[USA] Home-made Bologna

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NorCal Kid
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[USA] Home-made Bologna

Post by NorCal Kid » Thu Jan 05, 2012 02:03

Here's my first go in the New Year at making Boloney or Baloney or, more formally, Bologna. I've had many requests from the boys to make some. I wanted to make something UNLIKE the overly-smooth pink stuff one now finds in the supermarkets. I remember year ago getting a 'courser-textured' stronger-flavored bologna from our local butcher shop that you had to 'peel' each slice before eating. Good stuff. Made great fried bologna sandwiches!

So here we go...

I had 5 pounds of extra-lean ground beef (90/10) and a 5lb pork shoulder on-hand. The ingredients to be added to the meat shown below:
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Cubed the 5lbs of pork and prepped to grind:
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Used a 4.5mm plate the first time through:
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I then added the 5 pounds of lean ground beef to the ground pork:
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I dissolved the cure and kosher salt into 8 oz of cold water & added it to the meat:
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Mixed in the solution well and let the mixture sit overnight in the fridge:
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Next day, I added all the spices and dissolved the SPC and nonfat dry milk in water and pour the solution into the meat & spice mixture:
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After adding all the spices, the mixture really had a nice aroma. It even got the undivided attention of the 'kitchen helper', our 11-month old Great Dane pup...
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Meat well-mixed and ready for one final grind:
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Casings soaking in warm water while I prep to regrind the meat mixture through a finer plate:
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Using a extra-fine (3.0mm) grinding plate for the final grind. This is a slow process as the meat paste gets sticky and is a challenge sometimes to get the paste through the grinder. STILL, it is a quicker process than doing the emulsification way with a processor.
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Had enough meat to fill one large chub (a little over 8.5lbs), and limited the length so it fit my poacher; and with the leftover I filled two ring casings:
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Prepping the smoker: got the smoker up to 110 and hung the chubs with NO smoke for the first 60-90 minutes to dry:
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I began applying smoke for the next two hours. Two hours in:
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Time to pull from the smoker (after 5 hours; 2 with smoke) and prep for the poacher:
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I heated the water in the poacher to 165 and plopped the big boy into the hot bath. It was soon joined by other two smaller chubs.
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The smaller chubs reached the desired IT (155) in about 30 minutes, while the larger chub will continue to stay in the hot bath. I pulled the smaller rings, ice-bathed for a quick cool, and let them bloom:
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Money shot of the smaller rings. Very tasty little cracker-sized rings of bologna. Just need some ritz crackers & a dab of mustard:
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Two hours later, the Big Boy reaches 155 so out it comes & into an ice bath. Letting it bloom:
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Slicing the chub using my new 'Christmas' slicer the boys bought for me:
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Sliced and ready to pack up or fry & eat!
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SAMPLE TIME: I took a batch of my uneven slices and fried 'em up. Very tasty! Not nearly as overly-salty or mushy as the store-bought stuff. Texture is very nice with good mouth feel. I'd maybe add a bit more garlic or onion powder next time, but very pleased with the end result.
Pan full of Bologna Pac-Men:
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For those interested in venturing down the Boloney trail, here's the recipe I used for this batch. It's basically Len Poli's recipe for basic bologna with a minor variations. No phosphates used, and did a second grind (no emulsification) plus the whole smoking and then poaching part.
I prefer to measure by weight rather than volume (except for liquids).

BOLOGNA
makes 10 lbs -can be ring or large chub

5 LBS PORK SHOULDER
5 LBS LEAN GROUND BEEF
66g Kosher Salt
85g Non Fat Dry Milk
(or 55g NFDM; 30g SoyProtein)- this is what i used
36g Dextrose
12g Cure#1
7.0g White Pepper
6.0g Paprika
4.5g Nutmeg
3.0g Garlic powder
2.0g Allspice
2.0g Coriander
1-1/2 cups Ice water

Soak Casing in warm water.
Use a medium plate (4.5) to grind pork. Mix salt and cure together in 1/2cup warm water.
Mix this solution into meats until well-mixed. Let sit for an hour or so in fridge. Add remaining ingredients and grind again through fine plate (3.0). Stuff into casings. Air dry. Preheat smoker to 100 and hang bologna for an hour. Raise temp to 130 for another hour. Smoke time: 90 minutes-2hours. Raise temp to 160 and hold until IT of bologna reaches 155. Alternatively, poach chubs in hot bath @165 degrees until 155 IT is reached. Cool bologna in ice bath and hang to bloom. Refrigerate.
Slice after chilling in the fridge overnight (the Bologna, NOT you)... :mrgreen:

Great way to start the New Year!

Kevin
Last edited by NorCal Kid on Fri Jan 13, 2012 01:17, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Dave Zac » Thu Jan 05, 2012 02:37

Looks fantastic Kevin. I LOVE fried bologna. Cut about 1/4" thick!. Definitely on the long list of sausages to make.

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Post by Keymaster » Thu Jan 05, 2012 02:54

Ok, you talked me into it, bologna is on my to do list. Dang nice job Kevin and awesome tutorial!!! Did you say what size casing you used and the supplier? I missed that part.
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Post by NorCal Kid » Thu Jan 05, 2012 03:37

Keymaster wrote:Did you say what size casing you used and the supplier? I missed that part.
Butcher & Packer
http://www.butcher-packer.com

Casing for Bologna (120mm (4.72") x 24 in.) $1.66/ea
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Post by Chuckwagon » Thu Jan 05, 2012 03:52

Nicely done Kevin... as usual!

Best Wishes,
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Post by jbk101 » Thu Jan 05, 2012 13:44

That looks like some awesome Bologna!!!!!!! Great Job
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Post by DLFL » Thu Jan 05, 2012 14:28

That is on my list to do soon! Nice
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