chopsaw]

The bite with pork might be stiffer and more firm than with beef. I love it.

My opinion is that pork is a better option . I have done Venison , pork and beef . It comes out pretty good too .

Assuming all that liquid source prevented the binding of the pork fat.

That's a lot of liquid . Could be that the reaction of the high sugars and the acids in the ketchup had a negative affect ? Just thinking out loud . Not stating that as a fact .

 

[archeryrob]

Its the same base and even the same pork shoulder for both batches. I am just assuming it was a very wet batch and figuring the liquid gets to the NFDM and prevents it from being able to bind with the fat. Live and learn. The dogs always eat well and even better when I make mistakes.

The lebanon bologna you could tell it was bound. It was like sticky and clinging to itself. The BBQ mix was sticky, but because just wet and fell apart. That recipe will just stay for jerky and maybe I'll try some with beef and see if it binds and stays together.

Bologna worked very well. Pork shoulder was ground on medium and might try that finer next time.