Scrapple is meat for breakfast typically consumed in the region in Pennsylvania along with the Mid-Atlantic states.
Made of hog offal (thats intestines, fat, and scraps), eggs, cornmeal, flour, and spices; Scrapple is then formed into a loaf before it can be sliced and fried to enjoy for breakfast.
Scrapple is eaten all year round in this world region because it is a popular breakfast meal.
It can be found in the supermarket freezer section since it doesnt need to be refrigerated and can last a long time without going bad.
Today, scrapple is still made with pork scraps mixed with cornmeal or flour and spices that are then boiled into thick patties before being sliced and fried.
The consistency of scrapple is similar to that of polenta, another dish made with cornmeal, although it appears completely different once cooked.
Contents
- What Exactly Is Scrapple?
- How to Cook Scrapple?
- What Does Scrapple Taste Like? Does Scrapple Taste Good?
- The Differences between Scrapple, Goetta, and Livermush
- Where and How to Buy Scrapple?
- How to Store Scrapple?
- The Nutrition and Benefits of Scrapple
- FAQs
- Is scrapple good for you?
- What is the main ingredient in scrapple?
- What animal parts are in scrapple?
- What city is famous for scrapple?
- What is the best way to eat scrapple?
- Can you eat scrapple raw?
- What company makes the best scrapple?
- What is the Southern equivalent to scrapple?
- What breakfast meat is like scrapple?
- Is spam a scrapple?
What Exactly Is Scrapple?
Scrapple is made from the meat that remains after the skin has been removed, including everything from the tongue to organs such as the liver.
After being finely ground, it is combined with pork stock and binding agents such as grain flours, buckwheat, or cornmeal.
They are then flavored using salt and a variety of spices depending on the respective recipe.
After being poured into pans to cool, the scrapple is then sliced and fried until golden brown before serving hot with syrup or refried.
Scrapple is typically eaten for breakfast alongside eggs and toast, but it can also be served as a side dish.
In Pennsylvania, scrapple is a popular food at supermarkets and restaurants.
It may be found in breakfast sandwiches on street food carts in addition to homemade egg and chips at restaurants and cooked cubed and speared onto deer antlers at top-end establishments.
Scrapple is also a popular food at Pennsylvania Dutch festivals and fairs, along with jams and jellies.
It is recommended that the scrapple be sliced thinly to expose as much surface area as possible to ensure it becomes crispy rather than chewy.
How to Cook Scrapple?
To prepare the 12-inch thick slices of scrapple, cut them into pieces.
Flour, salt, and black pepper are sprinkled on both sides.
Shake or scrape the slices to remove excess flour from the surfaces.
Then, warm a little bit of bacon grease or oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
Scrapple slices are placed on the hot pan and baked for 3 to 5 minutes on each side until golden and crispy.
Scrapple is best served immediately.
Similar to other breakfast foods, such as bacon and eggs, you can enjoy scrapple with various condiments.
In addition to syrup, maple or honey butter is also a tasty alternative, while pickled vegetables also pair well for this dish thats beloved in Pennsylvania, a Dutch country.
Scrapple is available throughout the year, but it is most popular during fall and winter when pigs are at their plumpest.
Like many other foods in these regions of the US, Scrapple is also often served with traditional bacon.
What Does Scrapple Taste Like? Does Scrapple Taste Good?
Scrapple is a deliciously rich, porky flavor with notes of toast thanks to the fried crusts.
For many, its a nostalgic food that evokes memories of childhood visits to Pennsylvania Dutch country and local diners.
Scrapple is flavored simply with just the right amount of salt and black pepper, and the crusts and insides meld together perfectly to make a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of breakfast.
It is neither too light nor too hefty.
Scrapple contains many different pork products in each bite, with bits of juicy fat punctuating pockets of lean meat.
The contrast between spicy black pepper and rich, fatty pork flavor works well to make a simple but full of life.
The Differences between Scrapple, Goetta, and Livermush
Scrapple isnt simply German immigrant-invented meat developed to meet the demand for meat.
Similar cuts of pork are prepared in Cincinnati, Ohio, with steel-cut oats, onion, spices, and other ingredients.
The meat is then packed into a loaf pan to cool completely before slicing.
Goetta is more popular in the northern regions of Ohio and Cincinnati, while Livermush is more popular in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Scrapple is also very different from livermush because it contains cornmeal instead of ground liver.
Its also made with buckwheat flour, making the dish a little more butterscotchy.
Scrapple isnt related to livermush in that it contains no organ meat or liver.
Instead, it’s nearly completely comprised of pork and buckwheat flour.
In addition to these two main ingredients, scrapple features onions for a hint of onion flavor and broth for a little extra juiciness.
Many people may mistake scrapple with livermush because it is made with buckwheat flour.
However, this isnt enough to truly resemble organ meat.
Instead, the two types of meat are closely related because theyre both made from pork scraps that are ground into mush.
Where and How to Buy Scrapple?
You can find scrapple in many places where Pennsylvania Dutch people, including grocery stores and markets.
The best way to find it is to look through the supermarket cold cases for any packaged meat products labeled scrapple.
These will often be near or behind hot breakfast links like sausage patties or links of smoked sausage that also contain pork.
Scrapple may also be ordered online and sent fresh or frozen.
The Pennsylvania Dutch Market’s website allows you to purchase scrapple online.
It ships directly to your home within three days of ordering on dry ice to maintain peak quality and flavor.
How to Store Scrapple?
Return it to the freezer.
Place it in the fridge as is, or chill it for 1 hour before thawing (or as directed on the package).
After opening, keep the uncooked scrapple in a sealed container or plastic bag and refrigerate for 50 days.
According to the scrapple market, you can keep scrapple frozen for up to six months or refrigerated for three.
If you freeze it, thaw the scrapple in the fridge overnight.
If youre looking to use it as a canape for parties or other events, you can slice it into rounds and pan-fry until browned on both sides.
The Nutrition and Benefits of Scrapple
Scrapple is a rich source of carbohydrates, protein, Vitamin A, and iron.
Scrapple has a lot of saturated fat, cholesterol, and salt.
Scrapple’s nutritional profile differs according on the producer.
If youre watching your salt intake, the sodium count in scrapple is high.
Thanks to all of that pork fat, its also very high cholesterol.
A 3 oz serving has almost 12 grams of saturated fat, which is 50% more than what youd find in a 3 oz serving of bacon.
However, scrapple is also rich in iron, which is good for red blood cell production and transportation of oxygen to the body.
Its also high in Vitamin A, which is great for eye health and protection from disease.
FAQs
Is scrapple good for you?
Scrapple is high in carbs, protein, vitamin A, and iron. It’s also relatively high in fat, saturated fat, and sodium.
What is the main ingredient in scrapple?
Essentially a type of meat pudding, scrapple is usually made from finely minced ground pork meat and offal, spices and a course flour such as cornmeal or buckwheat.
What animal parts are in scrapple?
Scrapple is typically made of hog offal, such as the head, heart, liver, and other trimmings, which are boiled with any bones attached (often the entire head), to make a broth.
What city is famous for scrapple?
Scrapple, which came to the Philadelphia region from Germany, is a loaf of cooked pig parts thickened with cornmeal or buckwheat usually spiced with sage and pepper.
What is the best way to eat scrapple?
Scrapple is most often served at breakfast with any or all of the typical breakfast foods: eggs, pancakes, potatoes, toast and sometimes ketchup. Slices of scrapple can be made into sandwiches, and they could easily find a place on top of crackers as hors d’oeuvres.
Can you eat scrapple raw?
You can technically eat scrapple raw
However, we like it when it is nice and crispy.
What company makes the best scrapple?
Habbersett and Rapa, both owned by Jones Dairy Farm, are the two largest brands for scrapple. Both brands can be found in a majority of mid-Atlantic stores. American food writer and historian, Joshua Ozersky, considered Habbersett the best brand of scrapple.
What is the Southern equivalent to scrapple?
Livermush. The Southern version of scrapple has its origin in the Great Wagon Road migration, which brought Pennsylvania Dutch farmers down to the other end of Appalachia.
What breakfast meat is like scrapple?
So, goetta is a German-inspired breakfast meat made by combining steel-cut or ‘pinhead’ oats with pork or pork and beef and cooking it for a long time. It’s refrigerated in a loaf pan before being sliced and crisp-fried. (Or if it’s Glier’s, it’s formed into a tube.)
Is spam a scrapple?
What sets SPAM® apart from other products that are made from chopped meats that are cooked and pressed together (we’re thinking about scrapple): Spam is made from pork shoulder and pork ham, with no other scraps from the hog. Pork shoulder is considered a high-quality cut of pork today, although in 1937, it was not.
