My Bologna Has A First Name. . .

Breakfast, Tuesday March 21: PigCowChicken (english muffin bread, egg, trail bologna, swiss cheese).

So there is this bologna that is a staple in north central Ohio where Alexis is from. She calls it trail bologna (pronounced baloney, of course). Growing up in the south I had never seen the like. It looks like a very long polish sausage bent in on itself to form a ring (more on that in a minute). The texture on the other hand is definitely not that of the typical smoked sausage. It is fine textured like the large diameter bologna I grew up on. It has a different spice palette, but it is bolgna just the same. It is great with cheese and crackers or as a breakfast meat like in the photo above.

I made alexis a sammich with the above ingredients and some ohio swiss. I also made one to share with a co-worker. It is a small thing. It costs almost nothing and the time spent to make two is not much more than the time spent to make one. There will always be someone who skipped breakfast, and will be very appreciative.

Now for the amusing part. Alexis and her family and as far as I can tell everyone she knows have always called it trail bologna. When I inquired I was told that's just what it is called. So for years I assumed that it was the meat equivalent of trail mix. (It very well could be but that is not germaine to my story.) I've been calling it trail bologna for quite some time. On a recent trip to the region, we procured some of the product. This time i did something I had never before. I read the label. Turns out that the style of this smoked meat is "ring bologna" and, wait for it, the stuff is made in Trail OH. Since I have been inculcated I will probably continue to call it trail bologna. Whatever you call it, it's tasty.