We visited the bologna factory in Stache International, a meaty restaurant in Detroit’s Eastern Market. Its chief bologna packer, Steve Kay, showed us how they pack enough bologna for up to 250 fried bologna sandwiches weekly.

Stache is located at 1416 E. Fisher Service Dr. in Detroit.

To read more about our exhaustive search for the best fried bologna sandwich in metro Detroit click here.

The first thing to know about bologna making is that there is a bologna-making machine.
The second thing to know about bologna making (when it comes to small batch, craft bologna) is that it isn’t made from horns, snoots, hooves, or other less appealing animal parts. Stache bologna packer Steve Kay starts with a mix of ground chuck and five spices.
The mix is run in a food processor.
That gives the meat mix a consistency that allows it to be packed. The meat in the front of the bin already went in the food processor.
It’s then packed into the top of the larger of two tubes on the bologna making machine.
A little bit of bologna is ready to come out of the spout at the bottom.
Kay secures mylar casing to the tube.
Once Kay’s assistant starts cranking, a disc pushes the bologna down the large tube, which forces it through the small tube and into the mylar.
It grows.
And grows.
And GROWS.
Oh, yes.
Kay ties off the mylar.
The logs are then set in the smoker for up to eight hours.
After cooling for a day, the logs are ready to be sliced, fried, and placed between two pieces of bread.

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