It will only take one small bite of these smoked bologna burnt ends to have you insisting they are on every game day spread. These are sticky caramelized bites of heaven ready for you to wow all your guests, and you only need 3 ingredients to make them.
The classic poor man’s burnt ends are made with smoked brisket or smoked chuck roast. If you’ve never smoked any of these cuts let me tell you they are not fast!
As delicious as they are, sometimes you will find yourself craving burnt ends and not be willing to spend half a day just for the first part of the recipe. Smoking bologna is much faster and incredibly delectable whether you eat it in a sandwich or turn it into burnt ends.
🍽️ Why This Works
⭐WOW Your Guests | When you need a simple recipe to simply get the “wow” factor for your guests, this is a “go-to” one for you to reach every single time. Do not underestimate the amazing flavor of this smoked deli meat!
⭐Simple | Even if you haven’t made smoked bologna before, you are going to love the simplicity of how easy it is to make and how delicious the dish is. We used three ingredients in this whole recipe. It can’t get easier than that.
⭐Dump and Stir | This is a rare recipe that is put on the grill in a disposable aluminum pan that is a dump, stir and serve recipe.
⭐Flexible | You can use the sauce combo we chose here or use your favorite sauce. Next on my list is to try the pumpkin bourbon BBQ sauce, and when cherries are in season, you can make the cherry bourbon BBQ sauce.
⏲️ Equipment and Tools
✔️Smoker/Grill. The Big Green Egg we’re using doubles as a charcoal grill and a smoker. First, we smoked a whole chub of bologna and then, we grilled the burnt ends. Use whatever you have: a pellet smoker, electric smoker, charcoal smoker, or offset smoker will also work. You can even smoke the bologna on a pellet grill or a gas grill that has a smoking box.
✔️Disposable Aluminum Pan – This is a sticky recipe that makes cleanup difficult. Make your life easier and use a disposable aluminum pan.
✔️Small Bowl – Needed to mix the BBQ sauce and apricot jam.
✔️Wood Chips, Chunks, Or Pellets – You’ll need some smoking wood to smoke the chub first. We used apple chips for a mild smoke flavor and if you’re looking to amp it up just a little, go for oak wood. Other popular choices for a more intense smoke aroma include hickory, pecan, and mesquite, or feel free to create a blend if you’d like. You can always go to our wood pairing cheat sheet for more options!
🛢️ Ingredients
🛒Smoked Bologna – Smoking a whole bologna chub was a blast! Give it a shot – it was so easy, made a lot, and tasted so good.
🛒Dry Rub – You’ll need a dry rub when smoking the whole bologna chub. Almost any rub will work, so you can use your favorite store-bought or homemade rub.
🛒Yellow Mustard – This was used as a binding agent along with BBQ sauce when seasoning the bologna chub. The rub sticks a lot better and you won’t taste the mustard once the bologna has finished smoking.
🛒BBQ Sauce – We used Sweet Baby Ray’s this time. There’s a lot of room for creativity here. Use your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce or a homemade one. Your choice!
🛒Fruit Spread – I love a nice rich and tangy BBQ sauce, but sometimes it needs to be softened with a bit of a sweet flavor. A bit of apricot fruit spread worked perfectly to temper the BBQ sauce.
🔥 Instructions
Make The Smoked Bologna
🔷Step 1. Score the chub, brush a layer of BBQ sauce mixed with mustard, and season it evenly according to the instructions in our how to smoke bologna guide.
🔷Step 2. Preheat the grill to 250°F on indirect heat and add some smoking chips or chunks.
🔷Step 3. Place the bologna on the grill grates and let it smoke until it develops a slight bark. This will take 2-4 hours.
Note: You don’t need to worry about internal temperature in this case. Bologna is precooked, so we’re mostly interested in crisping up the outside.
🔷Step 4. Brush on BBQ sauce and let it smoke for another 30 minutes.
Make The Burnt Ends
🔶Step 1: Combine the jam and the BBQ sauce in a bowl and stir. Feel free to adjust the amounts of either if you prefer a sweeter or more tangy result.
🔶Step 2: Cut the smoked bologna into 1-inch cubes.
🔶Step 3: Pour the bologna into a disposable aluminum pan and add the sauce. Stir to combine. I found it easier to just use my hands. You are looking for the bologna to be lightly covered in the sauce. You don’t want too much here as it will turn into a goopy mess.
🔶Step 4: Heat the grill to 350°F, place the aluminum pan on the grill grate over direct heat, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.
Note: The bologna is precooked, so you are just looking for the outside to darken and the BBQ sauce/jam mixture to caramelize a bit. It will almost look burnt. Make sure to stir well from the bottom of the pan.
🍱Storage
So far, I never managed to have leftover bologna burnt ends but there’s always the option of making more so you can enjoy it at a later time.
Ideally, you should refrigerate the leftovers as soon as they come to room temperature. Place them in an airtight container and they will stay safe to eat for 3-5 days.
Alternatively, freeze the burnt ends for up to 3 months. Make sure you wrap them in a double layer of plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and place them in a resealable ziploc bag.
Allow frozen burnt ends to thaw in the fridge before reheating.
🌡️Reheating
To reheat smoked bologna burnt ends, you have several options to choose from. Whichever method you choose, you should avoid using high heat which can dry out the burnt ends, and add a bit of liquid or BBQ sauce to keep them moist.
👨🏻🍳In The Oven
- Preheat the oven to 275°F to 300°F.
- Place the burnt ends in an oven-safe dish. Optionally add a splash of water, broth, or BBQ sauce so they stay moist.
- Loosely cover the dish with aluminum foil.
- Heat them in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through. The total time can vary depending on your oven, baking dish, and the quantity of burnt ends.
🎛️On The Stovetop
- Preheat a skillet or saucepan over low to medium-low heat.
- Add a small amount of water, broth, or BBQ sauce so the burnt ends don’t dry out.
- Place the burnt ends in the skillet and cover with a lid. Stir every 2 minutes until they are warmed through.
📟In The Microwave
- Place the leftover burnt ends in a microwave-safe dish and add a few tablespoons of liquid (water, broth, BBQ sauce).
- Cover the burnt ends and reheat in 30-second intervals, stirring in between to ensure the food reheats evenly.
♨️On The Grill
These were made on the grill so it’s the perfect method to reheat smoked bologna burnt ends.
- Preheat the grill to 275°F–300°F.
- Place the burnt ends in a cast iron pan or a disposable aluminum pan and set them on the grill grates.
- Close the grill lid and let them reheat for 10 minutes.
- Do a quick check and continue reheating for a few more minutes if needed.
❗ Expert Tips
📌Cut the bologna cubes to a similar size. 1-inch cubes are perfect. The uniform size ensures even cooking and caramelization.
📌Stir, stir, and stir. They will want to stick to the bottom of the pan with all the ooey, gooey sugars, so make sure to keep stirring and stay close by.
📌Don’t use any pans that you care about for this recipe. This is best used with a disposable pan that you can toss away at the end.
📌Let the burnt ends rest for a few minutes off the grill before serving. This is not for the same reason as letting meat rest. For bologna burnt ends, the resting period allows the sauce to thicken slightly and better stick to the bologna cubes.
🌶️Additions & Substitutions
This recipe is so easy to adapt to various tastes and requirements. Our version only has 3 ingredients which makes it less pretentious but it’s worth trying other combinations.
🔸Other fruit jams – If you don’t like or don’t have apricot jam, feel free to use another fruit jam like peach, plum, or cherry jam.
🔸BBQ sauce varieties – Use a different barbecue sauce each time you make these burnt ends for a new culinary adventure! When you feel like something special, whip up my smoked pumpkin bourbon BBQ sauce or the cherry bourbon BBQ sauce.
🔸Other sweeteners – Another option to play with the sweetness of the sauce is to substitute the fruit jam with honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar. Any of these will contribute to the caramelization process.
🔸Add some heat – A dash of your favorite hot sauce, a pinch of chili powder, or some finely chopped chipotle peppers will give your burnt ends a lovely spicy kick.
🔸Make it tangy – A tablespoon of mustard (yellow mustard, Dijon…etc.), lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar will balance the sweetness of the glaze.
🔸Add some umami – The glaze will have a richer flavor if you add a little bit of soy sauce to it.
🍽️Serving Suggestions
No need to stress about what to serve smoked bologna burnt ends with. There’s practically an endless variety of BBQ sides to choose from!
Fresh Salads
The richness of burnt ends will be lightened up if you serve them next to a salad like this grilled peach and arugula salad, a creamy cucumber salad, or a coleslaw.
Classic BBQ Sides
Even if you plan on having other sides, it’s a safe approach to include a classic option when having guests. Grilled baked beans, fresh cornbread, smoked baked potatoes, smoked potato salad, or grilled macaroni and cheese will ensure a traditional BBQ experience!
Grilled Veggies
Another way to balance this filling dish is to accompany it with some grilled vegetables. Grilled corn on the cob, smoked asparagus bundles, grilled roasted root vegetables, grilled green bean bundles, and grilled carrots with balsamic glaze are some of my personal favorites, but you can throw just about any veggie on the grill.
Sandwiches Or Sliders
Guess what? The best buns for pulled pork are also great for burnt ends. Add some extra BBQ sauce and toppings like cheddar cheese, pickles, onions, and jalapenos.
Appetizer Platter
Burnt ends are the perfect finger food. Stick some toothpicks in these sticky, smoky morsels and serve them on a platter next to cheese, crackers, and pickles. We love them this way for picnics, potlucks, and game day!
🔪More Burnt Ends Recipes
Hot Dog Burnt Ends | Smoking bologna for burnt ends is super easy and I highly recommend it even for beginners. Even better, hot dog burnt ends are just as easy to make.
Trust me, those smoked franks, cut into pieces and covered with a mix of butter, BBQ sauce, and Teriyaki sauce are impossible to resist.
Poor Man’s Burnt Ends | When you’re not in a rush, make the classic poor man’s burnt ends for a special BBQ feast. We used smoked chuck roast for this recipe because it is an affordable beef cut compared to brisket, but still incredibly delicious. Of course, if you prefer smoked brisket instead, go for it!
❓Recipe FAQ
It is a good idea. You are dealing with a lot of sugars here with the jam and sauce that lead to burning and sticking.
Bologna is precooked so you need to smoke based on how the exterior looks not based on internal temperature like you would raw meat. We smoked a whole bologna chub at 250°F over indirect heat until the outside was dark and almost crispy.
Then, we brushed the bologna with a glaze and smoked it for another 30 minutes to get the baloney bites perfectly sticky. This can take anywhere between 2 and 4 hours depending on your smoker, cooking temperature, and other factors.
This BBQ dish requires small chunks of smoked meat, hot dogs, or bologna. If you plan to smoke a beef cut like chuck roast or brisket, you can cut it into smaller pieces which will lower the smoking time. For smoked bologna, slicing the chub will also allow it to smoke faster. Smoked hot dogs, are definitely the fastest with no need for modifications. They are ready to use for burnt ends after only 60-90 minutes in the smoker.
This is a 2-step recipe that first requires smoking a whole bologna chub, and then making the burnt ends. At 250°F, it will take 2-4 hours to smoke the bologna chub. This is already cooked so our goal is to create a gorgeous bark, not cook based on internal temperature.
Making the burnt ends is the faster part: the cubed smoked bologna mixed with the sauce will only need about 15 minutes on the grill at 350°F, for the sauce to caramelize and thicken.
Related Recipes
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Smoked Bologna Burnt Ends
Equipment
- Smoker
Ingredients
- 5 lb Bologna Chub cubed
- 1/2 cup Dry Rub
- 1/2 cup Yellow Mustard
- 1 jar BBQ sauce
- 1 jar Apricot Jam
Instructions
Smoking The Bologna Chub
- Score the chub, brush a layer of BBQ sauce mixed with mustard, and season it evenly according to the instructions in our how to smoke bologna guide.
- Preheat the grill to 250°F on indirect heat and add some smoking chips or chunks.
- Place the bologna on the grill grates and let it smoke until it develops a slight bark. This will take 2-4 hours.
- Brush on BBQ sauce and let it smoke for another 30 minutes. This will take ½-1 cup of sauce.
Making The Burnt Ends
- Combine the jam and the BBQ sauce in a bowl and stir.
- Using the Smoked Bologna, cut into one inch cubes.
- Combine the bologna chunks and the BBQ sauce mixture together, using your hands to make sure everything is lightly covered.
- Heat smoker up to 350 degrees and place aluminum pan over the grill grate and cook for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.
- Remove when the sugars have caramelized and the bologna has darkened nicely.
Notes
Nutrition
Jason’s been firing up the grill for over 30 years after graduating from the US Coast Guard Academy. His love of finely-grilled steak and chicken led him to buy his first Weber grill to put on his apartment patio in 1992. Each military move led to a new grill (a mixture of gas and charcoal) until he fell in love with the Big Green Egg in 2008. Since then, he has added another 4 grills to the collection. Yes, he has a problem. Jason loves smoking in the ceramic BGE with exotic woods including olive wood from Egypt and hard to find varieties such as sassafras and orange wood. Jason takes the term “foodie” to a whole new level, jumping at the chance to take food tours and cooking classes during foreign travels. These have provided inspiration to incorporate new ideas into recipes when he gets back home. He has been featured in Fox News, Parade, Yahoo News, Kansas City Living and more. After retiring from the military and moving to southwest Florida, he has focused grilling and smoking locally sourced meats and fish (read: he likes to catch his own fish!)
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