|
By Marcia Finn
Special to the Cape Gazette
Mark your calendars, now, friends for National Scrapple Day. Delaware will celebrate with the Apple-Scrapple Festival Oct. 13-14 in Bridgeville.
Growing up in Philadelphia, I quickly learned to love the taste of Philly cheesesteaks, hoagies, soft pretzels (with or without mustard), Tastycakes and the most venerable of all, scrapple.
To say that these local palate-pleasing delights are Philadelphia’s gift to the gastronomic world is debatable, and in this day of health-conscious eating, they may be called “junk foods,” but I wouldn’t say that out loud on the streets of Philadelphia.
While they might have no nutritional value whatsoever, it’s just that nobody really cares. And that’s not debatable. They are just plain good. None is more mysterious than scrapple.
Scrapple is one of those regional specialties surrounded by myth and folklore – it is even said to have graced the tables of Ben Franklin and George Washington. Pennsylvania Dutch farmers are usually credited with introducing this mushy meal more than 200 years ago and since they were a frugal people, they made imaginative use of every part of the butchered hog’s anatomy.
Although edible raw, scrapple is traditionally fried and served with eggs, ketchup or maple syrup. Raw or fried, it is dubiously touted as a source of protein. Scrapple-eaters are loyal to the taste; antiscrapplers think of it as a culinary abomination.
Originally one of those farm foods invented to use the parts of slaughtered animals which were not suitable to be served on their own, scrapple typically contains the meaty part of hog heads, hearts, some liver and other scraps. The proportion and spicing is very much a matter of region, family and the cook’s taste. Some commercial scrapple will often contain these traditional ingredients, with a distinctive flavor to each brand. Homemade recipes often have a blander taste.
The dictionary defines scrapple as “cornmeal mush made with the meat and broth of pork, seasoned with onions, spices and herbs, and shaped into jellied loaves and sliced for frying.”
The plain truth is that scrapple has been made from whatever was left of the pig when all the pig-parts have been used for other purposes.
After the hams and bacons have been cured, the sausage ground, the lard rendered, the feet pickled, the snouts soused, you take what’s left – the scraps – and make scrapple. But – it’s that secret blend of savory spices that wakes up taste buds you never knew you had.
One frequently associates such unsavory edibles such as brains or tongue, heart, liver, lard or pork skin with scrapple making, which may be repulsive to some but in truth, modern scrapple recipes do not use unsavory or questionable pork products. One example:
SCRAPPLE
(Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Fannie Farmer, 1896)
1 lb. pork, with bones
2 each pig’s feet
salt
2/3 C cornmeal
2 T onion, chopped
freshly ground pepper
Place the pork, pig’s feet and a sprinkle of salt in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the meat falls from the bones, at least one hour.
Remove the meat and reserve the broth. Discard the bones and grind the meat in a grinder or food processor. Add cornmeal to the broth and cook, stirring, for five minutes. Add the ground meat and onion.
Place in the top of a double broiler and cook over simmering water for 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pack into a small loaf pan that has been rinsed with cold water and chill until set. To serve, cut into 1/2-inch slice pieces and pan-fry until crisp and brown.
Today, the name Habbersett’s is still synonymous with scrapple. Look for it in the dairy section of the market. Tip: Never buy canned scrapple.
To the uninitiated tongue, scrapple is an acquired taste. To the native, it is a breakfast, lunch or dinner staple. To the connoisseur, it must be sliced thin and cooked to crispy perfection before sliding past the lips and touching the tongue on its way to….who knows where, probably your hips or thighs.
Uncooked, scrapple may be gray and greasy, and to some, even appear unappetizing, but it’s sugar-free, almost carbohydrate-free and to scrapple lovers, it’s heavenly hash. Yet sadly, scrapple still gets little respect. Any way you slice it, it all began by boiling the head of a hog. Enough said.
|
