How to Smoke Bologna

This lip smacking tender Smoked Bologna knocks your socks off on the first bite. Not only is this super simple to make, it makes for an incredible dish for your cookouts and tailgating.

Whether you choose to eat this bologna sliced plain off of the chub, grilled up and added to sandwich makings or made into bite sized pieces of Bologna Smoked Ends (think Pork Burnt Ends but with bologna) this recipe is just a blast to make and so delicious to eat. We like to serve this on game days in front of the big screen with Smoked Brisket and Beer Queso, Beer Corn Crack Dip or a big batch of Smoked Trout Dip (spoiler alert: this one never has leftovers!)

🍽️ Why This Works

Simple | This is a great simple recipe that yields such positive results so beginners and expert grillers alike are going to love smoking this.

Great for Entertaining | Why not bring back all of those B-O-L-O-G-N-A memories (do you hear the commercial in your head?) at your cookout. We’ve made this recently for a 4th of July weekend cookout and it was a recipe that brought up so many memories.

Versatile Ways to Smoke | The directions are pretty simple and the magic can happen when you decide to change of the base recipe and make it your own. Change up the sauce or the rub and this recipe will be completely different each time. Also consider changing the smoking wood as that will determine how strong the smoke flavor will be.

🥩 Ingredients

Bologna Chub – Just ask your Deli section in the store for the whole block. The chub usually comes in at five pounds and the clerks like it that they don’t have to cut it for you. This cut is made up of beef, veal and pork all emulsified into one big chunk.

Dry Rub – The dry rub would fall right off of the bologna if you didn’t use the binding agent. You can use any rub you like for this recipe to turn out beautifully. It won’t have an overpowering flavor.

Binding Agent – For this one, we used a combination of BBQ and mustard. You’re not going to taste much of it, nut you need the moisture for the dry rub to stick. You can choose to combine it as we did or to use either ingredient on its own.

🔥 Instructions

Step One: Remove the plastic wrap and the red liner from the bologna. Carefully cut ¼” slits along the sides at about one inch intervals to form a diamond pattern. As the bologna smokes, it will separate slightly along these slits.

Step Two: Combine the BBQ sauce and mustard together and rub it liberally on the bologna. Make sure to cover the two ends as well. You can make your own BBQ sauce like Beer BBQ Sauce or Smoked Pumpkin Bourbon BBQ Sauce.

Step Three: Sprinkle the rub over the entire chub. You probably don’t even need to pat it down to get it to stick, but if you do, make sure to press gently straight down and don’t smear it.

Step Four: Preheat the grill to 250 degrees on indirect heat. For a gas grill, turn off the center burners. For the kamado style, add a plate setter. Add some smoking chips. We love to use our own homemade fire starters to get the grill started quickly.

Note: Don’t worry too much about what kind of smoking chip you use. I still prefer a mild flavor from Cherry, but this is a great opportunity to try the mesquite or hickory. The smoke will only penetrate the outside ¼” or so, so a stronger flavor will work extremely well!

Step Five: Let the bologna smoke for 2-4 hours. Since the meat is precooked, you don’t need to worry about getting it to a certain temperature for food safety concerns. Look at the outside and when it is dark and almost crispy, remove it. Look for the exterior to have a slight “bark”, if you are wanting the exterior to be almost crunchy.

Step Six: With 30 minutes remaining, brush on the BBQ sauce glaze. This will take ½ – 1 cup of sauce. Brush all over the bologna and allow it to continue smoking for 30 more minutes before removing it from the smoker.

Step Seven: Slice this thin if you want to use this for sandwiches, or thicker chunks if you plan on turning this into burnt ends. If making sandwiches, slice this up and put on buns with mayo, lettuce, tomatoes and serve. I like to throw the slice back on the grill like shown in the photo below.

❗ Expert Tips

Choose your wood based on how much smoke you like. If you prefer a softer smoked flavor, stick with fruit woods. If you like a bold smoke kick, make sure to pick up a bag of mesquite or hickory. The bologna doesn’t smoke the entire way through so it’s just the outer crust that really gets the smoked flavor.

If your bologna has a red coating or wrap on it, remove it before starting the instructions.

Look for other mustards at the store to use instead of yellow mustard. Consider spicy or Dijon. The spicy mustard will give the exterior a little bit more kick.

Consider wrapping it in bacon like we did the Smoked Pork Tenderloin and adding the rub and sauce over it.

If you see a garlic bologna, don’t hesitate to pick that up for smoking. You won’t need to season that too much as it’s already packed with flavor.

If you like a good cajun seasoning, rub the chub with that. This is the perfect recipe to try out your favorites.

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