I've had my fair share of projects gone wrong
, but I persevere and use the "wrong" on my Bub-o-meter to improve and learn. Failure does not sit good with me, and if I do not succeed at first I will try again and again.
Two projects that have failed in the past were Cooked Bratwurst and Bologna (but more what the Germans call "Fleischkaese").
Cooked Bratwurst is close to solved and Bologna (for my taste buds) is good!
Also, I think the German and Austrian folk will frown on me linking Fleischkaese to Bologna, but the texture is very similar. And keep in mind with the home equipment I have, it is impossible to make the exact Fleischkaese product found in specialty stores.
Before joining this Forum, I had a trial with Fleischkaese, and it was a flop, bad texture, inferior taste and too dry. It was tossed.
Then a few weeks ago I came across Chuckwagon's
Bad Bob's Bologna and after some thinking exercises I devised a way to try making Bologna to Fleischkaese style, namely baked in a bread pan.
I used Chuckwagon's recipe but left out the Coriander and Mustard.
After processing, I packed the mixture in a vacuum bag and vacuum sealed it to rest overnight in the Refrigerator.
The next morning I left the vacuum sealed contents on the kitchen counter for an hour, warmed up my baking oven inside the house to it's lowest setting, 170 F. It actually measured 180 F with my thermometer. (we had bad rainy weather that day so the oven was ideal)
The mixture was packed into a small non-stick bread bin, being careful to get all the air pockets out. Closed the pan up with a sheet of foil for the first (about) 3-1/2 hours, then removed it the last 30 min. After (about) 4 hours it reached internal temperature of 152 F (per Chuckwagon's recipe).
Removed from Oven, closed it up with foil again, and let it stand for about 3 hours.
The result was amazing! I thought the texture and taste were outstanding. Gave a few samples to friends and they agreed this is good (but they preferred their Bologna round, ever tried giving the good 'ol Southern folks something new to eat?
)
I sliced the "Bologna Loaf" up, vacuum sealed it in slice portions and froze them.
I had to work yesterday, today is gardening day so I wanted to try some of the Bologna frozen a month ago.
I took one pack, defrosted and fried 2 slices, along with fried egg and a slice of cheese.
I thought it was divine, and moisture is good as well!
What I did find interesting about this project was (have a close look at the photo below), the Bologna formed a kind of sealing skin at the top where the bread pan was not covered towards the end.
So, I may not have the perfect "Fleischkaese", but I have "Bad Bob's Bologna" that tastes outstanding, less the sausage stuffing and smoker time.
Will I make it again? Sure! It's something nowhere else to be found.