Scrapple is a grey-coloured American meat loaf made from ground cooked pork, cornmeal, seasonings and stock. It is a variant of Head Cheese and Souse. It is somewhat similar to the concept of haggis, except that pork and cornmeal are used instead of sheep and oatmeal.
It is made by the Pennsylvanian Dutch, and is also popular now as far south as Atlanta.
Some Scrapples can be very bland, with almost no seasonings.
The pork used is “found meat” — parts of the pig leftover after the prime cuts have been made. Traditionally, it was made with the same type of meat as head cheese would be made, namely a pig’s head, with the addition perhaps of organs.
The meat is cooked with the cornmeal, then put into loaf pans, and chilled until firm.
Some more genteel homemade versions of Scrapple are basically crispy fried bacon bits (or cracklings in the American south) stirred into a very thick cornmeal porridge that is then packed into a mould pan, allow to firm, but these, fans say, are basically bland polenta with bacon stirred in it.
Some date Scrapple back to the arrival of German settlers. Others date it further back and say it probably actually first made by Dutch settlers in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Cooking Tips
If you make it yourself at home, you need to allow it to chill at least overnight.
To serve, slice and fry it.
Scrapple is popular for breakfast. Many like it with maple syrup on it, and served with eggs, bacon, etc.
Literature & Lore
An annual Apple and Scrapple festival is held in October each year in Bridgeville , Sussex County, Delaware.
A Scrapplefest is also held every February in Philadelphia, at which a Scrapple King and Queen are chosen and crowned.