Bologna what would you do??

[smokinbubba]

Im thinking about doing a 10lb chub of bologna this weekend. My bologna seasonings and casings will be here today from Waltons. Prolly going to do 50/50 venison pork butt since my butcher is out of pork fat at the moment. I really want this to have the texture and mouth feel of store bought bologna.

Question on thermal processing: The last batch of bambi dogs came out with a rubbery exterior and awesome interior. These were smoked to 130f and finished in sous vide. I have hickory powder so was thinking of skipping the smoker all together and cooking sous vide only stepping up the water temp the same as if in a smoker. Should I smoke at least for an hour or two to “set” the meat then sous vide? I definitely don’t want rubbery like the dogs turned out. Thoughts? Bubba

Question on meat block: meat block will be 50/50 venison to pork butt or maybe boneless skinless chicken thighs. I have packages of 100% venison and also packages of 80/20 venison pork fat. Which should I use with the added pork butt or chicken. I do want either pork butt or chicken thighs for 50% of the mix to extend my limited venison supply.

100% venison and pork butt = 25% fat content
80/20 venison and pork butt = 45% fat content
Chicken fat unknown…
The idea of chicken really intrigues me.
Thoughts? Thx Bubba

[peterb]

Recently did lebanon baloney, 1/2 elk 1/2 pork shoulder. Went sous vide from start to finish since the giant Chubs wouldn’t fit in the smoker. Didn’t want a smoke taste anyway. Worked well. I plan to try regular bologna one day.

[processhead]

I had a question about your ingredient list where you show 80/20 venison and pork butt as coming in at 45% fat content? That just seems like a high fat percentage for that combination of ingredients unless you add some extra fat.

[smokinbubba]

processhead my deer butcher adds 20% pork fat at time of butcher. I figure deer at 5% naturally. Just a guess on that one. Pork butt is 80/20.
Maybe my math is wrong. Never been my strong suit…

[smokinbubba]

peterb said in Bologna what would you do??:

Recently did lebanon baloney, 1/2 elk 1/2 pork shoulder. Went sous vide from start to finish since the giant Chubs wouldn’t fit in the smoker. Didn’t want a smoke taste anyway. Worked well. I plan to try regular bologna one day.

May I ask your process. Temp schedule/ time. Thx

[smokinbubba]

Yep can’t add percentages. My kid just told me it is 22.5% fat content not 45% forgot to divide b 2. I’m a sausage making idiot!! Ha ha

[smokinbubba]

Guess I should have followed up on this.
I did 15lb of 50/50 pork butt, straight venison. Ground twice, then thru the champion juicer to emulsify. Added hickory powder per the conversion chart. Used Waltons bologna seasoning. not frank and bologna. Just regular bologna. Stuffed in 4" fibre casings. Sous Vide start to finish. Ramped up cook schedule 10deg every hour starting at 120. Finished to 160, pulled, ice bath, sliced and OMG this is the best sausage I have ever made. Perfect pallet feel. Creamy, smooth, same texture at edge as in middle of chub. I will certainly do this again and again. I will now do my bambi dogs the exact same way. No smoker needed.

[Grimpuppy]

That pretty much answers all the questions I had. Can’t wait to give it a try.

[HookedOnHalo]

Can you tell me the spice mix and other ingredients that were used? I just got my order of Frank and Bologna seasoning mix with a SureCure packet. Any other tips you can give me? Add water? Ice? Let meat and spices mixed in the fridge for 24 hours or more? Maybe there is another post you can lead me to.

[smokinbubba]

I have not used the frank mix for bologna yet. I do use it for bambi dogs tho and they are fantastic. I used waltons bologna seasoning, sure cure, sure gel binder, water and hickory powder. Cooked with sous vide only. Probably the best bologna i have ever had. Ate about 40 sandwiches of it so far!

[smokinbubba]

Oh, i use smoked meat stabilizer so no need to put it in fridge. Grind,mix, stuff in 4" casings, cook in sous vide, eat until you get sick. Repeat

[Grimpuppy]

smokinbubba said in Bologna what would you do??:

Oh, i use smoked meat stabilizer so no need to put it in fridge. Grind,mix, stuff in 4" casings, cook in sous vide, eat until you get sick. Repeat

Do you bag it in sous vide or unbagged?

[smokinbubba]

I usually dont bag but i couldnt get a good crimp with my pos auto hog ring pliers so i did bag these.