Pumpkin Spice Bologna spices

Grind all spices fine

Cut the meat into small cubes

mix meat, spices, salt, curing salt, and dextrose together and chill overnight

1-2 hours before grinding, put all grinder equipment into freezer. Spread meat out on a cookie sheet, cover with foil, and place in freezer. At grinding time, the meat should be stiff but not completely frozen

Grind through the fine die of the meat grinder

Mix in powdered milk

Here’s where the preps diverge. The next steps are for bologna only.

(bologna) In 4 batches, place 1/4 ground meat mixture, 1/4 roasted pumpkin, and ~50 g of ice chips into a blender. Blend until it achieves the smooth texture of the “pink slime” that people were mad about in 2012.

(bologna) Stuff into beef bung casing that has been soaked to remove salt. Truss with butcher’s twine and hang in an unused refrigerator (or a wintry garage) for 1-2 days to develop pellicle.

(bologna) Smoke over alder wood. Let sit refrigerated 2 days before slicing

Here are the mortadella steps

(mortadella) cut roasted pumpkin into 1cm cubes and freeze on a cookie sheet to retain cube shape.

(mortadella) In 4 batches, place 1/4 ground meat mixture and ~50g of ice chips into a blender. Whip it. Whip it good.

(mortadella) In a bowl, mix frozen pumpkin cubes into meat mixture.

(mortadella) Overlap and crosshatch several long wide strips of plastic cling wrap on a flat surface. Place meat mixture onto plastic and use plastic to roll into a tight 5-6″ cylinder. Wrap tightly with additional cling wrap.

Steam or wet-roast for around 90 minutes.