Fried Baloney Sandwiches

Here’s a great recipe that may take you back to when you were a kid. Many a southern child was raised on the easy lunchtime meal of fried baloney on white bread. Here we’ve kicked it up a bit and added a little sophistication to a forgotten meal.

Ingredients Deli sliced baloney (ask your deli to slice it on the #9 setting for extra thick slices) Sour dough bread Butter or margarine American cheese (optional) Mayonnaise (make this at home if you want a fresh and tangy treat) Green leaf lettuce Garden grown tomatoes (we like the Roma variety)

In cast iron skillet add a bit of olive oil and warm to a medium heat. Prepare the baloney by making four short slits that radiate from the middle of the baloney. I make the slits about an inch or so. These slits help keep the baloney from curling up in the pan.

Fry the baloney in the olive oil until slightly browned on each side. For added flavor, we put the cast iron skillet over a wood fired grill. The wood smoke gives the meat a bit of smoky flavor that adds just the right flavor to the deli meat.

While the meat is finishing, lightly butter one side of the bread and in another pan, place the bread butter side down. The trick here is to slightly grill one side of the bread for an extra bit of crunchiness. While I like the bread slightly browned, you may want to brown it a little more.

As the baloney is finishing in the pan, top it with a slice of American cheese. Give the un-browned side of the bread a generous slather of mayonnaise and add the baloney and cheese. Top it all off with a leaf or two of lettuce and some fresh sliced tomatoes and enjoy.