scrapple: wherein i sacrifice my health

[mrbigjas]

so i've decided recently to try and figure out who makes scrapple like i remember it growing up.

no, not the preparation--which to me is just frying it till it has a crust and eating it blistering hot with either syrup or ketchup, or a ketchup/hotsauce combo--but the scrapple itself. to me, great scrapple is a balance between the texture and taste of coarse cornmeal, the organ-y, tongue-y taste of headcheese or souse, and a definite kick of whatever spices they put in there.

so i thought, what the hell, the amish invented the stuff, why not start with two of my favorite purveyors at the terminal? after all, they'll sell me a smallish slab and i won't have to bother with a whole pound of the stuff, considering that i really don't eat breakfast foods all that much. so anyway, here are the first two weeks of results:

1. last week: haltemanns. i love haltemann's. they make my favorite bacon. they have winesap apples nearly till march. they sell fatback for nearly nothing, and they sell duck breast and rabbit, and yellow watermelons and four varieties of plums and GREAT peaches this year. but their scrapple isn't so great. it's got the requisite organ-y taste, and it's got the right cornmeal texture, but it's bland. it's just not strongly flavored enough.

2. this week: dutch country meats. these folks' ham blows away haltemann's, and they carry the most amazing hot dogs and bratwurst and knackwurst and bockwurst i've ever had. also good landjaegers. so i made their scrapple with omelets for my dad after he finished the distance run yesterday. this has some of the requisite organ-y taste, but has far too much cornmeal in it, to the point where that's the main flavor and texture you get. it practically tastes and feels like cornmeal mush to me (if you aren't familiar with that, it's basically kinda like fried polenta, but as made by upstate pennsylvania folks), and might as well be, but for the flavor.

so i haven't found the ideal yet, in two weeks of rtm purchases. i know that a couple of the other amish purveyors in the northwest corner of the market there also sell a house brand, so i'll try them and keep y'all up to date.

p.s. E! A! G! L! E! S! EAGLES! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT!

[mrbigjas]

p.p.s. i will happily respond to any 'ew, scrapple is gross!' replies with a blistering stream of invective about your heritage and extended family. scrapple rewls. it especially rewls because its very name doesn't sugarcoat what it is. aaaaw yeah.

[rlibkind]

I find the scrapple served by the Down Home Diner is superb, as noted by Johnny Apple in a NY T imes piece on the Reading Terminal Market a year or so ago:

But nothing topped the scrapple we were served at the nonpareil Down Home Diner in Reading Terminal, a bastion of Pennsylvania Dutch quality. The diner belongs to Jack McDavid, who comes from rural Virginia and is known for ferreting out prime ingredients. His scrapple is made by a small company called Godshall's, based in Telford, Pa. Pale, salty, moist and buttery, it appears to contain more spice, more meat and less filler, giving the end product an unusually rich texture.

What I like best about the way Jack's scrapple is the textural contrast between the crunchy exterior and the creamy interior.

According to Godshall's web site, their scrapple is available at the Chestnut Hill Farmers' Market, and can also be mail ordered. (The Godshall's at the RTM is different ownership.)

Edited September 21, 2004 by rlibkind (log)

[herbacidal]

p.s.  E! A! G! L! E! S!  EAGLES!  THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT!

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Without looking at the top of the post, I knew you just got done watching the game, just like me.

Anyway, I can't say I've had bad or outstanding scrapple.

I think I've generally had decent scrapple.

Is there any place that serves good scrapple that you like?

The Down Home, as Bob noted, is a place that'll be on my list.

[Rich Pawlak]

I find the scrapple served by the Down Home Diner is superb, as noted by Johnny Apple in a NY T imes piece on the Reading Terminal Market a year or so ago:

What I like best about the way Jack's scrapple is the textural contrast between the crunchy exterior and the creamy interior.

According to Godshall's web site, their scrapple is available at the Chestnut Hill Farmers' Market, and can also be mail ordered. (The Godshall's at the RTM is different ownership.)

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I can STRONGLY recommend the homemade scrapple at Cartlidge's Meats in the Trenton Farmers Market, 900 Spruce St. in Trenton, meatier and nicely spiced.

[MarketStEl]

Well, here's where I display my outlander colors.

Scrapple is an acquired taste, and while I would never say it sucks, I can't really say I've acquired it either.

Perhaps it's because I haven't figured out how to cook it right yet.

[cdh]

The best-spiced scrapple I know of is from Habbersetts.

Alderfers' is also pretty tasty.

There are a lot of scrapples of out there that don't get the balance right. Either too liver-y, or too corn-y or too bland... Those two, above, are pretty close to ideal.

What's funny is that out here in Pa Dutch country (Godshall's is a couple of miles from my house), the only variety of Godshall's scrapple regularly stocked in the the supermarkets is their turkey variety... which just strikes me as wrong.

[mrbigjas]

Well, here's where I display my outlander colors.

Scrapple is an acquired taste, and while I would never say it sucks, I can't really say I've acquired it either.

Perhaps it's because I haven't figured out how to cook it right yet.

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Cooking it is the easy part--get a nonstick pan, put it on medium heat, put in some butter/oil, and cook a slab till it's crusty and brown and insanely hot.

[Holly Moore]

I am of the dust with flour school of scrapple frying.

Back when Lacroix was at the Four Seasons, they made their own scrapple. I don't know if that is still the case there or now the case at the Rittenhouse. But it was Scrapple worthy of the Four Seasons.

[vw8v]

According to Godshall's web site, their scrapple is available at the Chestnut Hill Farmers' Market, and can also be mail ordered. (The Godshall's at the RTM is different ownership.)

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The scrapple @ Godshall's in Chestnut Hill is great! If you go, you should also stop and pick up some chicken from Needermyer's Chicken - personally, a dozen thighs de-boned but with the skin left on make for great grilling eats.

I also always pick up a couple stuffed chicken breasts as well. Great for quick dinners (I brown them in a skillet w/ some butter on all sides for a few minutes and finish them in the oven for ~45 minutes. Make some gravy from the crusties in the pan and serve with some wild rice & asparagus and you have a great after-work dinner.

Also, the stand to the right of Godshall's has very good Landjager (meat snacks are always good for walking around! )

[Susan in FL]

No question for me, Delaware Maid or Rapa. Cold pan, put it in there, turn the heat on to medium or medium-low and fry 'til crispy on each side. No need for butter or oil, but once in a while when we're craving grease, we'll use a little oil.

Who would say yuck??? You either eat it and love it, or you don't eat it. It's one of the few things I miss from up north. Recently we found some obscure brand, frozen, here in Florida and it's better than nothing. But whenever we go up north or have friends coming down, we get some of the real thing.

[hillvalley]

I get good scrapple from my local poultry guy. Growing up we had it at least once a month for Sunday breakfast. We were a straight in the pan until the sides were crispy but the insides were creamy kind of family. It's been too long.

[mrbigjas]

thanks for all the recommendations, folks. sorry i can't get to egullet more easily at work (if i want to read, i have to use a text browser through an ssh connection, and believe me, this site isn't so pleasant to read in text only), or i would have responded more throughout the day.

so anyway, first of all: i'm glad for all the positive responses so far. SCRAPPLE CLUB WILL BE BORN SOON ENOUGH. JUST YOU WAIT.

here are some answers:

herb: oddly enough a place that had scrapple that i always liked was little pete's. it wasn't the greatest, but they had the cooking right. crusty and cool on the outside, creamy and 8 million degrees on the inside.

rlibkind: i may have to give in and go to the down home diner and check it out. also next time i get up to the chestnut hill farmer's market i'll check out godshall's. vw8v, thanks for the tip on the landjaegers. i love them things.

cdh: you summed up in a single sentence the problems with finding the right scrapple. and i really thought that haltmann's or dutch country meats would make a good version, and neither of them really do. like you, i don't believe in turkey scrapple. like lowfat cheese, i don't see the point.

holly: i'm greatly enjoying the concept of going to the four seasons and having scrapple. it's the principle of the thing that intrigues me. i'm wondering if they have it at lacroix; i've heard great things about their brunch.

susan: i'll check them out.

hillvalley: who is your local poultry guy, and where is he getting the pig heads for scrapple? and can i get some of it?

[Mottmott]

I confess to using Habbersetts. Like its spiciness and it's easy to keep one in the freezer. I will get some at Chestnut Hill this weekend to check it out.

I'd be curious to know if anyone makes it at home. How big a deal is it?

[Fressing]

Crispy outside, creamy inside - on toasted rye with apple butter.....

mmmmm......

[mrbigjas]

I confess to using Habbersetts.  Like its spiciness and it's easy to keep one in the freezer.  I will get some at Chestnut Hill this weekend to check it out.

I'd be curious to know if anyone makes it at home.  How big a deal is it?

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you mean to make scrapple, rather than just preparing it after it's made? i've read a few recipes; it doesn't seem all that hard, although considering the fact that you're starting with a split pig's head, you're going to end up with a lot when you're done. the only other tricky part appears to be dealing with continuing the stirring after you've dumped a couple of pounds of cornmeal into the pot, and it starts to thicken...

(i'm talking theoretically here, from reading recipes and testimonials about making it. i haven't done it. although if you wanna have a scrapple-makin fest, i'm in.)

[Susan in FL]

I have a recipe that doesn't call for a split pig's head. I'll try to find it and post it if anybody is interested. It certainly doesn't taste like the store bought, but if you get your taste buds prepared for something different than that, it's pretty good.

[herbacidal]

you mean to make scrapple, rather than just preparing it after it's made?  i've read a few recipes; it doesn't seem all that hard, although considering the fact that you're starting with a split pig's head, you're going to end up with a lot when you're done.  the only other tricky part appears to be dealing with continuing the stirring after you've dumped a couple of pounds of cornmeal into the pot, and it starts to thicken...

(i'm talking theoretically here, from reading recipes and testimonials about making it.  i haven't done it.  although if you wanna have a scrapple-makin fest, i'm in.)

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That sounds interesting. Does anyone want to host?

[mrbigjas]

That sounds interesting.  Does anyone want to host?

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i would but i feel like we should do it in the country.

here's a recipe from chickenhead.com, which is a hilarious website that really has nothing to do with scrapple:

http://www.chickenhead.com/scrapple/recipe.html

(don't read the last sentence)

here's a recipe for nut scrapple, which is wrong on so many levels that i can't even begin to describe it:

http://www.freerecipe.org/Breakfast/nut-sc...recipe-bscr.htm

wow there are a lot of recipes out there. this one:

http://www.velvitoil.com/Scrapple.htm

looks like the real deal to me.

[cdh]

Well, I'm out in the country... maybe a scrapplefest could be arranged sometime in the next couple of months.

[mrbigjas]

awesome. it's the time of year for it, isn't it? i mean, usually people slaughter pigs in the fall, right?

[Andrew Fenton]

here's a recipe for nut scrapple, which is wrong on so many levels that i can't even begin to describe it:

Indeed. Doesn't scrapple come from the other end of the pig?

[herbacidal]

Indeed.  Doesn't scrapple come from the other end of the pig?

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Is there any such thing as the other end of the pig when you're talking about scrapple?

[Susan in FL]

Is there any such thing as the other end of the pig when you're talking about scrapple?

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LOL!

[razzar]

Just a note of caution.

My mother made scrapple. Once. It was 'fresh," with just the right amount of spices. It was very tasty.

But it turned out GREEN. From the type of cornmeal used? From the sage (or other herb)? I have no idea and I was afraid to ask.