Homemade Scrapple

Hi all! I know it has been a while but the way I figure it you wouldn't want to see the same posts over and over again seeing as that is all I have been making lately. This time though I am making scrapple. This is my youngest son's absolute favorite as well as others in my family. The stuff you buy in the store is great (if you can find it) so don't get me wrong but the thought of snouts and ears and tails in my food kind of put me off. This way I know what is actually in my scrapple. A little history is that everything that was left over from slaughtering a hog or pig was put in a pot, cooked down, cornmeal & spices added and hardened, cut up, fried and served up. Nothing to waste.

    I remember I was somewhere with a friend telling her how I make it and there were others close by listening intently hoping for a great recipe. All was going great till I got to the pigs feet. Turned everyone off. Well come on! What is wrong with the feet? Beats a snout any day! Ever hear of pickled pigs feet? Where the heck do you think gelatin comes from??? Well that did it! I don't think those people will EVER eat jello again! Well, we need it in scrapple so I am not leaving it out! It's the best part! Besides it has good stuff for your joints and aches and stuff!

    To start make sure you are prepared to have a pot going on the stove for a long time. Usually during a work week it will take at least two days maybe three to make. But in the end you will have pounds upon pounds of scrapple for you, your family and your friends depending on how big of a pot and ingredients you are going to use. Since I only make this not too often I am using my biggest pot and lots of ingredients. Smaller batches really don't take as long. I am using my 22 quart pressure cooker for this batch. I also decided to add a few extras into my pot on this batch so they will be optional for you. Now remember, this is a big batch. For your first try I recommend cutting back these ingredients back.

Homemade Scrapple

Two medium Boston pork roasts about 6-8 lbs piece or 6-8 lbs of country ribs (same thing)

Two packages of pork liver (can use beef liver instead if you can't find pork)

Two packages of pork neck bones

Two packages of pigs feet (I like buying them already split in half otherwise you need to split them)

Optional packages of pork kidney and heart

Several whole bay leaf (remove before stick blending)

+/_ two tablespoon of sage
+/_ two tablespoon of paprika

+/_ two tablespoon of cayenne pepper

+/_ two tablespoon of thyme

+/_ two tablespoon of rosemary

1/4 + black pepper

Salt to taste

3 bags Cornmeal 6 pound + for this batch
2 tsp citric acid or lemon juice (optional but it preserves the color and taste)

Cover all your meats in pot with water and cook at a simmer till everything falls apart.  This will take several hours. All meat on the bones will fall off and the liquid will be reduced in the process. Now you have to let it cool thoroughly if you want to use your hands to fine all the bones. The hardest bones to fine will be the pigs feet bones. Wash you hands thoroughly and up to your elbows depending on the size of your pot and you will have to search for them. They are the cutest things too! I recommend that you take the feet out before they fall apart so you don't have to search for them. You can also do this hot with a long metal spoon and tongs to find and pick them out. Doing it hot will save time and energy to heat everything back up. Then get your stick blender and mince up everything. You may find a few stray bones with it. Pick them out as you find them. I had to remove a pot full for my stick blender to reach the bottom. I blended both pots, then combined them back to the big pot when finished. It will be a loose soupy mixture. You should have something that looks like this.

Soupy mixture

Keep the heat on low. At this point add your spices. Keep tasting the mixture to make sure it is to your taste. Add more of any till it tastes the way you like. Don't worry about tasting it because it's pork. It's been cooking for over 4-5 hours at this point. If it's not done by now it never will! If you are not sure if adding more of one kind of spice is to you liking, take some of the mixture out and add to it and taste. If ok then add to the main batch. I like mine a little on the spicy side so I am a little heavy on the cayenne pepper. On this batch I also added more sage, black pepper, thyme and rosemary by a teaspoon each more. I wanted the taste to pop. Now remember, this is a huge batch. Over 20 quarts worth. If you are making a small batch cut the spices down and add to it till you like the taste.

   Ok, we have the spices right. All blended and de-boned. Time to add the cornmeal. Make sure you have more than what you think you need. This is the tricky part and believe me I have more than once had to put it all back into a pot after un-molding and test cooking a piece to add more cornmeal! Don't be discouraged if this happens to you! Here is what it will look like while adding cornmeal.

Just get thicker and thicker...hand gets tired....

It becomes stiff and hard to stir. At this point turn off your heat. Continue adding cornmeal till it pulls away from the side of the pot easily and hold a peak. Drawing a spoon through will leave a void. Then add some more for good measure. 

Oiled containers

   Lightly oil or "pam" several baking dishes and transfer the mixture to them. Slap them gently on the counter, shake and smooth the tops as even as you can. Let them lose some heat on the counter to cool somewhat before putting in the refrigerator or out in a cold garage or porch to firm up.

Cooling and setting up in the garage

When completely set up, take one pan and cut into slabs. Take one slab and slice off a piece and fry. It should retain it's shape and not be "gooey" in the center. If it is you didn't use enough cornmeal and it all should be returned to a pot, heated up and more cornmeal incorporated into the mixture (the disappointment factor). But like I said, it has happened to me more than once. That mixture gets so thick that you think it's ready but it may not be.

   Once it passes the test, wrap each block in wax paper or butcher's paper and put in plastic bags then into the freezer. Take out a block when needed and let defrost enough so it can be cut cleanly. Fry to golden brown and serve! Depending how often you make breakfast it should last you a good while. My batch all said and done costs me about $1 per pound to make. Store bought is going for what? $2.99 a pound or better.

Perfect!

Enjoy!

Stephanie DelGrippo

www.webdees.com