Ground Bologna Spread with Pickles & Onions
This Ground Bologna Spread with Pickles and Onions recipe is a classic deli-style spread perfect for sandwiches or party dip. It’s flavorful and versatile, with ground bologna, tangy pickles, and crisp onions.
Serve it spread on crusty bread, on top of crackers, or use it to jazz up your favorite sandwich. It’s a simple and delicious way to enjoy the flavors of a deli sandwich in a convenient and spreadable form. Try this recipe for your next gathering or meal, and watch it become a crowd favorite!
Ground Bologna Sandwich Spread
If you’re from the Midwest, you’re most likely familiar with the regional lunchtime and picnic favorite ground sandwich spread. The spread is available and sold by the pound in almost every deli and Midwestern butcher shop. It’s an easy recipe with four common ingredients.
Making Ground Bologna Spread with Pickles & Onions at Home...
Making the spread at home was one of my all-time favorite activities as a kid. I remember the old-fashioned hand-crank meat grinder attached to the table’s edge, where I’d get to push chunks of ring bologna, pickles, and onions into the grinder’s throat, turning the handle to make the delectable spread.
Magically, the gadget ground pushed and extruded the ingredients through the tiny holes into the bowl—transforming the bits and their juices into a delicious combination that became even better when mixed with creamy, rich dollops of mayonnaise.
A taste-as-you-go interactive kitchen adventure
Every step of the interactive process, from tasting to mixing, was absolutely necessary to create just the right flavor combination—and what an experience it was. I think experiences like these taught me that some ingredient combinations are naturally meant to go together.
A refrigerator food staple
Growing up, we always had a ring of beef bologna in the refrigerator. Pickles and onions were also always in our pantry. Even though they were relatively simple ingredients, Mom never stopped mixing them into this delicious spread.
Mom served the spread as a quick lunch, a snack, or even to satisfy hungry guests who unexpectedly stopped in for a visit.
We called the spread “Ground Pickled Bologna” at our house. It wasn’t until I was grown, shopping for my family that I discovered that it was a marketable Midwestern product known by several other names depending on where you’d purchase it.
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The ground bologna meat spread with many names...
From Michigan to Wisconsin, Indiana to Pennsylvania, I’ve seen this spread sold in deli and butcher shops by a handful of different names. You might have seen or bought it as:
- Bologna & Pickle Spread: But of course.
- Pickle Wrap Spread: I’m guessing it has become more prevalent in recent years since wraps have become popular.
- Ham Spread or Ham Salad: Contrary to its name, upon querying the staff, there is no ham used in the recipe
- PM Sandwiches: I ran across this name used in Central Pennsylvania, where, according to the deli staff, it refers to anything made with pickles and meat.
- Funeral Spread: Given its name because sandwiches made with the spread often show up at the meal served during wakes.
And my personal favorite...
- Monkey Meat Spread: Before you run away, please know that no monkeys (were ever) harmed in making this spread. People gave the spread this endearing name because kids “go bananas” over it!
This brings to mind a catchy little tune that sticks in my head…
On a side note, maybe it’s just me, but the term ‘Monkey Meat’ reminds me of the “Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts” song my grandpa taught me over 50 years ago when I was a little girl.
You may recall it, too.
The song dates to the mid-20th century, and it’s sung to the tune of “The Old Grey Mare.” The words to the song are pretty gross, including the phrase ‘Mutilated Monkey Meat,’ although I’d admit that the words never grossed me out, and they were pretty easy to remember for a kid having fun with her grandpa.)
If you’re unfamiliar with the words and the song’s tune, you can find them HERE.
Regional recipe versions may also include other ingredients such as American cheese, cheddar cheese, or chopped hard-boiled eggs.
But that’s not where the story or the history ends...
During WW II,
Armour and Company, the largest producer of canned meat in America, supplied millions of tins of canned meat and meat spread for Army rations.
The Armour brand of Star Canned Meats was part of the 5-in-1 Ration carried by U.S. Armored Forces operations in enemy territory. This food ration provided soldiers, even during active fighting, with three balanced meals each day, mainly composed of canned and dehydrated foods.
Wartime Ads
Ads supporting the war effort encouraged loyal Americans to get along on less meat and “to seek only his fair share” and, – “For finest quality and flavor ask for Armour’s Branded Products. Star Canned Meats – Star Ham and Bacon, Star Beef, Veal and Lamb – Star Sausage – Coverbloom
The Great Depression
I am thankful for the Greatest Generation and all they sacrificed for our freedom and the American way of life. Whenever I hear the stories, I can only imagine what life was like growing up during the Great Depression. Being among those young people who came of age during World War II, those who fought in that war, or whose labor helped win it.
My parents, in-laws, and grandparents lived during that time when the world’s economy was intensely declining—when war shaped the lives and hearts of America’s young people through the hardships, conflicts, and devastation they experienced. It’s hard to imagine, in my life of plenty, what they not only lived through but also survived.
In war times, it was considered a treat...
I remember hearing stories about how this simple bologna, pickle, and onion spread was considered a treat and a fancy extravagance to those in our family at the time.
The sandwich spread consists of mayonnaise, pickles, bologna, and onion (ingredients I’ve always considered nothing remotely fancy). Yet, combined, they present an extraordinary mix of taste and flavor. It’s a simple combination that leaves you wanting to keep eating more, which explains why everyone immediately devours it upon serving.
With the sandwich spread’s German culinary roots and a great deal of German heritage in my family background, it doesn’t surprise me that this recipe would be a favorite meal made and loved for generations.
This spread's German heritage...
In Germany, the sandwich spread is called Fleischsalat and includes German ring bologna (aka “ring wurst”). I hear that it’s nearly as common as peanut butter.
Readily available in every German grocery store, the traditional version of Fleischsalat is simple with the bologna and pickles sliced thin (like julienne) in pieces about 1 inch long and about ÂĽ-inch wide.
To make it:
The German bologna and pickles are mixed with German mayonnaise, a little salt, and pepper to taste, then piled onto crusty rolls, baguettes, or artisan bread to serve.
Another German variation is Wurstsalat, a tart sausage salad prepared with distilled white vinegar, oil, and onions.
Generally made from boiled sausages like Lyoner, Stadtwurst, Regensburger (two types of cooked sausage), or Fleischwurst, the salad is a traditional snack enjoyed in southern Germany.
How to make the Wurstsalat
INGREDIENTS
1 pound German tart sausage, sliced into small strips
1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
6 small pickled gherkins, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tbsp liquid from the pickled gherkins
1 tablespoon cold water
2-3 tablespoons sunflower oil
salt, coarsely grounded pepper, mild paprika powder
INSTRUCTIONS
Add sausage, onions, and gherkins into a bowl and stir to combine.
Next, create a vinaigrette by combining the salt, pepper, paprika, oil, and other liquids in a small bowl. Whisk thoroughly before pouring over the sausage mixture. Stir to combine.
Finally, let the salad rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours, removing it from the fridge for 30 minutes before serving. Serve it with fried potatoes or fresh German bread.
An extraordinary mix of taste and flavor...
How to eat Ground Bologna with Pickles & Onions
Here in the American Midwest, our family enjoys using my recipe as a cracker or sandwich spread, a dip, a filling for cherry tomatoes as hors-d’oeuvres, or just sitting down and eating it straight from the bowl—it’s really that good!
If you’ve made a bologna or meat spread, I’m curious where you’re from and what you call it at your house. Let me know in the comments below.
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Ground Bologna Spread with Pickles & Onions
@ GfreeDeliciously
EQUIPMENT
- Meat Grinder or Food Processor
- mixing bowl
- Spoon or Rubber Spatula
INGREDIENTS
- 1 - 14 ounce gluten-free Beef Bologna 1 ring, casing removed
- 4 Dill Pickles approx. 4-inches long
- 1 medium Yellow Onion Skin removed. White onions can be used, but yellow onions are much more mild for this recipe.
- ½ cup gluten-free Mayonnaise Real Mayo, unsweetened
INSTRUCTIONS
- Grind bologna, pickles, and onion in a meat grinder or food processor into a medium-size bowl.
- After grinding, combine the ingredients, adding enough real mayo to moisten and make a spreadable consistency.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed.
YOUR OWN NOTES
KITCHEN NOTES
Serving Options:
- Serve as a sandwich on your favorite gluten-free bread.
- Spread on your favorite gluten-free crackers for a quick snack.
- Dip with your favorite gluten-free chips or vegetables.
- Fill cored and seeded cherry tomatoes for an easy appetizer.
Nutrition
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(Nutritional values are an approximation. Actual nutritional values may vary due to preparation techniques, variations related to suppliers, regional and seasonal differences, or rounding.)
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