FoodNerd!

Ahhh scrapple! I grew up in Cincinnati and we have a similar delicacy that we call goetta. Basically the same thing, except instead of cornmeal, we use steel-rolled oats which makes for a bit crispier end product (at least I think). The 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking has the recipe for goetta/scrapple -- Marion Rombauer Becker obviously being exposed to it by living in Cincinnati. BTW, Gliers is the premier provider in Cincy and they have the goetta.com website for online ordering.

Love the blog and read it often.

gosh, thanks! nice to have you along; I love visitors. :-) I have only been in Cincinnati one weekend, and that for a wedding, so i haven't had the pleasure of exploring the output of their greasy spoons -- sounds like I should keep an eye peeled for goetta. Do they have it in Cleveland, too, by any chance? I go there more often.

Though I was raised in Cincy, one weekend is often more than enough for most people ;-}

It would be unlikely that goetta goes any farther north than Columbus and even that would be a shot in the dark. I have never seen it outside of the Cincinnati metro area (say a 50mi circumference).

However, you can try a Cincinnati regional dish in Cleveland, namely Cincinnati (also known as Greek-style) chili. If you've never been exposed to it, think something like chili with mace, chocolate and a few other surprises served over spaghetti with your choice of chopped onion, kidney beans and shredded cheddar cheese or on a bun with hot dog, mustard, onion and cheddar cheese (known as a Coney or Coney Island in Cincinnati). Skyline Chili, one of the restaurants that descended from the originator of the dish, has three locations in the Cleveland metro area.

Here are some tips for frying scrapple:

1. Don't use too much oil. I use about a 50-cent piece-sized dab for each piece. I find that Canola oil works better than Corn oil, for what it's worth.

2. Cut decent-sized slices. If you make them about a 1/2 inch thick, it's much more forgiving.

3. MAKE SURE YOU LET THE FIRST SIDE REALLY COOK. Watch the side of the scapple to assess amount of browning. That's why it's important to cut generous slices (easier to measure cooking progress). When the brown creeps up to near halfway up the side of the slice, it's time to flip.

4. When you go to flip, if you find that the piece isn't giving, let it cook a minute or two longer before you attempt another flip. I find that it's better to cook 3 or 4 pieces at a time. That way, you sort of "test" the one piece, and when that's ready, you know the others are ready. This way, at worst, you're only mangling one piece.

Good luck!

PS. I love scrapple.

hi my name is jakey and i love scapple so much.It makes my heart beat fast and makes me do alil dance!
i love it
yum!

Here's how to cook scrapple perfectly. It's easy.

Cut 3/8" thick slices from a loaf of refrigerated scrapple. Place in the bottom of a "room temperature" frying pan that is dry. Skip the butter and oils, etc it isn't necessary. Place over a medium-low burner for about 10 minutes and turn, being gentle with them and being careful to get the edge of the spat under the crust. If you turn them earlier than this they'll stick badly and break into pieces.

Continue cooking the flip side for 5 minutes and remove to a serving plate. Your perfect scrapple will have an appetizing dark brown color and taste exactly as it was intended. Nothing greasy about properly cooked scrapple.

P.S. It's safe to freeze uncooked scrapple but it doesn't hold together as well during the cooking process, so avoid this if you can. If you have no choice it helps to slice before freezing.

I can't believe noone suggested the correct way to cook scrapple. You have to pat a little bit of flour on each side before cooking.

Phil's right. Lightly coat the scrapple with Wondra (finely sifted flour) before cooking. It helps to create the outer "crust" and keep the scrapple slices intact.