The Easy Way To Make Bologna Burnt Ends

If you've never tasted burnt ends, they're little cubes of smoked meat usually made from brisket or pork — and over time, Kansas City's burnt ends became the ultimate barbecued meat. In a pinch, you can cut up hot dogs to make burnt ends on a budget, but high-quality burnt ends are absolutely doable, even if you're not using brisket or fancy pork. Bologna actually works great, too, and leads to an entirely different-tasting set of seasoned and sauced meat bits. You just have to do it right, which is why we spoke to Michelle Wallace, a renowned pitmaster and TV personality who also founded B'tween Sandwich Co.

Wallace said she's a big fan of using bologna for burnt ends, and her process is fairly straightforward: cut the bologna into cubes, season them with dry rub, smoke them at 225 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour, and toss them into sauce. Of course, it's not actually quite so simple, and there are lots of things to keep in mind with that dry rub and sauce. According to Wallace, "Bologna is already full of flavor so be sure to season with a mix that is complementary to your bologna and that has a lower salt content." Then, for the sauce, Wallace says, "I love a good barbecue sauce or honey-based sauce such as hot honey with Cajun seasonings, yellow mustard, and a touch of apple cider vinegar."

If you're one of those folks who sees bologna as a food for kids — and you've never tried making a grown-up bologna sandwich by cooking the bologna first — you might be wondering why smoking bologna is even worth your time. Michelle Wallace is a firm believer that both brisket and bologna burnt ends are delicious, but they can be very different dishes. Brisket burnt ends are made from brisket point and are rich and tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. Bologna burnt ends differ in texture and flavor, being made from pre-cooked and emulsified meat which often features a blend of pork, chicken, and beef.

According to Wallace, the result is something unique. "The flavor is smoky, salty and nostalgic. The texture is denser and bouncier due to the emulsification. It doesn't break down like brisket but the exterior forms a beautiful crispiness and the flavor deepens by the glaze that you use." Bologna and brisket burnt ends are identical in shape, though: they should be cubes. How do you cube your bologna, you ask? Wallace's strategy is to buy a whole log of bologna (The technical term for this is a "bologna chub") and slice it into inch- or inch-and-a-half-long slices before cutting it into cubes. Some people like to go with two inch bologna cubes, which will be more hearty, but ideally, your goal is to keep them bite-sized so you can get the most crisp, seasoned exterior flavor in every mouthful.