Scrapple!

[Meanderer]

For those unfamiliar with scrapple, I thought I would describe my recent experience with the delicacy. My wife and I had the good fortune over the weekend to have been invited by a friend out to western Maryland to join his extended family and various friends in their annual scrapple and puddin making. Although I have long enjoyed eating both, the mysteries of their creation was never revealed to me until Saturday.

No written family recipe exists for making these products but several of the seasoned veterans knew, in general, what to do without any discussion. When any questions arose, the family patriarch and host was consulted and his word was gospel. The only key point of dispute that arose was how much pepper to add. Some like a peppery version and others like a more mild version. Complicating the matter on Saturday was a batch of pepper that seemed unusually tasteless and heatless.

This scrapple and puddin was made this year, as in all others, largely with pork, including two heads, livers, hearts, tongues and the leftover bones and scrap from the butchering. Neither the tongue nor most of the heart made it into the final product because they were fished out and used as snacks during the cooking. Because some lamb and venison happened to be on the premises, they were added to the kettles. I was told that in past years a little poultry might end up in the mix.

Once the broth was ready, all of the scraps and bones were removed to a table where the edible parts were separated from the bones and fat. The meat which emerged was taken inside for grinding and while it was being ground, separate slurries of corn meal and flour were mixed and then added to the broth. At that point, the mixture had to be stirred constantly for about an hour and 45 minutes until it thickened. During this process the ground, seasoned meat was cooked in lard in another kettle and, when it was done, a portion was added to the large kettle and the remainder, the puddin, was put in loaf pans to be cooled. Tastes of the insipient scrapple were taken from time to time and the seasoning(salt and pepper only)was adjusted after spirited debate.

As soon as the patriarch determined that the mix was thick enough, the scrapple was dipped from the kettle--approximately 250 lbs. in all--into more loaf pans and set in the basement to cool overnight. Meanwhile, the kettles, meat pans, dippers, stirrer, spoons and whisk were promptly cleaned. The following morning, the scrapple was removed from the loaf pans and wrapped. The process had begun around 8 a.m. and was completed, except for the wrapping, around 4 p.m. The old-timers told me that, years ago, the process began at about 4 a.m. and went until dark because they first had to butcher the hogs and render the lard. Now, the hogs are butchered for them and they use purchased lard.

Scrapple making is a very labor intensive activity and I ended the day tired(and all I did was stirring, straining, and a little cleaning up)and reeking of wood smoke and pig broth. I can imagine that, with uncongenial company, it could seem like real work and perhaps not worth all the bother. That was not the case for me or, seemingly, for the group that gathered on Saturday. My ribs still hurt from all of the laughing and the friend who invited us down even had one of those beer through the nose experiences, something you don't often see from people in their fifties. In addition to the good humor, their was plenty of beer, whiskey, and homemade wine, great food coming down from the kitchen, superb weather, and a remarkable view down the valley through the mountains.

One potential bad omen--the youngest person actually involved in the scrapple-making was about half a century old. I hope, for the family's sake(and for mine if I can wangle another invitation), that the next generations continue to carry on with this tradition when the older generations are no longer able to do so.

[rlibkind]

A lovely tale, Meanderer. Where, pray tell, did this ritual take place? At least tell us the state if it wasn't in Pennsylvania!

[chappie]

(he did say Western Md.)

When you say, "the broths were ready," do you mean they first cooked down a bunch of bones to make the broth, then skimmed the fat off, etc? And then, if that was the process, did they have to remove the meats to cool for awhile? How did they get all the pieces out of the kettles?

[Meanderer]

(he did say Western Md.)

When you say, "the broths were ready," do you mean they first cooked down a bunch of bones to make the broth, then skimmed the fat off, etc? And then, if that was the process, did they have to remove the meats to cool for awhile? How did they get all the pieces out of the kettles?

←

Yep, Maryland, it was.

The bones, organ meats(except for the liver), and scraps were added to water-filled kettles when the fires were lit first thing in the morning and they cooked for several hours. The liver was added much later. The meat and bones were removed with a large strainer that was the size and shape a medium, long-handled sauce pan with quarter-inch holes in its bottom and sides. No fat skimming appeared to be necessary. I was one of the folks straining the meat from the kettles and I didn't notice significant quantities of fat floating on top. I suppose they started with pretty lean scraps for their scrapple.

The meat was barely in the pans before the pickers started working on it. They must be tough people in Maryland. I imagine it cooled pretty rapidly because the temperature was in the 50s, I think.

By the way, I'm eating some as I type this. Perfect texture, excellent meat flavor. It needs a little pepper, however.

[gfweb]

Because eG remains scrapple- obsessed...

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/food/from-humble-origins-to-trendy-restaurants-why-philly-still-loves-scrapple-so-much-20171129.html

[HungryChris]

5 hours ago, gfweb said:

Because eG remains scrapple- obsessed...

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/food/from-humble-origins-to-trendy-restaurants-why-philly-still-loves-scrapple-so-much-20171129.html

My mother learned to like the stuff in Maryland as a child and introduced me to it as a teenager. It is a product that some folks hear about and hate without ever tasting. I was one of the lucky ones who tasted it before I knew anything about it. Once you taste it, hating it is out of the question.

HC

Edited November 30, 2017 by HungryChris (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Having grown up in and around Philadelphia I am fond of scrapple.  Just not the idea of scrapple.

 

One might add pepperpot soup.

 

[gfweb]

She gets her scrapple from Boston?

 

That's like going to Philly to find under-inflated footballs.

[dcarch]

Had beef scrapple yesterday.

 

dcarch 

[rustwood]

On 9/4/2006 at 1:19 PM, mrbigjas said:

chappie, i was out at borders here in philadelphia, today, and came across this book called country scrapple: an american tradition, by william woys weaver. that's the amazon link; i thought of this thread when i saw it.

 

I am reading this now and so far it is a great read.  I am particularly taken by a passage describing some of the "other" parts of the pig that might be employed in making scrapple:

"...other parts of the pig were also frequently employed. They included the feet, ears, tail, and snout; although separately each of these items was considered a worthy subject for specialized recipes. The feet could be used for making souse, the ears could be cut into strips and cooked like pasta, and the snouts could be pickled."

It really doesn't sound appealing to me, yet I still find myself fascinated by the idea of pig ear pasta.

 

[rotuts]

Cambridge is not Boston.

 

Night and Day , or day and Night.

 

they don't know anything about footballs in Cambridge.

 

Harvard plays the game across the river , in Boston.  Not in Cambridge.

 

the place in Cambridge , MA that made the srapple is very chichi.

 

and as the presenter figured out early on

 

scrapple is not sliced thinly.

 

it has to be thick enough to get a good crust on each side w the middle remaining soft.

 

freshly ground pepper is nice after its fried.

 

I have not tried any made with buckwheat.

 

my loss no doubt.

 

PS :

 

https://www.formaggiokitchen.com

 

makes WF feel like a Bus Stop.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[AlaMoi]

grew up eating Spam now and then - I like it - sometimes found on local buffets.  I rarely buy it because the can size is too much for two people....

 

now, let's talk scrapple!   that'll get things going.

a cousin, now living 'down under,' came for a extended visit - and requested scrapple.

everyone identifies scrapple as Amish, but it's a bit more pioneering spread that just Amish. 

she remembers her grandmother making it, big pot in the backyard . . .  they lived on the Maryland east shore, and they were not Amish.... 

'back in the day' people used everything - they did not have the luxury of 'not bothering.'

[rotuts]

@AlaMoi 

 

you betcha: scrapple 

 

its hard to find.

 

and would be cooked in a certain way

 

where each surface is dark brown , , and crunchy 

 

w a creamy porky - corn mush inside.

 

next up for sure .

[Arey]

best with a fried egg on top

[AlaMoi]

I fried it "my mom's way" - and next event was requested for "more crust" -

it's definitely like mac&cheese - _very_ dependent on prior experiences . . .

 

those who gag - well, they're missing some stuff . . .

same as Spam - it's a savory product which those who never ate it, hate it.

albeit . . . scrapple is a huge more variable product than mass produced Spam . . .

 

weird side bars . . . .

I was a weekend house guest . . . and the host served up scrambled eggs . . . and, as I wolfed into it, he asked

'do you know what that is?  calf brains, said he . . .'

expecting I suppose some 'shocked' reaction - but my grandparents, where I spent half-summers, were late age pioneers -

no phone, no electricity, farm it, raise it, butcher it, or starve . . . so . . . basically:   'been there done that"

so I asked for seconds....

my host was a Rhodes Scholar and family scion,,, of Bilger Brewery (Germany) - currently those recipes being 'brought back' as mega-breweries seek to establish a niche position.

 

[gfweb]

13 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

I fried it "my mom's way" - and next event was requested for "more crust" -

it's definitely like mac&cheese - _very_ dependent on prior experiences . . .

 

those who gag - well, they're missing some stuff . . .

same as Spam - it's a savory product which those who never ate it, hate it.

albeit . . . scrapple is a huge more variable product than mass produced Spam . . .

 

weird side bars . . . .

I was a weekend house guest . . . and the host served up scrambled eggs . . . and, as I wolfed into it, he asked

'do you know what that is?  calf brains, said he . . .'

 

 

I know what that is,  an a-hole move on his part. That is despicable. 

[liuzhou]

16 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

everyone identifies scrapple as Amish, but it's a bit more pioneering spread that just Amish. 

 

It may be and the word, a diminutive of 'scrap' was certainly first used in the USA, the OEDs first recorded usage being in New York!

 

Quote

ˈscrapple, n.2 U.S.

[dim. of scrap n.1]

 

An article of food made from scraps of pork, etc. stewed with meal and pressed into large cakes.

 

   1855 Rural New Yorker 10 Feb. 47/3, I observe a call for a recipe for making ‘Scrapple’, and some other homely dishes.    1871 G. H. Napheys Prev. & Cure Dis. i. ii. 59 The sausage and scrapple of New Jersey.    1881 Harper's Mag. Jan. 181 Milk, eggs, sausage, scrapple, vegetables, and poultry, all fresh from the farm.    1910 ‘O. Henry’ Whirligigs x. 130, I never cared especially for feuds, believing them to be even more over⁓rated products of our country than grapefruit, scrapple, or honeymoons.    1942 H. W. Van Loon Van Loon's Lives 632 Dante has become a taste that has to be acquired like a love for figs or scrapple.    1943 [see ponhaus].    1975 R. Stout Family Affair (1976) ii. 20 A plate of slices of home-made scrapple.

 

Of course the concept of the dish is probably European and similar products have been made in many cultures under various names for centuries if not millennia.

 

[kayb]

We made it in Tennessee — called it “souse heat” or “head cheese.” I thought it was nasty then, think it’s nasty now.

 

In Cincinnati, they make a version called “goetta,” with oatmeal. Don’t care much for that either.

[liuzhou]

11 minutes ago, kayb said:

We made it in Tennessee — called it “souse heat” or “head cheese.” I thought it was nasty then, think it’s nasty now.

 

In Cincinnati, they make a version called “goetta,” with oatmeal. Don’t care much for that either.

 

Yes. Souse is ancient, dating back to the 14th century. The name and, hence probably, the dish is from Provencal French.
 

Quote

Various parts of a pig or other animal, esp. the feet and ears, prepared or preserved for food by means of pickling.

 

   1391 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 50 In uno dolio emp. pro le sows, ijs. ijd.    14‥ Lat.-Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 614 Succidium, Sovse.    c 1440 Promp. Parv. 466/1 Sowce, mete, succidium. 

 

Headcheese (in one word or two) isn't quite so old - probably mid-19th century. It is American.