Scrapple is arguably the first pork food invented in America. For those who are not familiar with scrapple, which is also known by the Pennsylvania Dutch name “pon haus“, it is traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal, wheat flour and spices. (The spices may include, but are not limited to: sage, thyme, savory and black pepper.) The mush is then formed into a semi-solid loaf, sliced and pan-fried
The immediate ancestor of scrapple was the Low German dish called panhas, which was adapted to make use of locally available ingredients and, in parts of Pennsylvania, it is still called Pannhaas, panhoss, ponhoss or pannhas.
I’m not personally acquainted with Scrapple so I included the above from the National Day of calendar. When I mentioned it to my husband, he said, “I had it once in a restaurant near York, Pennsylvania, and hope I never have to eat it again.” So much for the idea of making my own. I then looked up the contents of Spam; they are very similar except potato starch is used to hold things together instead of cornmeal. Maybe I will give one of the many recipes I found for scrapple a try and not call it that! It seems like it would be a good side dish for that weekend breakfast when no one wants to get dressed and there’s been too much bacon consumed recently. Seems anything covered with maple syrup as they suggest would be good!
Let me know how yours turns out!
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11/10/2016 at 05:54
My father used to love scrapple. If I mention the word to people these days, they don’t have a clue what I’m talking about. So it’s good you bring it up for today’s generation. It’s a tasty alternative to sausage or bacon, especially in the winter for a warm-you-up breakfast.
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11/10/2016 at 15:59
Thank you. The current recipes I found said to use store bought sausage to make it. I’m thinking the original was made from trimmings when a hog was butchered at home. Can you verify that or explain further?
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11/11/2016 at 05:37
I’m afraid not. What my mother made for my father, he said was good, but not quite what he had ‘way back when.’ So I would venture to say you’re right.
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11/11/2016 at 05:42
I’ve given a link to your site to a friend of mine, Sheryl. [hoping she can help] Sheryl has a blog about 100 year old recipes.
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11/11/2016 at 06:05
Thanks.
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11/11/2016 at 06:07
No problem. I hate unanswered questions, I’m too curious.
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11/11/2016 at 23:38
Whew, this question takes me back to my childhood in Pennsylvania. My memory is that Scrapple is primarily the seasoned and thickened broth of pork trimmings with a little of the ground trimmings included in the broth. When we butchered we put the trimmings, including the liver and head meat, into a kettle and covered it with water and added salt and pepper. After it was well-cooked, the trimmings were ground. Most of the ground meat was eaten as “liverwurst”, but some was put in the broth which was then thickened with corn meal (and maybe flour).
I found a recipe for Scrapple in a cook book published in 1950 called the Mennonite Community Cookbook:
Scrapple
1 1/2 cups ground liver pudding [In the old cookbook, cooked pork trimmings are called “pudding”]
1 quart broth from cooked pudding
1 cup corn meal
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Bring to a boil broth in which pudding meat was cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Stir into the boiling broth the corn meal and flour. Add ground liver pudding. This should be the consistency of corn meal mush. Cook slowly in heavy pan or top of double boiler for approximately 30 minutes. Pour in dishes to mold. When cold, slice 1/4 inch thick and fry in hot fat until grown and crusty on both sides.
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11/12/2016 at 07:53
I’m guessing the old fashioned-made-at-home was much better than anything in a modern restaurant, it usually is. Thanks for your time. Hope the memories took you back to some good family times.
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