Smoked Jack Bologna

Ingredients

• 1 6 1/2-pound good-quality bologna
• 1 pound pepper jack cheese
• cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 cups Jacks Old South Hickory Sauce
• or 1 recipe Basic Hickory Sauce (page 22)
• 1 large loaf crusty sourdough bread
• sliced
• Prepared mustard
• to taste
• Louisiana hot sauce
• to taste
• 1 Vidalia or other sweet onion
• sliced

Instructions

1. Heat a smoker to 250 F.
2. Remove the bulb end of a turkey baster.
3. Use the wide end of the baster to core through the middle of the log of bologna and remove a long tube of the meat; reserve two 2-inch-long pieces.
4. Fill the open core with the pepper jack cubes, and then plug the ends with the reserved pieces of bologna.
5. Put the bologna in a large aluminum pan, place it in the smoker, and cook for 1 1/2 hours.
6. Remove the pan from the smoker, and glaze the bologna with the hickory sauce.
7. Return it to the smoker and cook for 15 minutes or until the sauce is thoroughly caramelized.
8. Remove the pan from the smoker.
9. Let the bologna rest in the pan, loosely covered, for 10 minutes.
10. Slice the bologna into 3/4-inch-thick slices.
11. Place each slice on a piece of sourdough bread.
12. Slather the meat with mustard, add a few drips of hot sauce, and top with slices of sweet onion.
13. Cover with another slice of bread and serve as a sandwich.