Scrapple is a savory
mush in which
cornmeal and
flour, often
buckwheat flour, are simmmered with
pork scraps and trimmings, then formed into a loaf. Small scraps of meat left over from butchering, too small to be used or sold elsewhere, were made into scrapple to avoid waste. Scrapple is best known as a regional food of
Delaware,
New Jersey,
Philadelphia, and
Maryland.
Scrapple is typically made of hog offal, such as the head, heart, liver, and other scraps, which are boiled with any bones attached (often the entire head), to make a broth. Once cooked, bones and fat are discarded, the meat is reserved, and (dry) cornmeal is boiled in the broth to make a mush. The meat, finely minced, is returned, and seasonings, typically sage, thyme, savory, and others are added. The mush is cast into loaves and allowed to cool thoroughly until gelled. The proportions and seasoning are very much a matter of the region and the cook's taste.
Commercial scrapple often contains these traditional ingredients, with a distinctive flavor to each brand. A few manufacturers have introduced beef and turkey varieties and color the loaf to retain the traditional coloration derived from the original pork liver base.
Scrapple is typically cut into quarter-inch slices, and pan-fried until the outsides form a crust. It is sometimes coated with flour or fried in butter or oil. A breakfast food, it is eaten plain or with apple butter, ketchup, pancake syrup, or even mustard and accompanied by eggs.
