Yeah, I referred to the East and the Midwest because you’re more likely to find it there than in the South or West (mostly because of Amish and German immigration patterns, I think). But there’s no place you’re assured of finding it all over the place outside of Pennsylvania and some other Amish locales. But if you live in a decent sized city in the East or Midwest you’re bound to find it somewhere. I bet it’s available a few places in Chi-town… you’d just have to look around for it.
Incidentally, as a side note, I think it tastes best sliced very thin. That way instead of there being little globules of fat in it (like any sausage, really) it has a uniform texture in each slice. Makes it taste that much better.
I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it. My google-fu is not turning up anything yet, other than a Pennsylvania ex-pat looking for it and scrapple back in 2005, with some local sources for scrapple, but none for the bologna. (ETA: Actually, looks like somebody has seen it in the suburbs, so I have two leads.)
Interesting. Apparently Boar’s Head has a Lebanon bologna. I would never have thought of looking in that case for it, assuming Seltzer’s is the most likely brand to find. We’ll see if any of the Boars Head retailers around here stock it.
I miss Thuringer, which is something like Lebanon Bologna (smoky and tangy) but it’s drier and emulsified before being stuffed in the casings so it has a more uniform texture. It’s something quite different from the Thüringer Rostbratwurst available in Germany. Fifteen years ago I could find it in a few stores in Maine and New Hampshire. As recently as five years ago Zweigles brand was widely available in central and western New York but I wasn’t able to find it during my most recent visit there.
I know you can find it sporadically here in Texas. MMMMMM, loves me some Lebanaon Bologna. Excellent stuff, perfect undressed between two slices of bread.
Back in her bag-lunch making days, my mom was a big fan of the “lunch meat variety pack,” the one with the three different sliced lunch meats. I believe the standard variety was bologna, turkey, and ham, but the one mom usually bought was the salami, ham, and something else (most likely bologna or turkey if I had to guess). Do they still make the variety pack?
old fashioned/luncheon loaf … I think its just ground ham …I love braunschwiger on crackers … farmer john sells it in a little ground sausage like tube and I just scoop it out …
For research purposes, I called my mother about this. She said she called it “Summer Sausage” and it was her own concoction of bologna slices and braunschweiger mashed together with mustard into a paste because “your older brothers liked it that way.”
So basically it was a hand-me-down from my older brothers like everything else in my youngest-child youth. Harumph.
Underwood deviled ham basically has the texture of canned tuna. It’s not bad if you’re into that kind of stuff (and I buy occasionally; last had it about three or four weeks ago), but it’s amazingly salty and spendy for what it is. $2.50 for a 4 oz can around here, which works out to $10/lb (!).
What a great discussion – I love all the weird deli meats and spreads. So far I haven’t tried one that I haven’t liked, and I go out of my way to try the weird ones at the Italian and German delis nearby. Liverwurst is still one of my favorites.
Similarly, anyone eat canned pates? I’ve become fond of the type that shows up on Vietnamese Bahn Mi sandwiches – I think it’s Flower brand.
