Emeril Lagasse's Favorite Way To Make Bologna Comes With A Sweet Twist

American chef and restaurateur Emeril Lagasse has a lot of amazingly helpful cooking tips. He considers things many might not, like which side of steak to cook first. He is also notably fond of concocting sweet-yet-savory combinations, like grilled peaches.

Lagasse brings sweetness to savory dishes once again with his unique twist on making baked bologna. For the crust, he coats the bologna in Dijon mustard and rubs brown sugar into the mustard. This covers the bologna on all sides, creating a spicy and sweet exterior.

The addition of brown sugar isn't chosen at random, nor is it an uncommon choice. Many appreciate the sweet edge the brown sugar brings to whole baked bologna. Brown sugar makes a great addition to other bologna dishes too, like bologna sandwiches.

Cooking an entire bologna roll might sound a little unusual in and of itself, but it is actually common practice. Regional cooking styles, like Oklahoma barbecue, call for smoking an entire bologna log in one go. Most smoked or baked bolognas have a savory topping, like a sauce, but Emeril Lagasse expands its flavor profile by adding brown sugar to it.

The biggest changes brown sugar brings to bologna is sweetness and crunchiness. Brown sugar has a slightly maple-esque flavor to it, which tends to pair well with meats like bologna or ham. Once cooked, the brown sugar develops a caramelized flavor that contrasts perfectly with the Dijon mustard Lagasse calls for. As for texture, brown sugar has granules of a notable size, which makes the crust crunchier. Overall, for a single ingredient addition, brown sugar can accomplish a lot for whole baked bologna.