Fried Bologna & Other Southern Sandwiches
Southern Plate is more than just me typing and chatting away. In fact, YOU are the most important part of SouthernPlate.com. With that in mind, I hope you’ll take time to leave a comment and share your favorite sandwich from your childhood. See bottom of this post for more details! Gratefully, Christy 
When my mama was a girl they had a tradition of going out riding through the countryside on Sunday afternoons. They’d stop off at a little store to have thick slices of bologna cut off and made into bologna and cheese sandwiches. Pair that with a bottled drink and they were living high on the hog! “There just wasn’t anything like getting to ride in that car and look out the window while you ate a bologna sandwich!”.
This treat was passed down to my generation when we often sat down for lunch with a big loaf of bread and a stack of cheese slices in the middle of the table while Mama fried up bologna in a skillet. We’d each make our own sandwich and I’d make mine just like my brother did: Fried bologna, cheese, and potato chips settled in between two pieces of “loaf bread”.
Bologna sandwiches, sometimes referred to as “the poor man’s steak”, are such a part of our culture, they’re even used to gauge a person’s character. On the day we got married, my husband’s best man, Jim, had driven in a ways and was planning on staying overnight before heading back. He stayed with my Grandmother, who lived across the road from what was to be our new home. It had been quite a day with the wedding and reception and that evening Grandmama and Jim went out on her porch to relax and look out over the river.
For supper, Grandmama made the two of them bologna sandwiches.
To Grandmama, Jim and my husband represented a new generation, with a huge divide between folks her age and them. Grandmama had grown up dirt poor and picking cotton all of her life and here was this young man newly graduated from college with an engineering degree whose experience with her world had been nothing more than glancing at the cotton as the car went by. Its sometimes a little intimidating for folks who come from such humble backgrounds in situations like this, but when Jim accepted that bologna sandwich, it spoke volumes to Grandmama about the type of person he was at heart. Even now whenever he is mentioned she always chimes, in,
“That Jim is just a real good boy, he sat out there on the porch and ate a bologna sandwich with me”.
To make the sandwich from my childhood you’ll need: Bread, cheese, mayo…
and potato chips
My brother taught me the wonders of a potato chip sandwich over thirty years ago.
I think it almost made up for him cutting the entire side of my hair off a few years later.
Now we have to fry out bologna. I always cut a slit halfway through to keep it from curling up into a bowl as it fries.
I prefer Zeigler bologna because it is made in Alabama. I try to buy as close to home as I can because last thing we want is to end up relying on a company halfway across the country for our food supplies. I think it’s best to support local suppliers to ensure that you have local suppliers. Zeigler’s has been around for over seventy five years. Their main plant is in Tuscaloosa and our own highly respected Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant was once an owner of the company as well.
Reminder to all: I am not into football but Alabamians take their football very seriously.
So whatever team you are for, GO THEM!
You don’t need to spray your pan or anything, just put your bologna in it and cook it on medium, turning after it browns on one side. Some folks like there is just barely heated but I actually like a wee bit of black on mine
Note to myself: You use the word “actually” too much, stop it. Now. Seriously.
~sighs~
Oh lawd, that’s some good eatin’!
I always smoosh it a bit to crunch the chips down some
Grandmama, I’m a real good girl because I still eat bologna sandwiches!
A few posts back we got into a comment discussion on strange sandwich combinations we grew up on. It was a fascinating comment section and we all really got a hoot out of reading it. I’d like to devote this comment section to those sandwiches. What did you grow up on? What brands do you insist on and why?
Mayonaise sandwich? Mustard sandwich? PB and banana? Tell us all about it! Also, why do you think Southerners eat such strange sandwich combinations-ketchup sandwich, anyone?
I think it is due to lack of food. When food was scarce, you could put something between two slices of bread, call it a sandwich and then it suddenly seemed like a meal. What do you think?
If there is anything else you wanna talk about in the comments section, feel free to do that, too.
See someone else’s comment you wanna reply to? Go right ahead!
I consider this to be my big old porch and we’re all just a standing around visiting with each other.
Y’all keep the conversation going and I’ll keep the tea glasses filled!
We’re all family here anyways.
“The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.”
Submitted by Rebecca Hall. To submit your quote or read more, please click here.
I just love getting new positive quotes so thank you in advance!
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Posted by Christy Jordan
on Sep 22 2009. Filed under Main Course, Southern Classics.
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When I was little, my brother and I used to enjoy butter and sandwiches. Made with good ol’ white bread. But, when my mom was feeling rich, we got bologna sandwiches, with Miracle Whip, and again, white bread. I don’t think we ever used mayonnaise, it was always Miracle Whip. Mom used to say Miracle Whip is Southern. Don’t know if it is or not, but we all liked it.
Love bologna!! Growing up my dad introduced me to pineapple and sliced american cheese sandwiches with Bama mayo. They tasted so good with Lays plain potato chips. Also loved banana sandwiches but had to have the plain potato chips to go along with them.
Oh, my goodness….one of my favorites as a little girl, and sometimes, as an adult woman. You just reminded me of one of the things that my Daddy introduced me to. Mine was made with Miracle Whip, fried really nice and brown, without potato chips as we could not afford them. This is not just something that a gal from Alabama eats because I am from Texas. I need to put bologna on my shopping list for my next trip to the grocery as I remember how good that fried bologna was.
Thank you so much for all the great words of encouragement that go along with all the great, down-home recipes. May God Bless you and your beautiful family ALWAYS!!!!!!
Boy did this bring back memories – I still love fried bologna sandwiches with mayo, and big slice of homegrown tomato! Of course, homegrown tomato with lots of mayo, salt and pepper sandwiches were my favorite That’s rich living! My two brothers ate all types of sandwiches, and if we didn’t have anything else, just white bread and mayo – Blue Plate Mayo. Of course, if I ate banana sandwiches, I had to have plain potato chips, still do. My friends from the North turn up their noses at sandwiches with mayo on them. They just don’t know what they are missing. I’m glad I’m from the South – we have the best food!!!!!!!!!!!
You must have some crazy friends from the north! I was born and raised in Ohio and I would never dream of eating any sandwich without mayo! And I mean mayo (Hellmans) not that nasty old Miracle Whip!
I put bologna in my scalloped potatoes and have a bologna casserole. I just dice it up in the potatoes. My whole family loves this.
My all-time favorite Summer-time sandwich is tomato, made with fresh tomatoes from someone’s garden here in Alabama. Now to make it really GOOD, slather your bread with homemade mayo (which I make just for this sandwich). I grew up with this wonderful homemade mayo and Alabama tomatoes. Many of these sandwiches were stacked with slices of fried bacon and lettuce. Now this is what I call a “perfect meal”!!!
I still eat fried bologna sandwhiches, too!! Must have black on them!!
My dad was the king of weird sandwhiches. He would take whatever meat we had , roast beef, chicken, anything, put it on bread with mayo, pimento cheese, and then put it under the broiler. And, being the daddy’s girl I was, I tried every sandwhich he made!!
#1 by far is the good ol’ mater sandwich! The best of the best…can’t beat it with a stick. It goes without saying that they have to be made with white bread (or light bread as my grandma called it). We also would cut open a biscuit, smear it with some Miracle Whip, and add a slice of onion.
I think the reason we have such strange sandwich combos down here has to do with being po folks and having something that you could take to the fields for dinner. No cute little coolers back in those days.
BTW, I like my fried baloney a little on the dark side, too.
)
My meme always made one of three sandwiches for lunch for us Grandbabies when we stayed the weekends with her & Papa. Every Saturday, we always got either a grilled pimento cheese sandwich, a good ol homegrown ‘mater sandwich *with Duke’s mayo of course (Is there any other kind here in the south???), or a fried bologna sandwich with ‘mater & cheese if we were lucky!! Oh how I miss spending Saturdays with my Papa out in the garden & the yard! Those weekends were the best
I love bologna sandwiches. In elementary school, my best friend always brought lunch – bologna sandwich. She quickly grew tired of them so we would always swap lunches. YUM-O! We used to fry bologna and put some garlic powder on it. So good! I love BBQ sauce on white bread. Also, mayo sandwich – with a little bit of salt and some black pepper. Pineapple (slice) sandwich and if I was lucky, I could put a slice of ham on it. Pimento cheese (oh gosh, I love it) sandwich. Tomato sandwiches. Banana sandwich with mayo. Is there anything you can’t put between two pieces of bread?
Oh, and I put chips on my ham sandwiches. I put Doritos on my hamburger, if I have some available.
Bobby Flay has a hamburger on his menu at his burger place (Bobby’s Burger Palace) with chips on it and he calls it “crunchified”. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/crunchburger-aka-the-signature-burger-recipe/index.html
[...] to have unusual sandwiches in general (see, for instance, most of the comments on the post “Fried Bologna & Other Southern Sandwiches,” by Christy Jordan at the Southern Plate), and peanut butter-wise, this seems to include, [...]
All of these sound good to me. One of my favorites as a child was peanut butter and Miracle Whip on light bread. I also liked bologna with potato salad wrapped up in it.(a wrap before its time) I liked to dip it in catsup. Aren’t we all glad we are from the South.
I read this the other day and it brought back so many memories. I had to wait until last Wednesday to run out and get some bologna and white bread so I could make a sandwich. You see, I had to go to the doctor last Wednesday and check in. I am tryig to lose some weight and I didn;t want t mess things up. I told myself that if I had lost some weight, I would reward myself with a Bologna Sandwich. Not the best thing to do but that is what I did. I had lost 11 pounds and that was my reward. It tasted sooooooo goooood! I madeit just like Christy did with the exception that I added mustard and onions. I used Merita Old Fashioned bread. You know, the kind that sticks to the roof of your mouth. Well, today is Friday, the Bologna is gone, half of the bread is gone, a bag of potato chips is gone and I have to go back on my diet. It was so worth it though. Thanks Christy. I had forgotten all about Bologna and fried Bologna sandwiches. What a treat. If you all haven’t had one, you have missed out on one of the Southern great lunches.
My grandpa used to make a sandwich called the super duper. White bread, miracle whip, Jiff peanut butter, grape jelly, bologna, and American cheese. I like my fried bologna with cheese and peanut butter grilled like a grilled cheese. If I don’t fry the bologna I eat it with mayo mustard cheese and potato chips.
My bologna must be Kahns and my chips must be Mikesells, I too believe in supporting local business. I am from north of Dayton Ohio and you just don’t get any more Dayton than Mikesells! I love this blog, I have enjoyed reading through the stories and comments!
I LOVE fried bologne sandwiches! But my absolute favorite way was the way my daddy did them for breakfast, He would dice up that bologne and fry it till it was crispy then scramble an egg with it. We would toast some bread put a bit of mayo and a slice of cheese, wrap it in a paper towel and munch all the way to the bus stop! I still make them for my kids even though they are grown, can’t wait to make them for my new grandson when he’s ready!
I just got done eating a potted meat and mayo sandwich, my grandma use to make for me all the time when I was little. Now it was my mom who introduced me to another fav of mine , a sliced pineapple and mayo sandwich! Man we sure eat good down here in LA (lower Alabama) !
Y’all do eat good down there!! Maybe I should come for lunch one day!
Born in 1944 in WVa and grew up eating mayonnaise because Mom said that only poor people ate Miracle Whip. Back then, Miracle Whip cost a lot less than mayonnaise- but today that is not the case. Cold thick bologna with mustard, or fried bologna with tomato or onion or both with mayonnaise was the way we did it then. As I spend time caring for my 94 year young Dad, we have fried bologna and garlic sandwiches every week. This article made me remember us three boys and bread and Lay’s plain potato chips in the back of a pickup on our way to Camden Park. No seat belts in those days or restrictions of riding in the back of a pickup truck….I wonder sometimes how we made it. Thanks again for a wonderful article.
I remember when I was a little girl, my daddy used to eat onion sandwiches. They were made just like the tomato sandwiches he ate. Both slices of white “loaf” bread were spread generously with mayonnaise, then he would add a thick slice of Vidalia onion with plenty of salt and pepper. I thought it was “gross” until he talked me into trying it. Boy! Was it good! Of course, you can only eat onion sandwiches made with Vidalia onions because they were sweet, not strong or hot. I’ve always heard you could eat them like an apple, but I’ve never tried it! I also ate a PB and jelly sandwich with plain Lay’s potato chips on it every day for lunch from first grade to seventh grade!
I grew up eating sandwiches like fried bologna sandwiches and pineapple and mayo sandwiches, fried tater sandwiches with mayo and salt and pepper.
I remember rushing home from school to eat cold biscuits sliced with mayo and sliced onion on them that was shining times.
Yes!, I still love to eat, pineapple sandwiches, but my favorite has always been fried tater sandwiches!!
OMG! I’m so glad I slowed down long enough today to catch up on some of these recipes and comments. I was raised in the South, but now live just a few hundred miles north of the Mason Dixon and any time I’ve said the words “banana sandwich” you should see the eye rolls I get! Yall have just made my day! Frankly, I still eat them. And bologna, pimento, tomato, potted meat sandwiches? check, check, check and check!
My favorite sandwich is banana with mayonnaise on white bread. If I have fried bologna it has to be fried in vinegar.
Yay! Finally someone who understands! I was born in Florida and traveled a lot as a child. People always have me strange looks when I told them banana and mayo sandwiches were good.
The best fried bologna is served on light bread so fresh it sticks behind your front teeth when you bite into it.
Fried bologna, mayo and banana sandwiches on light bread.
I”m from Tabor City North Carolina……very small farm town.
Fried bologna, fried egg and cheese w/ lil’ k-up and mustard on grilled butter toast….man that’s good. Banana and Duke mayo sandwich with bacon bits. Or a thick slice of good ol’ Fried Spice Lunchuan meat and cheese sandwich. That is three of my favorite sandwich.
Christy,
I am new to your site, enjoy all, my son even gave me you cookbook for Christmas///
I have cooked for many years,(your grandmother category fits me).
My Mama always made me a sliced apple sandwich for school lunch,,,,white bread,,,mayo,,thinly sliced apple. Don’t remember any chips/
Christy,,,, sent one e-mail this am-where did it go??
Enjoy your “sites” so much,,living in Ga. now, graduated from Red Level,Al.
high school. Back to sandwiches, my Mama made apple sandwiches for my school lunch—–thinly sliced, placed on mayo on white bread.
I still eat fried bologna today. My brother likes peanut butter, bologna and a slice of velveeta cheese. One of my favorite sandwiches is a slice of a fresh garden tomato, a slice of vidalia onion, sliced cucumbers and Miracle Whip. My dad used to like jam sandwiches – two pieces of white bread “jammed” together.
we grew up on fried bologna and egg sandwiches. I still make them today and raised my kids on them! They thought they were just wonderful!
I grew up and still live in Texas. My momma always made us grilled peanut butter & jelly. You have the buttery crunch of grilled chesse, but the wonderful ooey gooey quality that comes from the PB&J. We also had fried green tomatoes and mayo on white bread. I love me some “samiches”!
love this site. reminds me of back home in Virginia. unfortunately I live up north now( not forever God willin) Your right there’s nothing like being from the south. we grew up on fried Bologna sandwiches and fried egg sandwiches also mater sandwiches. my babysitter back then made me a samich once that was white toast, American cheese, pickle relish and mustard. that was good eating to but I’ve never met anyone who’s had that samich. have you or anyone else on here had it?
when I was small, 50+ years ago, Momma made me and my brother bread and butter sandwiches with a little sugar sprinkled on them….just found your web-site and really enjoy it! Thanks!
We left the East Coast when I was young and ended up in California, but we grw up on Fried Bologna (MUST be black) on white bread, or, butter and sugar on white bread as “dessert.” In the summer, fresh tomato and Best Food’s mayo on white bread, and if you were REALLY poor, ketchup on white bread. My father said when he was a child in the depression, his mother found a dime in the street. They bought a jar of ketchup and a loaf of bread and had ketchup sandwiches all week and they were living high on the hog, feeling like Kings.
We ate fried bologne sandwiches (or fried hot dog sandwiches) when I waas growing uo, but I`m pretty sure we put plain yellow mustard on ours! ….but we also ate mayonnaise or mustard sandwiches…just white bread with mayo or white bread with mustard…we were weird like that! and even today (I`m 57 years old!) I want a mayo or mutartd sandwich at times,but, unfortuanately…. they just aren`t the same!
Also for a real treat, grandma made us sandwiches of white bread with her real butter and white sugar….yummy!!
I love reading your blogs/stories, by the way.
I don’t find that weird at all Margaret!!
Peanut butter, bologna, and miracle whip sandwiches. Heavenly
Hot dog split down the middle, peanut butter, and a slice of cheese. Microwave until warm and gooey. throw onto a slice of bread. Yummy
My all time favorite was peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches. Anyone else ever have these? Potato salad sandwich, and meatloaf sandwiches too.
No mustard or mayo for me. My Mawmaw would fry bologna (pronounced balony) in a cast iron skillet and she would cut a slit in it just like your photo shows. I would eat it on white bread either toasted or not toasted. There is something about bologna fried in an iron skillet that makes it taste so much better.
I have to agree Missy!!
I have always liked peanut butter with onion and peanut butter with potato chips, both on store-bought white bread. Now for bologna they have to be grilled like the cheese sandwiches with just a hint of mustard. The bologn must be the waxed type and thick sliced. Nothing else willdo.