Scrapple - Pork Scrap in a Loaf....A SE PA Favorite

Scrapple....what's not to like.  A recent article reviews the long tradition of scrapple in Pennsylvania.  For those not familiar with scrapple, it is a mixture of pork scraps (every part but the oink), flour and spices.  It is made into a load by the manufacturer and then sliced and fried in oil by the consumer.  It is often served with ketchup (a lot of ketchup).

Growing up in northeastern part of the state, scrapple was not common. But for our friends in the Philly area, it is a favorite.

LNP
https://www.morningagclips.com/scrapple-is-pennsylvania-dutch-mystery-meat/
Scrapple is Pennsylvania Dutch mystery meat

Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside, scrapple is a meaty comfort food

PUBLISHED ON October 17, 2018
ERIN NEGLEY, LNP newspaper



LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — It is Pennsylvania Dutch country’s mystery meat.

Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside, scrapple is a meaty, thrifty and filling comfort food.

Love it or hate it, scrapple is a Lancaster County tradition. It was created as a way to use what was left over on butchering day and consists of pork mixed with cornmeal and pepper. Depending on where you live, you might add a little sage or buckwheat flour. You might use venison, beef or chicken instead of pork.

For some, the love of this odd meat product can be traced to childhood. When you grow up eating scrapple, it’s a comfort food wrapped in nostalgia. It’s synonymous with a family breakfast.

“Without starting young, I’m not sure I could even bring myself to taste crisped, fried, mushy animal innards,” said Judy Sandt of Lancaster Township.

Not everyone is a fan.

Laurie Brahl remembers her mother often serving fried scrapple for dinner often because both her father and grandmother liked it.

“My brother, sister and I hated it,” said Brahl, of Quarryville. “We would cover it in ketchup, but there’s not enough ketchup in the world to hide the taste.”

Scrapple has its roots in colonial times, when folks didn’t let much go to waste. Making use of the butchering scraps would yield breakfast meat for months, writes Amy Strauss in her book “Pennsylvania Scrapple.”

The tradition continues today. Sixty-five percent of scrapple-lovers who responded to a LancasterOnline survey say they like scrapple for breakfast; 6 percent say they like it for dinner; 3 percent say they like it for lunch; and the rest say they will eat it all day long.


When it comes to their favorite scrapple toppings, 22 percent say they favor maple syrup; 17 percent like ketchup; 13 percent say they eat it with syrup; and another 13 percent mention King syrup.

And 40 percent of readers chose eggs as the best food to pair with scrapple, with 25 percent favoring potatoes.

Whether fried up at deer camp or at home, scrapple is a filling meal to start the day.

“My mother would fix it for breakfast a few times a year, especially in the winter,” said Richard Sherer, who now lives in southern California. “I hardly ever get it. But I still can taste it and look forward to trips to Pennsylvania and the chance to have at least one helping of scrapple.”

Traditionally, butchering day on the farm happened as temperatures cooled, in November or December.

Jeremy Weinhold makes his own venison scrapple with friends and family a few times a year, usually starting the week before Christmas. That gives them plenty of time to bring a deer home after a day of hunting.
Rest of article...https://www.morningagclips.com/scrapple-is-pennsylvania-dutch-mystery-meat/


Scrapple
From Wikepedia
Scrapple, also known by the Pennsylvania Dutch name Pannhaas or "pan rabbit",[1][2] is traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and wheat flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. The mush is formed into a semi-solid congealed loaf, and slices of the scrapple are then pan-fried before serving. Scraps of meat left over from butchering, not used or sold elsewhere, were made into scrapple to avoid waste. Scrapple is best known as an American food of the Mid-Atlantic states (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia). Scrapple and panhaas are commonly considered an ethnic food of the Pennsylvania Dutch, including the Mennonites and Amish. Scrapple is found in supermarkets throughout the region in both fresh and frozen refrigerated cases.

Composition

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. Once cooked, bones and fat are removed, the meat is reserved, and (dry) cornmeal is boiled in the broth to make a mush. The meat, finely minced, is returned to the pot and seasonings, typically sage, thyme, savory, black pepper, and others are added.[3][4] The mush is formed into loaves and allowed to cool thoroughly until set. The proportions and seasoning are very much a matter of the region and the cook's taste.[5]

A few manufacturers have introduced beef[6] and turkey varieties and color the loaf to retain the traditional coloration derived from the original pork liver base.

Due to its composition, it is often jokingly described as being made from "everything but the oink".[7][8]

Preparation

Scrapple is typically cut into quarter-inch to three-quarter-inch slices and pan-fried until brown to form a crust. It is sometimes first coated with flour. It may be fried in butter or oil and is sometimes deep-fried. Scrapple can also be broiled; this is a good cooking method for those who like their scrapple crisp. 

Scrapple is usually eaten as a breakfast side dish. It can be served plain or with either sweet or savory condiments: apple butter, ketchup, jelly, maple syrup, honey, or mustard

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2009.0405

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, Vol. 7, No. 2 

Potential for Growth of Clostridium perfringens from Spores in Pork Scrapple During Cooling

Vijay K. Juneja Anna C.S. Porto-Fett Kelly Gartner  Linda Tufft  , and  John B. Luchansky

Published Online:24 Jan 2010https://doi.org/10.1089/fpd.2009.0405

Abstract

We conducted stabilization studies to determine the ability of Clostridium perfringens spores to germinate and grow during exponential cooling of a commercial formulation of pork scrapple. Scrapple was inoculated with a mixture of three strains of C. perfringens spores (NTCC 8238, NCTC 8239, and ATCC 10288), vacuum packaged, and reheated (20 min/93.3°C) in a circulating water bath. The cooked samples were cooled (30 s) in an ice bath before being transferred to a programmable water bath to cool through the temperature range of 54.4°C to 7.2°C in 12, 14, or 21 h to simulate deviations from the required cooling time of 6.5 h. After cooling, the samples, in duplicate, were analyzed to determine if growth from spores had occurred. The samples were plated onto tryptose–sulfite–cycloserine agar and incubated anaerobically at 37°C for 48 h before counting the colonies. Minimal growth (less than 1.0 log) was observed during a 12- or 14 h cooling period. However, when the time to achieve 7.2°C was extended to 21 h, C. perfringens spores germinated and grew from an inoculum of ∼3.0 log10 to ∼7.8 log10 CFU/g. Thus, scrapple must be cooled after cooking to 7.2°C within 6.5 h, but for no more than 14 h, to prevent a food safety hazard from outgrowth of C. perfringens spores during cooling.