Ring Bologna First Try

[NDKoze]

I have made hundreds of pounds of sausage over the years. But, have always left the Ring Bologna to my late uncle who was a butcher. Well, now that he is gone I figured it was time to start trying to make my own. Well, kind of. I wish that I had thought to get his ring bologna recipe, but alas I did not get it from him before he passed. So, I used a packaged mix from Walton's Inc,. And it turned out pretty dang good. I will be making some more of this stuff for sure.

I pretty much followed the recipe from the Walton's Inc website with a few small variations. I have documented the process that I used below:

Meat Block:
• 5 lbs. 90% Lean Ground Beef
• 7.5 lbs. Deboned Boston Butt 

Additives:
• 1/2 bag Excalibur Ring Bologna Unit Seasoning
• 1 Oz. Sure Cure #1 (cure pack is included with seasoning)
• 1/2 Quart Ice Cold Water
• 3 Oz. Sure Gel Binder

Process:
1. Grind deboned Boston Butt through a 3/16" grinding plate one time.
2. Grind the lean ground Beef and once ground Pork through a 1/8th inch plate alternating pork to beef to start mixing the meat as I ground.

Mix:
1. The meat was starting to get kind of warm. So I placed it out on my deck in the 0 degree weather for 30 minutes to cool it off.
2. Placed the chilled meat in my meat mixer and took it for a few spins to start mixing the pork and beef.
3. Combine the Bologna mix, Sure Gel, Sure Cure #1, and cold water in a container and whisk well to make sure that any clumps were mixed up and placed ion the fridge to chill.
4. While my boys took turns mixing, I started adding the seasoning a little bit at a time until it was all in.
5. Mix for 5 minutes or until sticky.
6. Stuff into the 40MM X 18" Collagen Ring Bologna Casings that I had also purchased from Walton’s Inc.
7. I then hung the rings on my Sausage Rack Mini (SRM-1000) and let them rest on my garage overnight.

Smoking Instructions:
1. I cut ½” dowels to size and hung my bologna on the top rack of my #3.
2. Smoke with 4-6 Oz. of your choice of wood.
3. Smoke for 1 hour at 150°.
4. Smoke for 1 hour at 175°.
5. Smoke for 1 hour at 200°.
6. Add James Jerky Dryer.
7. Smoke for at 200° until the Ring Bologna hits an internal temperature of 160°.
8. Immediately spray with ice cold water, soak in an ice bath, or rest outside in 0° weather like I had the day I smoked my bologna.

 

[ibbones]

Someday I HAVE to try this.

 

[NDKoze]

Someday I HAVE to try this.

You really should try it. I think I am going to convert at least one of my prescheduled Snack Stick batches over to a Ring Bologna batch.

 

[TexasSMK]

Awesome, thanks for the details, going to give this a go. 

 

[DivotMaker]

Oh man, that looks good, Gregg!  I've only recently been introduced to ring bologna, and Lebanon bologna....it's great!  Bet that was some good stuff!

 

[jcboxlot]

Looks good, I guess we are spoiled in this area.  Central PA.

http://www.johnfmartinmeats.com/garlic-ring-bologna

Just had some tonight, the spicier the mustard to dip in the better

 

[IRGoode]

Those look real good Gregg. I have everything now to make these but was wondering how long it took to get to 160 IT? Also, have you ever tried adding cheese of any kind? Do you just slice these up and eat cold or put them on the grill for a bit? I haven't made these before so thanks for the detailed instructions.

 

[NDKoze]

This was the first time that I have made it, although I have purchased from meat markets and eaten it for years.

I can't say that I have ever seen it with cheese in it, but I don't know why you couldn't put some in there.

I can't remember for sure, but I think it was about 6-9 hours or so. I should have kept better notes on this since it was my first run.

Traditionally, it is just eaten cold like a little summer sausage.

 

[IRGoode]

I have the jerky fan but Waltons recipes call for a water pan in the smoker to retain moisture. I use the jerky fan for my snack sticks but I'm wondering if I should use it for this if moisture is desired? I never put a water pan in my #3 for sausage but I may not use the fan. I hate to mess up a good batch of meat. What do y'all think?

 

[NDKoze]

I am sorry I am late on this. With work being crazy and Christmas, I didn't get a chance to respond.

Did you smoke your Ring Bologna yet?

I always use my jerky fan when smoking any type of fresh sausage with a casing and I definitely recommend it when making this Ring Bologna. Otherwise, the sausages tend to steam instead of dry out and adhere to the meat.

The Walton's site does not consider the fact that our smokers are so airtight and do not need additional moisture when smoking sausages.

This is my 2¢ anyway.

 

[Perkolater]

Great looking stuff

Thanks for sharing your maiden voyage on this one Gregg!

 

[IRGoode]

No Gregg I haven't done the bologna yet. I decided not to try stuffing these with the big tube and my jerky gun. To much trouble so I'm going to get the 11 lb sausage stuffer from Waltons first. In the mean time I'm making more snack sticks.

 

[NDKoze]

No Gregg I haven't done the bologna yet. I decided not to try stuffing these with the big tube and my jerky gun. To much trouble so I'm going to get the 11 lb sausage stuffer from Waltons first. In the mean time I'm making more snack sticks.

You are going to love the 2-Stage 11lb stuffer! I have only used mine once for the bologna. But, cranking this thing was so effortless compared to the LEM 15lb single stage stuffer that I had been using.

 

[IRGoode]

Gregg, you are so right! Just got it today and made 6 lbs of Summer sausage. Beats the heck out of my jerky gun. When working alone though, like I did today, I believe I will clamp it to the table from now on. It's a little wobbly when working alone. This makes it so easy I may have to go in the sausage making business. My friends are eating it as fast as I can make it. May have to start charging them. Lol

 

[NDKoze]

Awesome! Yeah, I am gonna have to clamp mine down the next time too.

 

[IRGoode]

I am making the ring bologna today. Gregg, did you use the smoked meat stabilizer with yours? I bought some but I'm not sure if I will use it. I don't want it to end up too salty. How salty did your bologna turn out? This sure looks like a lot of seasoning for 12lbs of meat.

 

[NDKoze]

I am making the ring bologna today. Gregg, did you use the smoked meat stabilizer with yours? I bought some but I'm not sure if I will use it. I don't want it to end up too salty. How salty did your bologna turn out? This sure looks like a lot of seasoning for 12lbs of meat.

No, I didn't use the Smoked Meat Stabilizer because I hung my bologna overnight in the garage. The Smoked Meat Stabilizer allows you to smoke right away rather than let the meat cure overnight in the fridge or on your sausage rack. If you are going to refridgerate and smoke tomorrow, it is not needed.

Mine actually did turn out a bit salty, so error on the side of less than more I would say. But, I forgot to weigh my pork after deboning. I was close, but may have underestimating making mine a little too salty.

I quick whipped up a Seasoning Calculator that may help with your measuring issue:

https://1drv.ms/x/s!AqanuXw3q_HboewUgcbC1p-atNn4vg

PM me if you have troubles downloading or using it. All you need to do is enter your meat block amount in pounds. Then enter the amount of seasoning (in ounces) that your mix requires per 25lbs of meat.

 

[NDKoze]

FYI, Austin did a really nice job of going over all of the meat additives that you can use in your sausages and snack sticks listed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-3vZygdVvM&t

 

[IRGoode]

Seen your post a little late. I used the recommended amount of seasoning. Good but a little salty. At least that's what my friends said while they ate a pound of it. Don't think it will last long.
Thanks for your initial detailed post. I'm not going to make another bologna post because I pretty much just copied your process. I did do the reverse fan method on these but that was the only difference.

 

[NDKoze]

They look awesome! The salinity does mellow a little bit as it ages.