Fried Bologna

Not something I have very often but something, when thought about, makes my mouth water… fried bologna.

While researching the origins of fried bologna I came across this article in The Telegram; Hunting the origins of “Newfie Steak”. It’s widely known us Canadians like to make fun of ourselves and it’s plain to see in this write-up.

If you were wondering where bologna came from, there’s this…

The wild bologna may be fictional (or maybe not, it’s still unknown what the Sasquatch eats, and he may be real, too) but there’s nothing fictional about Newfoundlanders’ love of bologna.

Who knew bologna was so popular?

Of all the bologna sold by Maple Leaf across Canada — nearly six million kilograms — 60 per cent of it is sold in Atlantic Canada, or over 3.5 million kilograms and Newfoundland and Labrador accounts for 60 per cent of those sales. More than 2.1 million kilograms of bologna is eaten by half a million people every year.

Best part is we don’t even know why we like it!

An informal survey of local delis and meat shops found that nobody really seems to know why it’s so popular, although some suspect it’s because the meat was once the cheapest on store shelves. For many, it’s just something that was always on the table at home from the time they were kids.

For me, this is just good old comfort food. Something my dad cooked for us kids when mom wasn’t around. It’s actually available in several restaurants in Northern Ontario… not so much in the South. I like mine with fried eggs but most people prefer it on a sandwich.

Here are a couple recipes to try at home; there’s your basic Fried Bologna Sandwich from food.com, or from the Food Snob Chronicles, something a little more challenging; The old school Fried Bologna Sandwich.

Enjoy!

P.S. I know how to spell “bologna” but I alway say; “baloney”. I wonder why?