Fried Bologna Sandwiches | Chickens in the Road

Jan
19

This is not so much a recipe (though I’m going to tell you how to make a really good one) as an homage to the hillbilly palate which bears no pride, counts no calories, and uplifts even the lowliest of ingredients to the heights of celestial delight. Which is to say that you can actually find Fried Bologna Sandwiches on sit-down restaurant menus around here. If you haven’t ever been to West Virginia, you must come if for no other reason than to behold our epicurean offerings.

How to make Fried Bologna Sandwiches:

Start with good bologna, deli-sliced, not the pre-packaged stuff. Get some good deli-sliced cheese of your choice. I used Colby here. Bread is extremely important. Fried Bologna Sandwiches are traditionally made on white sandwich bread. Sliced Grandmother Bread is perfect.

Heat a small amount of oil on medium-high in a large skillet. Make a slice in the center of each slice of bologna. Don’t cut the bologna in half–just make a cut across the center. (This will help keep the bologna from curling while it’s frying.) You’ll want two pieces of bologna per sandwich. Fry about three minutes per side. When it’s frying on the second side, plop on your favorite barbeque sauce. Add a few drops of hot sauce or Tabasco if you like. Spread mayonnaise on the bread. To build the sandwich, use lettuce, tomato and onion if you like, or just the sauced and fried bologna. Top with cheese while still warm and put the sandwich together.

Enjoy!

Seriously, this is better than it sounds. :cool:

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1-19
4:52
am

Actually, it looks good!

We didn’t have fried bologna sandwiches — didn’t fry it, just had it as is, with mustard. But fried bologna (with potatoes and veggies) was considered to be Gaspe (Quebec) steak. Each slice had to be scored all around, though, not cut in half. :smile:

I haven’t had bologna in years. Decades even!

BTW, what the heck are you doing, Suzanne, posting at 1:05AM? Night owl?

-Kim

Kim A. - Reply
1-19
8:09
am

I haven’t had fried bologna sandwhich in years. When my family didn’t have a lot of money for food, that meal got us through hard times. I didn’t think many people knew or even heard of this sandwhich before and they serve it in restaurants. Man I have to come and visit West Virginia one of these days.

Dru - Reply
1-19
8:32
am

I grew up cooking and eating fried balogna sandwiches, which I didn’t discover until nearly grown isn’t pronounced “baloney”. I thought they were a delicacy at the time, but looking back on my childhood I think it may have been more about the fact that balogna was cheap!

I still come home every once in a great while with a big chunch of balogna from the deli and fry me up a good ol’ baloney sandwich. My kids always look at me like I have two heads. Poor things, maybe they just didn’t grow up poor enough, though they’d beg to differ, I’m sure. :mrgreen:

Renna - Reply
1-19
8:53
am

Thanks for bringing back a childhood memory I’d long forgotten. I’m from Georgia and “Balony” sandwiches was something we’d have at my grandmother’s house on weekends and they were yummy!

Robbin - Reply
1-19
9:14
am

We like ours without BBQ sauce. Good sammich.

LizB - Reply
1-19
10:00
am

There is nothing better than a fried baloney sandwich. I fix them often.I used to be able to get them at work before I retired. This was at a Harrah’s Casino. Folks loved them. I prefer mine with just Miracle Whip please. Have a great day and to all.

Fannie M Wiggins - Reply
1-19
10:56
am

Wow, now that’s a blast from the past!!!

Bayou Woman - Reply
1-19
12:41
pm

I love fried Balogna sandwiches and it was one of the first things I learned to “cook.” You might want to share the delights of fried Spam sandwiches.

Thanks for the great blog! :purr:

Tobey - Reply
1-19
1:38
pm

Oh, I just had one - well I make it a bit different but I’m going to try your way. Here are some of my variations: sometimes we add a fried egg and ketchup can replace the barbecue sauce - I’ve not tried it with mayo or tabasco but it sounds good!!!

catslady - Reply
1-19
1:57
pm

I LOVE fried bologna sandwiches, but for me it’s just bread, and fried balogna, slap it together and away you go. Yummy!

I’ll have to try your way, especially for my husband who loves sandwiches that are piled high.

Pieternella - Reply
1-19
2:28
pm

Bologna is something I haven’t had in eons. I love fried Bologna sandwiches; ours we bologna, Miracle Whip or mustard and bread/butter. Thanks for the memories.

Robynl - Reply
1-19
4:05
pm

I was raised on fried bologna sandwiches! My dad would fry them (cut them in crosses and burnt the edges) and slap it between toasted white bread, mustard and crisp lettuce. Oh my. I could eat about 3 of those right now!

Adina - Reply
1-19
5:27
pm

What memories! I love me some fried baloney sammich. And no Miracle Whip here, only Hellman’s.

Mental Pause Mama - Reply
1-19
5:55
pm

My dad made fried bologna sandwiches for the family this morning!

Susan - Reply
1-19
5:59
pm

Don’t you grill the sandwich after frying the bologna? Preferably in butter or some other artery clogging ingredient.

kacey - Reply
1-19
7:40
pm

how do i get printable version of the recipes thanks beth this is a great site the fried bologna sounds interesting

beth - Reply
1-20
9:22
am

Hi, Beth! I’m working on getting printable recipes set up and I’ll have that available soon. Thanks for asking!

Suzanne McMinn - Reply
1-20
12:08
pm

I’m pretty sure some of the diner type restaurants around here have fried bologna sandwiches, too. I’ve never cared for them myself, but my parents like them.

Tori Lennox - Reply
1-20
9:07
pm

We were just having the should-we-or-shouldn’t-we discussion about fried bologna sandwiches yesterday. My son’s mostly-vegetarian girlfriend and her mostly-macaroni and cheese daughter were looking for lunch items in our fridg’rator. I grew up with FBSs (in the South), and while I haven’t had one in years, it’s still one of my favorite childhood memories. Instead of the slice through the middle of the slab, my mom used to make three 1-inch slices from the edge towards the middle. Once fried, each slice looked kinda like a little pink pinwheel, and that made me happy (so easy to please back then). I was a picky eater, though, and liked mine with mayonnaise on white bread - only. Once in a while, I’d go for the grill the bread in the pan afterwards with the bologna grease and a little butter version. Now, with my more sophisticated adult palate, and after reading your recipe, I am SO making FSBs for next weekend’s family-goes-to-mom’s-to-do-laundry day. The kids (not so young, by the way) also call these weekend gatherings “white trash dinner” day, because we eat meat and other disgusting things like sausage gravy. By the way, the mostly-vegetarian girlfriend? She made the sausage gravy yesterday. There’s hope for them yet, even though they were raised and still live in California! And, people talk about our great restaurants…

mirabel - Reply
1-21
12:15
pm

I introduced my children to the joys of a fried bologna sandwich over the summer. Even my picky daughter, who refuses to eat any meat except chicken, loved them. for our family it has to be thick sliced, all beef bologna. I cut the edges so that it forms a little flower shape and fry until brown and crispy. You have to have two pieces for each sandwich, so that you can place the cheese in between the two slices of bologna and place on the hot bologna on a piece of soft, smushy white bread spread with mayonaise (Duke’s is the best). Yummy! Now I need to go buy some bologna.

mom - Reply
1-24
5:41
pm

Great site. I just bought some extra thick bologna yesterday. I can’t wait for a fried bologna sandwich Im going to add this site as one of my favorites.

Cheryl :bananadance:

Cheryl - Reply
2-21
12:00
pm

YUM!! I love fried bologna sandwiches!! My husband thinks I’m insane and refuses to eat a fried bologna sandwich. He doesn’t believe me when I tell him he doesn’t know what he’s missing. Guess I’ll have to show him this post when he comes home. :elephant:

Lacey - Reply
2-21
12:53
pm

Blast from the past! I had forgotten about these. Loved them as a kid (and a California girl, no less). We didn’t make the cut in the bologna though so we got the cute sombrero effect. I’ve never made these for the kids. I thikn I need to hit the deli on my way home today!

Krista - Reply
2-25
12:24
pm

I just found this site today and I LOVE it. Back in my flower child days, I survived on bolonga, white bread and heinz 57 sauce sandwiches, along with banana sandwiches. Both are still guilty pleasures !

Deb - Reply
2-28
8:39
pm

My grandmother usually did the cooking for her son, my bachelor uncle, but she was in WV visiting my reat-grandmother, so I volunteered to make lunch. His favorite sandwich was fried balony on white bread with mayonaise.

My grandmother usually burned the balony, so I decided to treat my uncle to a gourmet balony sandwich, lightly browned. He ate the sandwich without comment. When I asked how he liked the sandwich he said it was pretty good, but not burned enough for him.

Go figure. I thought my grandmother just couldn’t brown the balony. Turns out I’m the one that didn’t know how to burn the balony. (It does have a nice, crispy, carmalized taste when you burn the edges.)

Kathy Russell - Reply
3-12
2:59
pm

My favorite way to eat a balogna sandwich is burnt with mayo. Sometimes I like a fried egg on it or even thinly sliced onion. My favorite cheese to put on it is colby. Adds that little extra tang. My mom hardly ever let us have balogna growing up… too much fat for her (and we all grew up in WVA, Once I got away from her clutches I had my fill of them and still do to this day.. Going on 41 years old and a fatty balogna sandwich has not killed me yet…… :rockon: Jeri from Newcomerstown Ohio

Jeri - Reply
3-25
8:55
pm

Fried bologna sandwiches ARE yummy, but just wait til you get those hens…..fried egg sandwiches are even better…. yee haw!

Jeanette Fields - Reply
4-22
7:12
pm

I ate enough Bologna growing up, to last a lifetime. LOL I like fried bologna with grilled onions on it and mustard on the bread!

Donna - Reply
5-2
9:56
am

:catmeow:

Fried bologna sandwichs are my hubby’s favorite. I am going to have to try the bbq trick!.

Amanda - Reply
5-8
12:30
pm

Yep great memories. I grew up in a home that even though my mom was a great cook (especially big country breakfasts), my dad did all the meals I considered special. Some of my favorites other than delicious fried baloney were in the winter going outside, gathering up some snow and making snowcream it is the best homemade icecream ever, some mornings before school he would heat up a chocolate frosted poptart then load it with a ton of butter melted then sprinkle with a ton of cinnamon and brownsugar-yum.On weekends my parents would use the big skillet and fry up homemade doughnuts. Hummmm I wonder why all of my siblings and me are all so overweight…..

Teresa from Louisville - Reply
5-13
3:16
pm

We grew up eating fried bologna sandwiches which were loaded with fried onions, maybe some green peppers and mustard. The Polish Steak sandwich special!

Cherie Thomas-Wood - Reply
6-24
3:41
am

I had a fried bologna sandwich today except with pre-packaged Oscar Meyer bologna. :( I don’t put in any BBQ sauce but I love to put BBQ chips in the sandwich for the crunch. This is my favorite lunch because it is so delicious despite how easy it is to make. I’ve been making them since I was tall enough to reach the stove.

spiral - Reply
8-1
9:08
pm

I am from Missouri and we had fried bologna sandwiches. We didn’t gussy them up as much as you have, but man talk about nostalgia!

Kelly - Reply
8-10
10:01
am

I am so happy I stumbled upon your website. It’s like meeting an old friend.
I grew up on fried bologna sandwiches and they are still one of my favorite foods. Here in Huntington, we favor Eatwell Bologna served with Snyder’s potato chips on Heiner’s bread.I leave off the bar-b-que sauce and cover it with Hellman’s Mayo and fresh homegrown Beefsteak tomatoes.No gourmet food even comes close.
I love your recipes and your pictures.
Also, I’m delighted to see that you are a cat lover like me. :cattail: :purr:

Shirley - Reply
9-10
2:19
pm

I read your blog often, but this is my first post.

I recently had gallbladder, hernia, and esophagus surgery and was unable to read your blog until today. Once I read the post, I was compelled to reply.

I am on a soft food diet and am very limited on my choices. :wall: Once people know this they asked what I miss the most, and they are shocked when I say a fried bolonga sandwich! To be specific-Kahns Deluxe Deli Bologna, Amish Colby and Wonder Bread…German bolonga is also good fried. It has a little spicer taste..

I am a Walton High graduate and am grateful for your page.

J.BIRD - Reply
9-24
7:24
am

I can remember fried bologna sandwiches with thick
slices of tomato! But my mom bought it in the uncut
version about 5-8 inches long, poured bar-b-que sauce
over it and baked it…it was really good! and it
went over really good at church suppers! This was
back in the 60’s!

robin - Reply
10-27
11:40
am

This is the classic sandwich served in Buffalo and that I grew up on. It is still my husband’s favorite and when visiting the Buffalo area you can be sure of a fried bolonga sandwich on the menu along with beef on weck and chicken wings. Can’t beat any of them.

Anne Holdaway - Reply
11-25
5:22
am

:love: :love: :love:

Cecilia Baidoo - Reply
1-25
11:06
am

I find the best oil for a fried balogna sandwich is olive oil

marc - Reply
3-7
5:08
pm

I fry two pieces of bologna per sandwich in butter, and saute some onions in the same pan. I serve my sandwiches on toasted bread, and when the bologna and onions are done I top off the sandwiches with mustard. YUM!!

Matt - Reply
5-13
5:56
pm

Hello there,
while watching the Oprah show and heard mentioned poor people bologna.

does anyone know what poor people bologna is, Oprah said she was suprised how many people of the audience knew.
Well I dont know I am native to Vienna Austria, grew up on foods with different names.

Thanks for your help

Doris - Reply
5-29
10:32
am

Hi Suzanne, I found your site yesterday from April at coalcreekfarm.com. (I linked over on making homemade vanilla extract and can’t wait to make it for my sister who is a bake-aholic.) I am enjoying browsing the archives and came across the fried bologna sandwiches. I was so happy to see it. My dad used to make them for us with a fried egg, bologna and american cheese on toasted white bread. What a fun memory! I grew up in suburban Minneapolis/ St. Paul and am proud to eat a “hillbilly sandwich”!

Nancy in MN - Reply