This lunchtime and picnic favorite is available by the pound in some variation in just about every deli and butcher shop in the midwest. This is one recipe you can make ingredient-by-ingredient, tasting as you go, creating your own flavor, and using different brands and various flavors of each of the ingredients.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Course: Sandwiches
Cuisine: American, German
Keyword: bologna, bologna & pickle, fleischsalat, funeral salad, ground bologna, ham salad, ham spread, monkey meat, pm sandwiches, sandwich, spread
Equipment
Meat grinder, manual
Glass dish, 8" x 8"
Mixing bowl, large
2-quart Storage container
Ingredients
1-1/2lbBologna, ring or bulk, unslicedGerman, not Dutch
2 - 3eaGherkins, sweet
3ea1/8" slices yellow onion, medium
1cupMayonnaiseDuke's or Hellmans
2tspMustard, yellow prepared
Salt & pepper(optional)
Instructions
If using ring bologna: Remove any strings or clips off the ends. Cut the bologna into 4 sections for easier handling. Slit one side of each section lengthwise and remove the casing.
Install discs onto the front of the meat grinder for a fairly small grind and grind the bologna into the glass dish. After digging the rest of the bologna out of the grinder, dump the bologna into the mixing bowl.
Finely-chop the sweet pickles till you have about 1/2 cup, and then do the same with the slices of onion. Add the chopped pickle and onion to the ground bologna in the mixing bowl, then add the mayonnaise and mustard and mix it all together till it’s smooth. Taste it, adding some salt and pepper to punch up the flavor if necessary.
Transfer it to the storage bowl and refrigerate the spread until it’s ice cold. Use a fork to put a layer of spread about 3/8″ thick (my kids like it about 1/2″ thick on a slice of white bread, then close with another slice. Serve with kettle-cooked potato chips or steaming-hot French fries.
Notes
Koegel’s bulk bologna from a 10-lb chubb or original-flavor ring bologna are the preferred choice. The garlic or pickled varieties also make for an interesting flavor. Other brands from other “real” German meat suppliers may be acceptable substitutes.
While it’s possible to grind the bologna in a food processor, a better texture is created using an old-fashioned hand-driven meat grinder. These are available in specialty and antique shops, commercial food equipment dealers, and the cooking section of stores such as Cabela’s in Dundee, Michigan.
Both Nehring’s Market and Grandma Joyce used Miracle Whip dressing instead of the mayonnaise. She also ground the pickles and onions through the grinder instead of chopping them separately. Grinding the pickles and onions also squeezes their juices into the ground bologna, which adds an interesting touch to the already tangy flavor of the Miracle Whip dressing. Oddly enough, she liked my version better, even though she insisted on using Miracle Whip for her own batches!