Meats and Sausages
Bologna - German (German Bologna American Style)
Bologna is a sausage derived from mortadella, a similar-looking, finely ground sausage originally from the Italian city of Bologna. Both sausages contain similar ingredients, but mortadella has large, visible cubes of pork fat and often includes red bell pepper, pistachios or olives. The bologna is cooked or smoked and then either packaged whole or sliced. U.S. Government regulations require American bologna to be finely ground and without the visible pieces of fat. The finished product may not contain more than 30% fat or no more than 10% water, or a combination of 40% fat and added water. Bologna is a large diameter (100 mm/4") one section sausage, but there is also a smaller diameter semi-circle variety called ring bologna. Being smaller it can be served hot as entire ring, split lengthwise and fried, or added in chunks to pasta or other dishes. Ring bologna can be consumed cold on sandwiches or served as a snack on crackers.
In Germany bologna is known as mortadella. However its American origins are primarily associated with German immigrants who brought the technology to America. All German sausage makers in US produce German Bologna, finely emulsified sausage without any inserts.
| Meats | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Lean beef, some connective tissue allowed | 600 g | 1.32 lb |
| Lean pork, some connective tissue allowed | 200 g | 0.44 lb |
| Pork jowls or pork rich in connective tissue | 100 g | 0.22 lb |
| Pork back fat, pork belly or hard fat trimmings | 100 g | 0.22 lb |
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat
| Salt | 18 g | 3 tsp |
| Cure #1 | 2.5 g | 1/2 tsp |
| White pepper | 2.0 g | 1 tsp |
| Coriander | 1.0 g | 1 tsp |
| Paprika, sweet | 1.0 g | 1 tsp |
| Nutmeg | 0.5 g | 1/4 tsp |
| Garlic | 3.0 g | 1 clove |
| Potato starch | 15 g | 1.5 oz |
| Cold water | 240 ml | 1 cup |
Instructions
- Grind beef through 10 mm (3/8”) plate. Grind pork through 10 mm (3/8”) plate.
- Grind fat through 10 mm (3/8”) plate. Using food processor emulsify beef with half of water. Then add as follows: pork, salt, Cure #1 and spices, fat, potato starch. Keep on slowly adding the remaining water as emulsifying continues. Stuff into beef bungs, beef middles or 100 mm diameter cellulose or fibrous casings. Hang in 4º C (38º F) overnight or for 2-3 hours at room temperature.
- Apply smoke at 60º C (140º F) for 2 hours.
- Cook in water at 75° C (167° F) for 90-120 min according to thickness until until sausages reach 70° C (158° F) internal temperature.
- Immerse sausages for 10 min in cold water, then cool in air and refrigerate.
