Fried bologna sandwich is both cowboy 'comfort food' and 'five-star dining'

For Kent Rollins, a fried bologna sandwich is just as good as a steak.

The longtime rancher grew up in Oklahoma and remembers eating bologna just about everywhere he went when he was a child.

"My dad called it red rind steak because we had it a lot," Rollins said in a Zoom interview with Fox News Digital. (See the video at the top of this article.)

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Now living in New Mexico, Rollins is host of the weekly "Cowboy Cooking" show on his YouTube channel, "Cowboy Kent Rollins."

It's not lost on Rollins that bologna isn't often the desired lunch meat of choice.

Kent Rollins of New Mexico holds a slice of bologna during one of his "Cowboy Cooking" shows on YouTube. (Cowboy Cooking/YouTube)

"I would rather eat a fried bologna sandwich than just bologna," Rollins said, which is why he devised a recipe that brings out its best qualities.

"This is not your typical bologna sandwich. This is five-star dining at its best for a sandwich."

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Rollins said bologna is a "comfort food" that "brings back a lot of memories" of his days working on a ranch. 

"And you just pack a sandwich with you, and it'd be that little-old thin bologna that you could hold up and read the newspaper through," he said. "I wanted something that was really hearty but wholesome. It would fill you up, but you think, 'Hey, this is not just regular bologna.'"

The fried bologna sandwich, says Rollins, is "hearty but wholesome." (Shannon Rollins)

Rollins said the beauty of a bologna sandwich is that it can be diversified in "so many ways."

"I'd just as soon eat one of these than go to the steakhouse most of the time," he said.

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Bologna is also "budget-friendly," Rollins pointed out. 

He recommends buying beef bologna for a "better-quality product."

"Really, if people would get back into it and try it this way, they'd think, 'Hey, this is not something we're ashamed to put on the table anymore,'" Rollins said.

Rollins shared his recipe with Fox News Digital in celebration of National Bologna Day on Oct. 24.

Smoked and Fried Bologna Sandwich recipe by Kent Rollins

Rollins is shown putting the finishing touches on his fried bologna sandwich. (Cowboy Cooking/YouTube)

Prep time: 5 minutes 

Total time: 35 minutes 

Servings: 2 sandwiches

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Ingredients

½ yellow onion

4 slices thick cut all-beef bologna

2 jalapeños

4 slices American cheese

Lettuce and tomato for topping

4 pieces Texas toast or thick-sliced bread of your choice

Sauce

1 stick of butter divided

½ cup mayo

½ cup Kent's Sweet & Spicy Hatch Chile Mustard or your favorite honey Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper

1 garlic clove minced

½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

1. Slice the onions into rings and place them in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add ½ stick of butter and let cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Let them cool and set aside.

3. In a small mixing bowl, add the mayonnaise, honey Dijon mustard, coarse ground pepper, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.

4. Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees. Add a few chunks of apple or cherry wood. Place the jalapeños and bologna on the smoker or on the indirect side of the grill. Let it smoke for at least 20 minutes.

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5. When the jalapeños are cool enough to handle, slice in half and remove the stems and seeds. Slice into strips and set aside.

6. Remove the bologna and place it in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and cook for about 2 to minutes a side or until brown around the edges. Place a piece of cheese on both slices of bologna.

Rollins recommends buying beef bologna for a "better-quality product." (Cowboy Cooking/YouTube)

7. Tip: Cut the bologna on the edges to keep it lying flat while frying.

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8. Meanwhile, spread butter on both sides of the bread. Lay on the grill and toast until golden brown.

9. Spread the mayonnaise mixture on both pieces of Texas toast. Add one slice of bologna, 1 slice of tomato, and top with another slice of bologna.

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10. Top that with the onions and sliced jalapeños and lettuce. Top with Texas toast and serve.

This original recipe is owned by Kent Rollins and was shared with Fox News Digital.