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Scrapple
Pennsylvania Dutch pork and cornmeal loaf, sliced and fried
Scrapple is the thrifty breakfast meat of Pennsylvania Dutch farm country and the Delaware Valley, made at pig-killing time from pork trimmings simmered and set with cornmeal and buckwheat into a loaf. Slices are fried until crisp and brown outside and soft within, and eaten with eggs, apple butter or maple syrup at Lancaster County diners. This home version uses pork shoulder and a little liver. Chef's tip: slice it 1 cm thick and leave it alone in the pan until a dark crust forms; it sticks if you move it early.
- Total time
- 170 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb pork shoulderin large chunks
- 5 ½ oz pork liveropt
- 1 onionhalved
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 5 ½ oz cornmeal
- 1 ¾ oz buckwheat flour
- 1 ½ tsp dried sage
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp plain flourfor dusting
- 3 tbsp vegetable oilfor frying
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put the 1 ½ lb pork shoulder, 5 ½ oz pork liver, 1 onion and 1 bay leaf in a pot with the 6 ¼ cups water. Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer gently for 2 hours until the pork falls apart.
120 minStep 2: Strain, keeping the broth; you need 1 litre. Throw away the onion and bay, and chop the meat very finely or pulse briefly in a food processor.
10 minStep 3: Bring the broth back to a simmer and whisk in the 5 ½ oz cornmeal and 1 ¾ oz buckwheat flour a little at a time. Stir in the meat, 1 ½ tsp dried sage, ½ tsp dried thyme, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring, until very thick and it pulls from the sides of the pan.
20 minStep 4: Pour into a lined 900 g loaf tin, smooth the top, cool, then chill overnight until firm.
480 minStep 5: Cut into 1 cm slices, dust with 3 tbsp plain flour, and fry in the 3 tbsp vegetable oil over a medium heat for 5 minutes a side until deeply browned and crisp, and piping hot through. A common mistake is a cold pan, which makes it fall apart.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 220 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does scrapple take?
- About 170 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 150 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
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