On Sat 11 Oct 2008 03:06:31p, JonquilJan told us...

> I was introduced to scrapple many years ago when I attended college near
> Philadelphia PA. It was frequently served as one of the breakfast
> choices. Sometimes it was good - and sometimes it wasn't. Over the
> years, have tried scrapple other places - other times - and really
> didn't find anything I liked.
>
> This past Thursday, I was shopping at the Amish bulk foods store a few
> miles away and saw a package of scrapple in the cooler. Took a chance -
> and it is very good! The brand is John F Martin and Sons of Stevens, PA
> (Lancaster County).

There are lots of ways to make scrapple, but here is a reliable
Pennsylvania Dutch recipe that's easy to make:

One 3-pound pork butt, bone in
4 quarts water
Salt and pepper to taste
1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons rubbed sage
1 teaspoon ground savory
1/8 teaspoon allspice (start with less)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (start with less)
1/8 teaspoon cloves
3 cups corn meal

Place the pork and water in an 8-quart stock pot. Add salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until pork is tender, about
2 hours. Place the meat on a large plate; reserve the stock. When the meat
is cool enough to handle, remove it from the bones and discard excess fat.
Chop the meat very finely; set aside.

Place 2-1/2 quarts of the stock in a 5-quart pot. Add the thyme, sage,
savory, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. Bring to a boil and gradually add the
corn meal, stirring or whisking rapidly until it is all combined. Reduce
the heat to medium or medium-low and continue to cook, stirring often,
until the mixture is very thick, so that a spoon almost stands up by its
own, about 15 minutes. (If it gets too thick, just add a little more of the
broth and stir well.) Add the meat and stir well to combine. Reduce the
heat to low and cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After a couple minutes, taste for seasoning and adjust as desired. Scrapple
must be well-seasoned or it will taste very bland when fried.

Place a piece of waxed paper into the bottom of two 9x5 loaf pans so that
the ends extend over the two long sides. That will make it easier to lift
the refrigerated loaf out of the pan later. Pour half the mixture into each
pan. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or until chilled and solid.

To fry, remove the loaf from the pan and place on cutting surface. Slice
into about 1/4 to 1/2-inch slices. Heat a large skillet over medium-high
heat. Add some butter and, as soon as it melts, add the scrapple slices. It
is critical with scrapple to let each side brown thoroughly before
attempting to turn it over or it will stick and fall apart, so be very
patient. Serve with apple butter.

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)

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