Monday, June 10, 2013

Homemade Deer Bologna

In my never-endin' quest to be a little more self-sufficient about such things, I decided I was gonna whip up my own batch of deer bologna. I picked up an ol' hand grinder at the auction a few weeks ago, a few ol' pillowcases to use for casin', and most of the ingredients layin' around. All I needed was time to do it.

To start the fracas, I discovered that tryin' to use a grinder with shot knives is pretty much a pain in the ass. I didn't realize the knives were that beat until I was balls deep into the process. Took a lot longer than it shoulda, but I finally got it done. Thankfully I only thawed about five pounds just to experiment with. Reckon I'll have to go about orderin' a new set of knives and plates before I try that again.

I also had a helluva time findin' some cure, as the shit the recipe called for wasn't exactly readily available as I thought it was gonna be. Not a good discovery to make once everythin' is already ground, mixed up and ready to go. A trip to Grander Mountain netted me a different type of cure, so with a few minor recipe adjustments, I got pretty close to what I needed.

And, just to make sure the entire process was an all-around shitshow, the sewin' machine decided it was gonna be a rat bastard commie while I was tryin' to sew up the casings. A lot of help from the girl and her mother got me through that.

So, I'm sittin' here soakin' in the wonderful aroma comin' from the oven and wonderin' if I managed to get a decent end product. I'll let ya know.

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Here's the recipe I used. As normal for me, I didn't follow it to a T, but it was a good base to start from. I also used pork instead of beef as an add-in for the higher fat content, since I trim most of the fat offa my scrap durin' the butcherin' process.

4lbs fine ground venison
1lb ground hamburger
1/3 cup Morton Tender Quick (cure)
1 TBsp Black Pepper
1 TBsp Accent
1 TBsp Ground Mustard
1/2 TBsp Onoin Powder
1/2 TBsp Ground Red Pepper (less if you want less spice but 1/2 tbs is not spicy at all)
1/2 TBsp Mace (you dont have to put mace in it. this stuff is like 6 bucks)
1/2 TBsp Garlic Powder
6 TBsp Liquid Smoke
1 Cup Brown Sugar (less if you dont want it to be sweet)
1/2 Cup King Syrup (molasses should work i use king syrup)
 I was a little short on liquid smoke, and didn't feel like runnin' into the store again so I have maybe 2 TBsp. I also scrapped the Mace since I'm cheap like that. My add-ins included Old Bay (of course), dried crushed onions, a dash of cinnamon, some soy and Worcestershire sauce and 2/3 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Prolly over-seasoned the hell outta it, but oh well.
Mix all ingredients very good by hand in a large bowl. Then place in fridge in a  covered bowl or wrap with saran wrap to keep it from drying out for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Stuff in casing as tight as possible getting all air pockets out. Bake at 200 degrees for around 5 hours or until inside temp is 165 degrees. Ovens vary so a meat thermometer is a must. If the inside temperature don't reach at least 165-170 the meat will be undercooked.

8 comments:

  1. I love Venison sausgae! Sounds delicious

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  2. This is fricken awesome!! Made it yesterday and ate for breakfast! Tried two different recipes and this one is like an explosion of flavors in your mouth! Thank you for sharing!

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  3. worked great. easily substitute any ingredient. Used smoked paprika instead of liquid smoke and maple syrup.
    made it in smaller summer sausage casings the first time and all who tried it devoured it. fine grind in food processor for texture. Making second batch soon. Thanks

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  4. Used it 2 years now tastes good but I’ve adjusted it a little

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  5. Been making it for 3 years now working on it to get to my liking but otherwise it’s good

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  6. Been making it for a couple years it is good I’ve just been adding a little more spice to it each year

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