Ring Bologna
Smoke Ring Classic
Traditional Style Ring Bologna
Smoke Ring Classic is a ring bologna built on a 50% lean meat / 50% pork blend, using lean wild game or lean beef. Smoke at 130-170°F (54-77°C) and finish at an internal 152°F (67°C), stuff into 38-42 mm fibrous or natural beef rounds casing, grind at 1/4". Exact amounts scale to any batch weight in the DeepWoodz Smokehouse app for iPhone and Android.
The ring that ends up on the cutting board at every gathering. Fine grind, gentle smoke, coriander and nutmeg doing quiet work in the background. It keeps well in the fridge and gets cut up cold with cheese and crackers far more often than it ever gets cooked.
- Internal temp
- 152°F (67°C)
- Smoker temp
- 130-170°F (54-77°C)
- Casing size
- 38-42 mm
- Casing
- Fibrous or Natural Beef Rounds
- Bloom
- 1-2 hours
What goes in it
- Kosher Salt
- Cure #1
- Coarse Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Coriander
- Ground Nutmeg
- Mustard Seed
- Sugar
- Ice Cold Water
Amounts are calculated for your batch weight in the app — including the cure, which is held at a fixed, food-safe rate.
The meat
Lean Wild Game · Lean Beef · Pork Butt · Pork Shoulder
Bear or wild hog: take it to 160°F and hold 3 minutes. Freezing, smoking and curing do not kill trichinella — only heat does.
How it's made
- Grind meat through a 1/4" plate. Keep below 40°F.
- Mix all dry seasonings together.
- Add seasoning mix and ice water to ground meat. Mix until very tacky and paste-like with good protein extraction.
- Stuff into 38-42mm casings and tie into rings (about 1 lb each).
- Hang at room temperature for 1-2 hours to bloom and develop color.
- Dry at 130°F in the smoker with dampers open for 1 hour.
- Close dampers and apply heavy smoke. Raise temperature 10°F every 30 minutes up to 170°F.
- Cook until internal temperature reaches 152°F. Important: Do not let your smoker exceed 170°F. Even if your smoker is set at or below 170°F, the actual temperature can spike higher — monitor closely.
- Immediately plunge into ice water bath until internal temp drops below 100°F. (Optional — an ice bath is not required. It is personal preference; many just let them cool at room temp, or outside in cold weather. Just cool them down promptly.)
- Hang to dry for 1 hour, then refrigerate.
Wood
Hickory · Maple · Cherry
Safety
- Keep meat below 40°F during grinding and mixing
- Cook to 152°F internal temperature
- Ice bath immediately after smoking to prevent wrinkling and keep casing from sticking to the meat. (Optional — an ice bath is not required. It is personal preference; many just let them cool at room temp, or outside in cold weather. Just cool them down promptly.)
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