IDEAS IN FOOD: Fried Bologna Sandwiches

I have this long held fascination with fried bologna sandwiches. I am an avid reader. Long ago a I read series of books (The Mitford series, in case you were wondering, there are some great food descriptions in those books) where one of the characters had a thing for fried bologna sandwiches. The idea of these sandwiches teased my imagination. They were presented so matter of factly, as though everyone should know what they are, although I had never come across them before. At the time I couldn't imagine frying bologna and I would idly wonder whether they fried the bologna or if the sandwich itself was fried. Research has taught me that in most cases you fry both and that there endless variations of this sandwich with passionate fans of each version. Still I never actually tasted one until today.

I had egg sandwiches on the brain this morning and for unknown reasons I reach for the bologna. I set a small skillet over medium heat, glazed the bottom with butter and lay slices of bologna in the fat to sizzle and curl. Fried bologna is pretty awesome. It has a rich, bouncy quality on your palate and a deep, almost funky flavor. It was perfect in the egg sandwich, so much better than ham or bacon. The roll may look large, but it flattens out with the first bite, compressing around the sandwich filling without taking center stage. Add some American cheese and ketchup and you've got a pretty well-rounded sandwich. Amaya ate hers in complete, concentrated silence, leaving nothing behind but a few sesame seeds and some crumbs. That's how I knew for sure I had a winner.