Rancher-turned-YouTube cooking show host says lunch meat is just as good as steak if done right
'Cowboy Cooking' host says this lunch meat is 'budget-friendly'
Kent Rollins, host of the weekly "Cowboy Cooking" show on his YouTube channel, reveals to Fox News Digital the "budget-friendly" lunch meat that he believes is better than the rest.
For Kent Rollins, a fried bologna sandwich is just as good as a steak.
The longtime rancher grew up in Oklahoma and remembers eating bologna just about everywhere he went when he was a child.
"My dad called it red rind steak because we had it a lot," Rollins said in a Zoom interview with Fox News Digital. (See the video at the top of this article.)
CHEF ANDREW ZIMMERN HUNTS, COOKS WILD ANIMALS, CREATES RECIPES 'FOR ANYBODY' WATCHING HIS SHOW
Now living in New Mexico, Rollins is host of the weekly "Cowboy Cooking" show on his YouTube channel, "Cowboy Kent Rollins."
It's not lost on Rollins that bologna isn't often the desired lunch meat of choice.
Kent Rollins of New Mexico holds a slice of bologna during one of his "Cowboy Cooking" shows on YouTube. (Cowboy Cooking/YouTube)
"I would rather eat a fried bologna sandwich than just bologna," Rollins said, which is why he devised a recipe that brings out its best qualities.
"This is not your typical bologna sandwich. This is five-star dining at its best for a sandwich."
COWBOYS FANS CAN TRY 'FRITOS SUNDAE' AT HOME GAMES ALL SEASON LONG
Rollins said bologna is a "comfort food" that "brings back a lot of memories" of his days working on a ranch.
"And you just pack a sandwich with you, and it'd be that little-old thin bologna that you could hold up and read the newspaper through," he said. "I wanted something that was really hearty but wholesome. It would fill you up, but you think, 'Hey, this is not just regular bologna.'"
The fried bologna sandwich, says Rollins, is "hearty but wholesome." (Shannon Rollins)
Rollins said the beauty of a bologna sandwich is that it can be diversified in "so many ways."
"I'd just as soon eat one of these than go to the steakhouse most of the time," he said.
DOLLY PARTON AND HER SISTER SHARE THEIR 'SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE' RECIPE: 'PERFECT FOR THE FALL'
Bologna is also "budget-friendly," Rollins pointed out.
He recommends buying beef bologna for a "better-quality product."
"Really, if people would get back into it and try it this way, they'd think, 'Hey, this is not something we're ashamed to put on the table anymore,'" Rollins said.
Rollins shared his recipe with Fox News Digital in celebration of National Bologna Day on Oct. 24.
Smoked and Fried Bologna Sandwich recipe by Kent Rollins
Rollins is shown putting the finishing touches on his fried bologna sandwich. (Cowboy Cooking/YouTube)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 2 sandwiches
BOAR'S HEAD DITCHES LIVERWURST, A ONCE-POPULAR SANDWICH STAPLE THAT AMERICANS NO LONGER STOMACH
Ingredients
½ yellow onion
4 slices thick cut all-beef bologna
2 jalapeños
4 slices American cheese
Lettuce and tomato for topping
4 pieces Texas toast or thick-sliced bread of your choice
Sauce
1 stick of butter divided
½ cup mayo
½ cup Kent's Sweet & Spicy Hatch Chile Mustard or your favorite honey Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
1 garlic clove minced
½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
1. Slice the onions into rings and place them in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add ½ stick of butter and let cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Let them cool and set aside.
3. In a small mixing bowl, add the mayonnaise, honey Dijon mustard, coarse ground pepper, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.
4. Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees. Add a few chunks of apple or cherry wood. Place the jalapeños and bologna on the smoker or on the indirect side of the grill. Let it smoke for at least 20 minutes.
5. When the jalapeños are cool enough to handle, slice in half and remove the stems and seeds. Slice into strips and set aside.
6. Remove the bologna and place it in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and cook for about 2 to minutes a side or until brown around the edges. Place a piece of cheese on both slices of bologna.
Rollins recommends buying beef bologna for a "better-quality product." (Cowboy Cooking/YouTube)
7. Tip: Cut the bologna on the edges to keep it lying flat while frying.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
8. Meanwhile, spread butter on both sides of the bread. Lay on the grill and toast until golden brown.
9. Spread the mayonnaise mixture on both pieces of Texas toast. Add one slice of bologna, 1 slice of tomato, and top with another slice of bologna.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle
10. Top that with the onions and sliced jalapeños and lettuce. Top with Texas toast and serve.
This original recipe is owned by Kent Rollins and was shared with Fox News Digital.
Peter Burke is a lifestyle editor with Fox News Digital.
