A bologna question for Amish country folks.
 

Yes, REALLY un-SVX. But since we seem to have a vast number of SVXers from Amish country..... My Dad's family was from Spring Grove, PA. Lebanon bologna was always standard fare in the fridge as I was growing up, & it's been sold in east coast markets forever. There's a sweet variety commonly available. I stopped in & bought some last week at an Amish market in MD. Something about the taste triggered a memory. Once in a long while ago, we would return to the Spring Grove area to visit a distant farmer cousin who made his own bologna. It looked & tasted much like the sweet Lebanon variety, but rather than being "soft & floppy" (I won't go there, if you won't), it was hard, & textured much like a Genoa salami. It could be sliced razor thin, & was delicious. I think this distant cousin said it was air dried. I've never seen this variety sold anywhere, & have lost track of said cousin. Any of you PA folks know what I'm looking for, & where to find it?

Ron (will trade automotive advise for free Amish food).

Ron - if you find it and send me some, I will tell you if it is good or not. :D

(Earl who is always trying to help Ron out. Pass the box o wine! :D )

Ring Bologna? About an inch and a half in diameter??

Should be able to pick it up in any grocery store in southern PA.

Enjoyed Amus' bologna did ya Ron?:D You're looking for hard Lebanon Sweet bologna am I right or the stuff you got in Md was hard? I know of NOTHING in Lancaster Co that you can actually get sliced thin. Even when I ask for thin it still comes out a 1/16" of an inch think!

No, this wasn't ring bologna. It was the "standard" 4" roll like lebanon, with the same dark appearance with fatty flecks in it. But it was hard, more like a salami. The stuff I got in MD was the soft variety. Maybe it was a private recipe, but someone, somewhere must have stumbled upon something similar - especially our crowd here who specialize in boloney, just as I do.

Ron (maybe we need a PA Dutch SVX lunch meet).

I get mine from Shady Maple and they slice it pretty thin for you there. Of course I end up eating most of it subconsciously while standing at the fridge wondering what to have for dinner. I've never seen the hard variety though. I'll keep an eye out and if I run across any, I'll be sure to let you know Ron.

Most of the folks I know around here put cream cheese in it and serve it as finger foods. I tried it once, and it's not bad, but i'm not a cream cheese person. Although I must say when filled with pineapple cream cheese it's actually quite delicious....

Ron, I've grown up in Lebanon, PA and have never encountered a hard, sweet bologna. Regular Lebanon bologna can be found fairly hard but the sweet variety is generally soft to firm in comparison but I've never had the hard variety you described. There is also a variety of "honey" lebanon bologna that is truly kick-ass! I've found that Swetzer's(?) makes the best Lebanon bologna.

The best sandwich I can imagine is a simple one made of Lebanon bologna, crisp leaves of iceberg lettuce, & mustard all on slices of fresh, just out of the oven bread. Mmmm, mmmm!

If you can get a subshop to make you a hoagie with Lebanon bologna you gotta try it!

-Johnny (unlike lebanon bologna I'm always sweet and occasionally hard...to live with)

Hmmmmm.......Maybe cousin Elmer's "special" air dried variety became so due to its getting lost under the floorboards of his barn for 10 years. Well, thanks anyway, guys for trying, & if anyone comes across this stuff, bring it to Reading. I'll bring the cream cheese & complimentry Carlo Rossi.

Ron (remember, lebanon bologna is Atkins approved).

Ron,
I'm just now getting in on this thread, but, what you're talking about sounds alot like venison bologna. Was it packed in a cheesecloth casing and smoked? My grandfather would occasionally make this and would hang it in the smokehouse with his country hams. Seemed to be more a "personal" thing than something you'd find in the grocery.

Ron,
Check out this site:

https://www.seltzersbologna.com/Stor.../IAFDispatcher

I grew up just outside of the "Lancaster County Dutchy" area in Morgantown, but actually prefer the Bologna made in the heart of the "Lehigh Valley Dutchy" area.
If you haven't tried it yet, try Kutztown Regular Bologna. I eat most of it right out of the bag. :D


btw: My Last name is Martin and my mother was a Stoltzfus... Maybe I should paint my Pearly White '92 a nice flat black???

I'd Beat you!!!!!!!!!Beat you silly!!!!!

LOL! :D

[
If you haven't tried it yet, try Kutztown Regular Bologna. I eat most of it right out of the bag. :D



Bologna in a BAG!?!? What's next - wine in a BOX????

Lawd, spare me.

Ron (of epicurian tastes.).

No cheesecloth that I remember. Ya' know Randy, this stuff COULD have been venison, which would account for the sweet taste, or it could have been 'possum, muskrat or weasel, knowing the resources of my ancestors.
Guess I need to find a personal bolognist.

Ron (sausage - don't ask, don't tell).