My first exposure to smoked bologna was thanks to member Kevin Taylor on The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board. He shared this photo of a 4-pound wheel of bologna that was cored in an “X” pattern, filled with barbecue sauce, plugged, rubbed, and smoked for four hours in the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.
OK, that smoked bologna is not for the faint of heart!
Here’s one I did on October 14, 2019 that’s a bit easier. You’ll be surprised how fun, easy, and delicious it is to smoke bologna in the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker!
Video: Smoked Bologna
This video provides additional details on the method described in this article.
Purchase The Bologna
Purchase a 2-4 pound chub or half-chub of bologna. Some say that cheaper bologna makes better smoked bologna; I’ll leave that up to you. I bought a good brand of beef bologna from the deli counter at Safeway; the one shown here weighed 3-1/3 pounds.
Prepare The Bologna
Score the bologna in a diamond pattern, like you’d do for a ham, maybe 1/8″ deep.
The bologna surface will open along the cuts in a controlled fashion, otherwise it may split open in ways that aren’t so pretty.
Apply a thin coat of yellow mustard on all sides and apply a generous amount of your favorite barbecue rub. I used a simplified DIY version of Slap Yo’ Daddy All-Purpose Rub using Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning as a base.
Fire-Up The WSM
Fire-up the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker using the Minion Method. Light 20-40 briquettes using a Weber chimney starter and spread them over one chimney of unlit Kingsford Charcoal Briquets.
Place the empty water pan in the cooker and the bologna on the top cooking grate. Add 1 fist-sized chunk of apple smoke wood or another mild wood on top of the hot coals.
Set the top vent 100% open and leave it that way throughout the entire cooking session. Start with all three bottom vents 100% open. When the cooker temperature hits 250°F measured at the lid, set the three vents to 25% open. Allow the cooker to come up to 250-275°F, adjusting the bottom vents as necessary to maintain that temperature range.
Smoke The Bologna
Smoke the bologna for 2-4 hours, depending on weight. I smoked the 3-1/3 pound half chub shown here for 4 hours. Rotate the bologna 180° halfway through the process for even cooking. Once the crust is set on the surface, feel free to spritz every 30 minutes or so; I spritzed the surface with water a few times starting 2 hours into cooking, just to prevent it from drying out too much.
When done, remove from the cooker, brush with a favorite barbecue sauce for color and shine, and let rest until cool enough to handle and slice. I used a DIY version of Slap Yo’ Daddy All-Purpose Easy Sauce.
Enjoy The Bologna!
You can cut smoked bologna into thick slices for sandwiches; the one shown here consists of two slices of pan-fried smoked bologna with melted American cheese, a toasted potato bun, Dijon mustard/mayonnaise spread, shredded lettuce, and topped with crunchy kettle potato chips.
Another suggestion is to cut the bologna into cubes and pile them in a bowl with a dipping sauce on the side. A quick and easy appetizer, just add toothpicks!
Finally, you can cut the chub into quarters and then into slices and serve with crackers and a honey mustard sauce.
Smoked bologna—give it a try in your Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results!
Smoked bologna photo: 2002 by Kevin Taylor
