The "The Ultimate Mystery Meat" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Heading into Lancaster's Central Market to buy a dozen of cream-filled Long Johns.  One of my favorite breakfast treats as well as a great dessert with any meal.  As I passed one of the butcher stands I looked in the display case and there it was.  Scrapple!  

Slicing pieces of scrapple from a loaf.

Just so happens that November 9th was National Scrapple Day.  To this day I have never had a piece of scrapple, so I'm not sure I'm qualified to write this story, but I thought I would tackle the assignment since I know a bit about "the ultimate mystery meat" being I was born and raised in Lancaster County and know many people who swear that the stuff tastes great.  Scrapple just happens to be a Lancaster County tradition since it came about years ago when local farmers created it as a way to use what was left over after a day of butchering pigs, steers, chickens or even deer.  

Trays of scrapple ready for sale.

I have friends who learned to love scrapple as a child and call it a comfort food wrapped in nostalgia.  It is served by many families as an addition to the family breakfast.  Actually, scrapple has its roots in colonial times when it was almost a sin to throw anything away that could be eaten.  Traditionally, butchering day on the farm would center around cool days in November or December.  Its a great time to get together and celebrate the end of growing season on the farm.  So what do you put into scrapple when you make it.  Well, it's typically made of hog offal, such as head, heart, liver, kidneys, intestines, bowels and other trimmings, which are boiled with any bones and fat that has been removed.  Once cooked, bones and fat are removed and dry cornmeal is boiled in the broth to make a mush.  

Some have it for breakfast with eggs.

The meat, finely minced, is returned to the pot along with any preferred seasonings such as sage, thyme, savory, black pepper or your special spice.  The mush is formed into loaves and allowed to cool thoroughly until set.  Due to its composition, pork scrapple is often described as being made from "everything but the oink".  If by now you still think you may want to try it...good luck!  Scrapple is actually a creation of the Pennsylvania "Dutch" which is a corruption of "Deutsch", the German word for "German".  Having experienced religious persecution in Switzerland and Germany, a large number of German Anabaptists settled in the Pennsylvania colony beginning in the early 18th Century primarily due to the religious freedom guaranteed by the chartered colonial government.  In some places it is known as the Low German dish called "panhas", "Pannhaas," "panhoss," "ponhoss," or "pannhas" in other parts of Pennsylvania.  

About the only plus I can get from scrapple is that it looks
something like Spam which I love.  I just hope I don't find
Span is made from the same stuff or.....? 

Friends of mine who enjoy scrapple tell me it tastes like sausage.  Now, I'm wondering how they make sausage!!  I did find a few write-ups that say scrapple is absolutely delicious.  It's traditionally served as a breakfast side dish, with sweet or savory condiments including cocktail sauce, Dark Karo Syrup, King Syrup, horseradish sauce, ketchup, grape jelly, applesauce, honey, molasses, mustard or maple syrup.  It can be mixed with scrambled eggs or simply served between two pieces of white bread.  My wife tells me that her mother often served scrapple to the family and used the Dark Karo Syrup.  Once married, I told her she would never have to eat the stuff again if she didn't want to.  To this day, as I said before, I have never tried the stuff, and after checking sites for this story, I will still never try it!  I can guarantee you that!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.