What we call Bologna

Last weekend was one of those weekends that we needed during the summer, rain and cool temperatures but it came late and the result was just cold and wet.  With being trapped in the house, it was time to make something not from the garden.  We have been canning veggies out of the garden and we have a 100 foot long row of beets staring at us but thank goodness they can stand a good cold snap before we need to deal with them.  So, what's a person to do when trapped in the house....make bologna!

Here it is in the ice bath after the smoking session.  Here is my the recipe:

3- lbs. Beef....I used 1.5 lbs. of skirt steak and 1.5 lbs. round steak
4- lbs. Pork....I used 1.5 lbs. boneless country ribs and 2.5 lbs. of loin meat
1.5 Ts. Kosher Salt
2 Ts. Black mustard seeds...slightly cracked
1 Ts. white pepper
1 ts. fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 ts. ascorbic acid
1.5 ts. Pink Salt
6 Garlic cloves minced very fine
1 Ts.Garlic powder
1 Ts. Garlic salt

The meat should be cut into 1" cubes, put in a large bowl, mixed with all the ingredients and partially frozen prior to grinding.  Grind through the larger plate of your grinder and then cool back down in the fridge.  Grind again through the small diameter plate and cool again.  During the cooling of the meat this time, place the paddle attachment of your stand mixer in the freezer.
Went the meet has cooled, add to your mixing bowl with the paddle out of the freezer and beat the meat until it develops a "sticky" texture.  This is best done in four batches.  Mix all the meat together and get ready to stuff your casings.

I use 80mm collagen casings that have been prepared by wetting with warm water.  Stuff the casings tight and tie with butchers twine.  At this point, I rest the meat in the fridge on a sheet tray for about 2-3 hours while preparing the smoker.  My wood of choice is peach as I have this available to me most of the time from my yard.

Smoke at 175- 200 degrees until an internal temperature of 155 is reached.  At that time, plunge into an ice bath and cool the sausages until they can be wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the fridge. 

This is a lot leaner than the recipes you will find from other sources but it really turns out well and is very tasty.  The key to making good sausage is to read, listen, learn and experiment smartly.  If you pay attention and learn the basics of preparation including proper sanitation, you will be safe and pleased with your results.

A Different Summer Sausage

So I had cut some pork shoulder for a cured product but as I have stated before, I really don't like curing anything in the heat of summer.  I really doesn't matter as everything I have to make cured product is temperature and humidity controlled but it is just not the same to me.  So back to the topic at hand...I had 7 pounds of pork shoulder and it needed to be used.  I decided to make a cooked (smoked) product out of it.

I ground the meat, added salt, mustard seeds, white pepper, red chili flakes, black pepper, ginger powder, nutmeg, hot smoked paprika, pink salt and a couple of other simple ingredient's.  We stuffed it all in 80mm collagen casings and put them on the smoker for about 4 hours with peach wood.  After that, I put them in a 170 degree oven until the internal temperature reached 170.  They then get a dunk in ice water and into the refrigerator to rest for a day and here is the results:

This was a successful venture....this stuff is great!  Every recipe you read for summer sausage includes beef.  I really only have one thing to say about that....try pork only and make it spicy, it works and it is great.  This stuff won't last long and I will definitely do this again.  If you want the recipe, email me or send me a comment.  I can't guarantee that your will turn out like this did do to the variables with smoking and the species of the wood you may have available but it is worth the time if you are up to it and have the basic supplies needed for the simple preparation.

Scott

Something new

A couple of weeks ago I tried a great Calabrese and decided to see what I could do to make a product that in someways would be close to what I tried but have my own twist to it.

This is the product right after it was brought out of the fermentation chamber.  I stuffed them in 140mm casing (the size of bologna) and flattened them out for a few days in the fridge before putting them in the fermentation box.  They are now in the aging or maturation cooler where they will stay until they have lose 30% of their total weight which is now about three pounds each.  I also made some in smaller casings along with two and a half pounds of Genoa with extra garlic. 

Another waiting game....the hard part!

Scott

June note....these both turned out well.  It is really amazing the amount of heat (in the way of dried chili pepper) you can throw into the batch and just how mild it comes out when done.  I have yet to reach a point to where I think it is "spicy".  That demand another batch to experiment on this. 

As for the Genoa, the little extra bit of garlic was mild but nice.

Coppa

 

 

Here is a Coppa that I made in the past several weeks.  This is a particular cut off the shoulder and is pretty easy to see if you know what you are looking for when you look at a whole shoulder of the hog.

 

 

It was pretty simple to make and the results are pretty good.  It was salted and held in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few days to give the salt time to do it thing.  Then I spiced it with black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, ground fennel and a bit more salt.  Then I put it in a net to hold it together and it was hung in the cure box until it lost 30% of it's original weight.  That took about 4 weeks over, give or take a day or two.  The results are pretty good and really a bit salty but good non-the-less.

New Heat box

I have been using an old wooden box that I threw together years ago for a heating chamber.  It has served me well but is beginning to breakdown due to the moisture from both being used and being washed out.  So I have started on a new bigger, better unit. 

It looks a bit like a phone booth but that is intentional.  I want the heat to be consistent as well as the moisture so I am installing a heater in the bottom that has a small fan in it.  It will slowly circulate air and heat but the heat will "hopefully" be more consistent in the top half of the box.  That is also where I will measure the temperature for control.  Moisture will be provided by a small household humidifier that will be run on a humidistat.  The old box derived its heat from a 100 watt light bulb.  The humidity was from a water pan with an aquarium heater in it.  What?.....it worked! 

As you can see, there is a lot of work needed.  Insulation, power for an interior light, racks in the top for hanging, the outside skin and a door.  I will take a few more photo's as I go along but this thing needs to get done soon so keep checking back for more pictures in the near future.

Genoa week one update

Here is a picture of the development after the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Well on their way to perfection.  After weighing all of them, the loss is as expected and they seem to be progressing nicely. 

Cured Meats for Christmas

This past weekend, we produced a batch of Garlic heavy Genoa for Christmas gifts.  The batch started out at 12.5 lbs.  It made seven good sized salami's which should be done for Christmas.  I will probably cut these in half, vacuum seal them and send most of them out to family.

I just noticed today that a slight trace of white mold is starting to form on the casings which is exactly what  will help these become all that they can be.  This is the "beneficial" mold that helps slow moisture from escaping to quickly and prevents what is called "case hardening".  It will also protect the salumi from bad bacteria that may come into contact with it during the next several weeks of conditioning. 

Hoping you all have a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!