39 Ring Bologna

Ingredients

• 2 ounce Kosher salt
• ¼ ounce Prague Powder #1
• ½ dextrose
• ½ ounce brown sugar
• ¼ ounce granulated garlic
• ½ ounce  granulated onion
• ¼ ounce finely ground white pepper
• 1/8 ounce finely ground caraway seeds
• 1/8 ounce finely ground nutmeg
• 2½ pound well-trimmed beef chuck
• 1¾ pound fresh pork jowl fat or fresh pork fatback with no rind
• 1½ pound crushed ice
• 3½ ounce Nonfat dry milk powder
• 9 feet beef middle casing, cut into 18 inch lengths

Supplies

• Kitchen string, as needed
• Fruitwood (fabrication type and amount as specified by the smoker manufacturer), as needed

Steps

Day 1: Fabrication, grinding and mixing, encasement

1. Freeze the grinder parts and the bowl and blade of a commercial-size food processor.
2. To make the curing compound, mix the salt, Prague Powder, dextrose, brown sugar, garlic, onion, pepper, caraway, and nutmeg.
3. Cut the beef into ½-in. [1 .25-cm) dice and mix it with the curing compound. Refrigerate it.
4. Cut the fat into ½-in. (1 .25-cm) dice and spread on a sheet tray. Freeze about 15 minutes, or until the exterior is crusted with ice crystals.
5. Set up the grinder and place an ice bain-marie under the grinder head.
6. Grind the semi-frozen pork fat through the coarse, medium, and fine dies. Refrigerate it.
7. Grind the beef through the coarse, medium, and fine dies. Refrigerate it.
8. Place the chilled ground beef in the chilled processor bowl. Add the crushed ice and immediately begin processing. Use an instant-read thermometer to monitor the temperature of the beef as it rises from 30°F to 40°F.
9. Immediately add the ground fat and process until the temperature reaches 45°F.
10. Immediately add the nonfat dry milk and process until the temperature reaches 58°F. Refrigerate the force meat.
11. Perform a poach test. Evaluate and make necessary corrections.
12. Encase the sausage to make 18-inch lengths. Keep the fill just a little looser than normal. Tie off each end with a bubble tie. Form each length into a ring and tie the ends together.
13. Hang the rings over a drip pan in the refrigerator.

Days 1-2: Drying

1. Dry the rings for 24 hours.
2. Soak the wood in water covered at room temperature for 24 hours.

Day 2: Smoking and Finishing

1. Prepare a smoker to 180°F.
2. Sterilize a teasing needle or skewer and perforate the kielbasa at 2-inch intervals.
3. Hang the bologna in the smoker and smoke about 2 hours to achieve a rich brown color.
4. Bring enough water to cover the bologna to a simmer in a brazier or braising table. Poach the bologna at a bare simmer to an internal temperature of 150°F.
5. Shower the bologna under a spray of cold water until it reaches an internal temperature of 38°F.
6. Blot the bologna dry with paper towels.
7. Wrap the bologna in butcher paper and refrigerate it.

Refrigerate up to 6 days, or wrap in freezer paper and freeze up to 2 months.