Baloney (bologna) roll-up try

[teebob2000]

Hi all - this ain't made with homemade baloney, hope I don't get kicked out of the forum for cheating!!  

I found this recipe through Jeff Phillips' e-mail newsletter this past week and it sounded interesting so I'm giving it a try with a few minor changes.  Never smoked anything like this before, I'm usually a brisket/butt man.  hehe  Probably the main change is I replaced his sliced jalapeno pepper with poblanos, due to the fact that I'm making this for a small crowd and didn't want to burn up (or exclude) anyone who can't handle hotter peppers.  Plus, I prefer the taste of poblanos anyhow, especially when roasted.

Ingredients:

• 3 lb chub of beef baloney
• 8 oz cream cheese (at room temp)
• 1 cup shredded sharp scheddar cheese
• 3 poblano peppers
• 1/3 lb thinly sliced deli ham
• 1/4 cup homemade BBQ sauce (ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire, molasses, cayanne, paprika)
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard

First step was to spiral cut the baloney lengthwise which proved kind of difficult.  I left it out of the fridge for about a half hour, thinking that it would soften up and be more pliable and less likely to break up, and cut it very slowly.  Thought wrong!  If I make another attempt, I'd probably put it in a low oven (like 200F) for 10 or 15 minutes before trying to cut.  If anyone's done something like this and has a suggestion, I'm happy to have it!

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

As you'll see from the pix it split into a few pieces.

First I roasted the poblanos on medium heat on my grill, turning every 5 minutes or so until the skin blackened.  Pulled them off and sealed it tightly in a foil pouch.  After 20 minutes I peeled off the blackened skins, cut open and removed the seeds, then cut them in about 3/4-inch wide strips lengthwise.

I combined the softened cream cheese and cheddar cheese, and the BBQ sauce and mustard.

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

Next step is to layer on the fillings.  First, the cheeses.  Then laid on the peppers, the ham slices, and the Q sauce/mustard.

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

I had anticipated the roll possibly breaking up, so I figured my best bet was to use long skewers.  I soaked a half dozen wood skewers overnight to help prevent burning on the smoker.  Because it's full of good sticky stuff, the roll held together pretty well which I was happy about.  I set it up on end and skewered it to hopefully hold it together!  I've put it on a small metal platter I covered with foil for putting on the smoker so everything doesn't run out the bottom.

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

If nothing else, it's colorful!!  I've got it chilling in the fridge now and I'm going to smoke it in a couple hours using pecan wood.  More views to come later!

Tom

 

[driedstick]

That's some good looking stuff bologna cant wait to see it when it is done

 

[DanMcG]

you got stock in the toothpick/skewer company? lol
Like the way you think, and looking forward to what you think of the end product

 

[teebob2000]

OK... well...  it's off the smoker and done.  I'm not sure now exactly how to serve it!!???  Do you leave a knife and let people cut off chunks??  LOL  Oh well, maybe we'll make it a contest at the party:  "how do you serve the baloney?"  Wait, that sounds dirty...

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• teebob2000
• Feb 3, 2013

Anyway, it smells FANTASTIC!!  I'll let you know how it goes at the party!

 

[johnnie walker]

teebob, that looks awesome! Kind of like a porcupine baloney.

I saw this in Jeffs last newsletter and need to try it myself.

 

[teebob2000]

Well, the baloney roll-up was the hit of the party!!!  Of course, everyone asked, "what is it????"  When I said what was in it, they all said, "that sounds good!"  And it was amazing!!!  The blend of flavors is great.  I think especially the poblano (if I do say so myself) is a good choice, especially if you're playing to an audience that can't necessarily tolerate a lot of heat.  The fire-roasting mellows it out nicely.

For serving we sliced it vertically and cut the pieces into sections.  It mostly sticks together when removing the skewers while slicing, you just need 2 hands.  More than one person stood in front of the snacks table with forks munching right off the platter!  LOL  I will say there's a LOT of food there! We have probably half of it left over, even with a dozen people eating it at the party.  But with 10 or so other snacks to choose from there was a LOT of food there.

I'll definitely try it again, though might use a 2 lb hunk instead of 3 lb and cut the smoke time down to 90 minutes instead of 2 hours maybe?  Otherwise it was spot on!!  

EDIT:  forgot to mention, 3 people took pictures of the roll-up before we could cut it up!!  I thought that was hilarious and that people like us are the only weirdos who take pictures of food!  LOL

 

[themule69]

looks great. last night my wife said after she is gone. no one will know what she looks like. but they will know what we have been eating.

happy smoken.

david

 

[driedstick]

Very Nice You said you smoked for 2hrs what temp are you using? Thanks

 

[mrsalesguy]

Maybe a bacon weave wrapped around the whole thing would help it stay rolled up tighter!? Plus... a nice crispy bacon crust .... YUM

 

[teebob2000]

Very Nice You said you smoked for 2hrs what temp are you using? Thanks

I started out around 225F, but I think because my pecan chunks were smaller, they flared up a couple times and it ended up probably closer to 260F for most of the 2 hours.  In addition to the smokiness it had a nice browning to it.  I think I'd aim for the higher temp from the start next time.

 

[pgsmoker64]

Nice lookin' baloney teebob!

Might have to give that a try and risk the wife's wrath and eye-rolling festival - - 

 

[teebob2000]

Thanks, care to rephrase that, Bill??  

It was fun to try something totally new for me.

 

[boykjo]

That looks aweswome.......

 

 

[driedstick]

Thanks Tee, my fridge smoker only goes to 220 so I may have to go longer.

 

[venture]

No need to apologize about the baloney!

Reminds me of a big farm operation here.  Every year they serve a free appreciation lunch on their property. It is for their customers and suppliers, employees, almost anyone associated with their business.  Hundreds of people go to it.  Supposedly by invitation only, but they don't check fingerprints at the door.

All the usual picnic stuff.  Very informal.

The star of the show?  Fried baloney sandwiches on plain old white bread.  Baloney cut about 3/4 inch thick off the chub.

Seconds are available, but the line is long.

No booze.  Family friendly.  Great fun for all!

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[teebob2000]

Hey Merv.  I cheated a little and carved off about a 1/2-inch thick slice from the chub before smoking and fried that up.  It's been a while since I fried some good quality baloney and it was awesome!!

 

[humdinger]

Great job Teebob. I got the newsletter too and thought it looked great, but had the same concern too, "How do you serve that thing?" Balogna is as popular around here as it is anywhere else, especially Garlic Balogna, but I've never seen it prepared like that so I am excited to take it to a party like you did. Seems like a real "show-stealer". Thanks for the inspiration.

BTW, any special instructions on frying balogna? Do you dredge and batter it? What kind of oil? thanks.

 

[teebob2000]

Hey Kurt - I'm telling you, it's an attention-getter at a party!  I ended up with about half left over that we've been picking at since Sunday, cut up into chunks and thrown in the microwave.  Mmmmm!!

For frying bologna I just use a dry frying pan, no dredge/coating or oil, over med heat until it starts to get a char and then flip it!  That's it.  Definitely NOT gourmet-level difficulty.  LOL

 

[humdinger]

Hey Kurt - I'm telling you, it's an attention-getter at a party!  I ended up with about half left over that we've been picking at since Sunday, cut up into chunks and thrown in the microwave.  Mmmmm!!

For frying bologna I just use a dry frying pan, no dredge/coating or oil, over med heat until it starts to get a char and then flip it!  That's it.  Definitely NOT gourmet-level difficulty.  LOL

I think I'm going to spiral cut it like you did, then make 1 inch deep slashes perpendicular on the top so it blossoms.

Wow that's it for fried bolgna? Sounds easy enough, thanks!

 

[Dutch]

teebob-nice job on the bologna!  Next time you do this, use a thin, narrow blade like a fillet knife. The narrow width will allow you to make the tighter turns without having to worry about the baloney breaking on you.

Another way to do this would be to start your slice, keep the knife parallel to the cutting board at the thickness you want and make your slices while "unrolling" the baloney.