Lebanon bologna help

[Dave in AZ]

tsgtag welcome.
I’m gonna add a few things just so you’re aware. Lebanon bologna was originally as properly made, a fermented sausage that was never cooked. It was cold smoked Below 72ﾟF for 4 to 7 days, and is basically a fermented dried salami. Summer sausage is officially the same sort of product, but without the long smoking. It is a fermented dried uncooked sausage.

However both of these products Are more commonly done as a heat treated Sausage To more easily comply with FDA guidelines. In fact if you search this community’s posts probably 99% of them will Only talk about these as cooked products.

Because of this, you don’t get as dry of a product or a salami style product for either of these 2 these days. Both of them however are supposed to be quite acidic , with ending PH of 4.2 to 4.4 and and a water activity below 0.93 . This gives shelf stability. So when planning your own product and reading these posts, keep in mind that You will get a much moister product than you might expect if you’re thinking of an authentic store bought version.

Also They are supposed to be quite acidic. Since you are simulating a lactic bacteria ferment and not actually doing one, we add Encapsulated Acid at the very end of the mixing to allow that acidic tang without the acid contacting the meat and destroying its texture before cooked. I recommend you purchase and use the smooth acid blend that Walton’s now carries, instead of the encapsulated citric acid, because it is a much more authentic flavor. I see their LB spice mix expects you to use ECA, but I recommend you purchase and use their smooth acid blend instead.

I have made LB but did it as a fermented uncooked thing. If I were to make a fast unfermented version, using Walton’s spice mix, I would follow their directions but would limit my smoker to 160f, and would cook until internal temp reached 145f for at least 5 minutes. If I was pushing 5 hours and IT was stalling below 135f, I would pull off smoker, bag in ziplocks and finish them in a sous vide at 150 to 160f, until IT above 145f for 5 min. Probably less than an hour. Then would dump bags in ice water, cool, then remove chubs and let dry for an hour before refrigerating.

[tsgtag]

Thx Dave; I am from Pennsylvania and actually in the heart of Pa Dutch land where Lebanon bologna is quite prevalent. I am looking to make something similar to Seltzer’s Lebanon. Are your recommendations the same as you posted? With respect to the smooth acid blend, do you recommend the same amount as what comes with the kit in encapsulated? Thanks again!! This site is awesome.

[glen]

tsgtag Welcome to the community

[Dave in AZ]

tsgtag
Lol, I grew up near Lancaster, just a mile across DE border. Only us locals apparently even know what LB is! I thought everyone ate that for sandwiches growing up.

So, without a ferment, same recommendations. Smooth acid, use hmm, 10 to 30% more than ECA amount. It has trehalose in it, 30% I think, so less acid. Product page says USAGE:Use 0.5468 lb of product to 25 lbs of meat. Not sure, didnt do conversion. But you will want an acidic product with your background.

I still like a bagged SV finish to allow low temps and good temp control, fast heat transfer, and avoid fat out. So many folks get impatient withblarge diameter chubs and increase heat too much and ruin product. Then I would just dry it in my fridge as desired. 1 day exposed, 1 day in ziplock to equalize moisture, back and forth until desired dryness reached.

But if you can control smoker temps to below 160, without swings and hotspots, you can just finish in there too. Get IT above 130f within 6 hrs, then you can go as long as needed to finish. But 160f not needed. Just hit one of these time temperature combos from USFDA meat cooking pathogen lethality table. For LB, traditionally uncooked, I recommend keeping final temps below 145f.

[Dave in AZ]

tsgtag p.s. don’t mess up the spice amount usage! Recipe videos can be unclear on that, bag is for 25lbs meat but then recipe is for 10 lbs without mentioning you need to calculate correct amount to use now! Pay attention to correct amount for meat used, don’t just dump in whole bag, many folks post confused on this!

[dawg]

tsgtag
Welcome to the community. The LB is good stuff. We added crushed red pepper to it last time and spiced it up a little. Enjoy it. Dave in AZ has a lot of good advice.

[bocephus]

tsgtag Welcome to the community.

[salmonmaster]

tsgtag welcome aboard.

[cdavis]

tsgtag welcome aboard

[tarp]

You picked a hard one for fist time. But help is on this site.