Bologna is a poor man's steak as bologna was a common and affordable meal for the working class people, especially when in contrast with real steak.
Bologna is a simple food that is cheap and popular in regions like the Southern United States and the Appalachian, which is often served on bread or toast and sometimes with mustard and was a staple food in times of food scarcity.
Bologna as a poor man's steak is pan fried although some people eat bologna as is.
Bologna is made from a variety of meats which include chicken, beef and pork that is mixed with fat, salt, spices and some other seasonings.
The bologna is then cooked and smoked.
And the exact meat blend used in bologna and the specific flavorings in the bologna can also vary by region and manufacturer.
Some varieties of bologna contain emulsified meat scraps a well as additives to get the characteristic smooth texture.
Pork, beef, chicken or turkey are common ingredients in bologna, although some types of bologna like Lebanon bologna are 100 percent beef.
And some traditional varieties of bologna may also use organ meats, although these are not as common in grocery stores today.
A balance of fat is also incorporated into the bologna, to give the bologna it's indulgent flavor and texture.
And salt is used for seasoning and preservation and a proprietary blend of spices, like mustard seed, celery seed, coriander and paprika are also added to the bologna to enhance the flavor of the bologna.
And additives like sodium nitrite are also used in bologna to preserve the meat of bologna and give it color.
To make bologna, the meats are inspected and then they're ground down into very small and uniform particles to create a smooth and emulsified paste.
Then the ground meat is mixed with water, fat and the emulsifiers in a high speed machine to create a smooth batter.
Then salt, spices and other additives are blended into the meat mixture and the mixture is then pumped into a casing that may be natural or artificial and cooked, often with smoking to set the product.
After the bologna is cooked, it is then cooled down, stripped of it's casing and sliced and vacuum sealed for freshness.