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Scrapple is a traditional American dish made from pork and cornmeal, seasoned with spices, formed into loaves, and pan-fried before serving. It was originally created to use leftover parts of the pig and has a long shelf life. It is typically served as a breakfast meat and can be eaten plain or with various accompaniments. It is still popular in Pennsylvania Dutch country but is also sold frozen in grocery stores across the US in various flavors, including vegetarian versions.
Scrapple is a dish whose American origins date back to the Pennsylvania Dutch settlers of the 1600s and 1700s. Made from pork and cornmeal moistened with broth, it is seasoned with various spices, formed into loaves, and allowed to cool and placed in the refrigerator. Before serving, the loaf is unmold, cut into 0.5-inch (1.25 cm) slices, and pan-fried with butter, bacon drippings, or oil.
As the name suggests, the beetle was originally created to use whatever parts of the pig were left over after the larger, more desirable parts were cut from the carcass. Offal, skin, and small shreds of meat scraped from the skull and bones made their way into the pot. Modern cooks — or those without a pork carcass on hand — can use various other cuts of pork, including pork shoulder, pork butt, or even lean ground pork, to make their scrawl.
Cornmeal is almost always used for the base of the scrap, but individual cooks occasionally substitute it for oatmeal or even barley. Onions, salt, pepper, sage, mace, thyme, marjoram, savory, and cayenne pepper are typically added in a combination to flavor the mash.
Scrapple’s long shelf life was highly prized by colonial-era Pennsylvania Dutch settlers, who had no way to keep their foods cold other than to sink them in streams or half-buried ice houses. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were both fans of the dish’s allure, the latter having developed a taste for the dish during his visits to Philadelphia.
Fried scrapple is typically served as a breakfast meat. It is eaten plain, between slices of bread as a sandwich or with fried eggs, and popular accompaniments are ketchup, maple syrup, applesauce, or butter.
While this dish remains a regional favorite of Pennsylvania Dutch country, it’s sold frozen in grocery stores as far away as New York and California. The Scrapple comes in spicy bacon-flavored varieties as well as vegetarian versions made with beef and turkey and even soy-based.
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