Originally, Scrapple was a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty that utilized
literally all of the scraps, no matter how nasty, from a butchered hog,
but this is a modernized version with a southern twist that is far less work to make and uses
simple breakfast sausage instead. The consistency is a bit like polenta, if you are familiar with that dish, but uses regular cornmeal
rather than the coarser polenta grind. My maternal grandmother's family
came from Pennsylvania, but it was my Dad (a born-and-bred Oklahoma
boy) who used to make this for us -- and his Tennessee-born mother taught him to make it. When I was young, we didn't even know it had a name! We just called it Cornmeal Mush, but we didn't care what
it was called. We just wanted MORE!!!
Anyway, this stuff
might sound awful, but it TASTES yummy! I'm serious. You definitely
need to give this a try. Not low-calorie, but it is gluten-free, for
those of you who worry about gluten. Also, this is definitely a
make-ahead dish, so be sure to prepare it the night before for breakfast the next
morning.
PHOTO: Mike's breakfast this morning, hot out of the frying pan! I served it to him right after I snapped this pic.
BREAKFAST SCRAPPLE
Makes 2 loaves (24 slices); each loaf serves 4 to 6
8 cups water, divided
1 tsp. salt
3 cups of Albers™ degermed yellow cornmeal
1 pound of Jimmy Dean "All Natural" Pork Sausage (or other pork breakfast sausage of your choice)
In
a large deep pot (non-stick, if you have one), bring 4 cups of the
water to a boil. In a large bowl, add the remaining water to the dry
cornmeal and stir well. Stir in the salt.
For
this next part, I strongly recommend using a very long handled spoon
AND wearing oven mitts on both hands because this stuff gets REALLY
thick and when it boils, it "BLURPS" and "PLOPS" just like HOT LAVA,
and if it lands on you, it won't be nice.
When
the water is boiling rapidly, gradually pour in the cornmeal &
water mixture, stirring all the while to avoid sticking and lumping.
Continue stirring until the cooking mixture is boiling steadily and
thickening. This may happen very quickly, so be alert. Reduce the heat
and continue cooking at a low boil, stirring constantly. It
should only take a few minutes -- maybe 5 -- for the cornmeal to become
very very thick (think cookie dough). When this happens, remove it
from the heat, set it aside, and go on to the next step.
In
a medium skillet, cook and crumble the pork sausage over medium heat
until it is separated into small bits (1/2" or less) and all pink is
gone. Cook until any juices boil off, but DO NOT DRAIN the fat.
Dump
the sausage (and drippings) into the cornmeal mush and blend thoroughly. Turn the
mixture into two 9" non-stick loaf pans. If your pans are not
non-stick, line the bottoms and sides with a piece of plastic wrap.
Shake or tap the pans to settle out any air bubbles, and smooth the tops
of the loaves with the back of a spoon or spatula. Allow to cool until
well-set, then turn out each loaf onto a 2nd generous piece of plastic
wrap. Fold the wrap around the loaf and refrigerate overnight.
The
next morning, unwrap a loaf on your cutting board and carefully slice into 1/2"
thick pieces. Coat the bottom of a large non-stick skillet with
cooking oil (I use extra-light olive oil) and set the heat at
medium-high. Dust the cut pieces very lightly with flour (this helps
them brown better) and place gently into the heated oil. Fry, turning
as needed, until deep golden brown and crispy on both sides.
Butter the hot slices of Scrapple generously. Serve with fried or scrambled eggs, or all by itself. No toast required!
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NOTE:
I chose the Jimmy Dean "All-Natural" Pork Sausage because it has a real
nice down-home flavor . Just spicy enough, and NO MSG!
I
am told that this freezes well. Just slice and wrap securely,
separating the slices with sheets of plastic wrap between so you can get
them apart when needed. Remove from freezer the night before you
intend to use it, and thaw in the refrigerator.
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