There are probably as many recipes for Scrapple as there are towns or villages in the world! From the best I can gather, it has its origins in Germany. This is where my ancestors came from, and they brought their version of it along with them. In my heritage recipe collection, I have at least 5 different versions! Some of them are so old, that the paper is just about to crumble. And some make me wonder what these people were thinking when they put their recipe on paper! But, I urge you to try this recipe, I think you'll like it.
So, sorting through all this, I came up with my own version of Scrapple. I present this to you, with the hope that you'll try this recipe and give me some feedback. I haven't found anywhere in my research, that any of the Wilder or Ingalls families ever recorded a recipe for Scrapple. But that doesn't mean that they didn't have one or that they didn't eat it!
All my family Scrapple recipes, (those really old ones) call for a labor intensive operation. I won't get into the details on those here, but they involve a hog's skull and lots of parts from a hog, which aren't readily available today; unless you buther your own livestock! My recipe is much less labor intensive and uses ingredients that you can find just about anywhere.
Farmer Boy Scrapple
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup of corn meal*
- 1 Cup of cold water
- 1 Cup of hot water
- 2 Tablespoons of bacon drippings
- 1/4 Cup of cream
- 1 small onion, minced
- 1/2 lb. of groudn pork, or pork sausage
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground sage & poultry seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon of groudn black pepper
Directions: (the preparation is similar to making Gruel and Fried Corn Meal Mush - see my recipes in the archives) *Note: One of my ancestors made this with Oats, instead of corn meal. (I've not tried that ... yet!)
In a skillet, melt the bacon drippings. Add the onions and brown the meat. Mix in the seasonings and pepper. In another pan, boil the cup of water. Add the cornmeal. Add the cream and cold water. Stir the meat mixture into the pan of corn meal. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes, till it gets very thick.
Remove this mixture to a greased loaf pan and refrigerate overnight.
To make the scrapple, just slice into 1/2 inch slices, dredge in flour and fry in butter.
None of the recipes from my family ever give a serving suggestion with the recipes, and I'm not sure what traditions they had for accompanying dishes. I've seen people eat scrapple alone, without any sides. I've also seen it eaten with eggs, or pancakes. And it can be served with or without syrup. Some serve it doused in applesauce or honey. It can be eaten as a side dish at dinner or supper meals. So, I'm not going to tell you what you should do with it, other than enjoy it! :)
"The world is the beautiful estate of the human family passing down from generation to generation, marked by each holder while in his possession according to his character." Laura Ingalls Wilder
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The Old Man in the Bib Overalls
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