ctom

Anything with venison will depend on how strong the meat itself is from each individual deer, but for the most part the ring bologna I have done using the seasoning mixes and a 60% vennie/40% pork with fat meat blend has been very tasty and not gamy at all. I'm using venison from southern Minnesota farm country for my sausages. That from the northern forest country where pine is more prevelant can be pretty strong.

I stuff my rings and hang them until the next morning, then hang them in the smoker and fire it up for about 2 hours with moderate smoke, no more. They then come in the house and go right into a large canner filled with water heated just to a light simmer. When the rings float they are fully cooked, just like store bought. From the hot water to ice water until they are cold, then back on the nails for two days to dry a bit. I vacuum pack all my sausage and when I want a ring to go with other food for a meal the package goes right into boiling water to heat it up, but thawing and pan cooking is fine too. A little smoke goes a long way on ring bologna.

Many people grind two or three times but I like the old fashioned, coarse ground, ring bologna and spend a little more time cutting all the meat into smaller cubes [3/4" instead of 1" or 1 1/4"] before grinding. I add the seasoning packet and cure to the chunks and mix until all the dry goods are stuck on meat and then run thru the grinder using a medium coarse plate. Then I add my ice water and mix well, just before stuffing.

I made a couple 50 pound batches of rings two years ago and sealed them up and I'm still working on those. Next year I'll do another 50 pound batch if the season is good to me. Rings move along in the stuffing area real nice and their size makes them easy for one person to do them. I suggest the seasoning mixes simply because they take guesswork out of batching the spices yet one can add to the mix to create their own unique taste. I think I tried five do-it-yourself recipes and had to toss all but one and even then the finished product was iffy as far as the table went. The next year I ordered mixes from three places, two mentioned here, and broke the mixes down to make 5 pound batches and did the three just as I have mentioned here and settled first on the Walton's, then the LEM product and finally on the SausageMaker. All three make very good rings without adjustment. The last rings were done with Waltons and will be done the next time with Waltons, but I have used up all the other remaining seasonings by making venison hotdogs [same identical seasoning mix for both bologna and hotdogs] and they have been winners too. I'm doing hotdogs again this year and have the Waltons mix sitting here already. In all honesty I'd use any of the three mixes.