How do you cook your goetta?

[kane79]

I just hope you retain the pleasure of grinding the pork by hand.

he absolutely does.

[Kahns Krazy]

I've been making my own for a few years now. It's a big, messy event, and it's taken me about 10 batches to really get it right. I tried it in a slow cooker, but it didn't work right. Tasted ok, but never came together right.

The traditional recipe is 50/50 ground beef and ground sausage. I have been varying the beef portion, subbing in other ground meats with a little more flavor. My recent batches included ground bison and ground lamb. I almost always slice it and fry it, going for crispy outside and a little softness in the middle, though I'd rather go crispier than softer. I have a friend who uses cut up smoked pork in his variety.

Scrapple is a different beast altogether. As the name implies, it's scraps. Lips and a-holes kind of stuff, and it's stewed with cornmeal, not steel cut oats. The oats give goetta the texture, and the meat starts with first cuts, not leftovers.

Eckerlin's is great. Haven't tried many other butcher varieties. When I do Gliers, I always get the spicy version.

[Kahns Krazy]

Can anyone share a recipe for homemade goetta?

There are a variety of recipes. The basic:

1 lb Ground Pork
1 lb Ground Beef
8 cups Water
2-1/2 cups Steel Cut Oats or Organic Steel Cut Oats
1 pinch Ground Pepper
2 tsp Salt
1 to 4 Bay Leaves *
1 Onion large-sized, sliced*

In a large pot with a lid, boil the water. Add salt, pepper and oatmeal. Cover and let cook for two hours, stirring often.
Add the meat, onion and bay leaves, mix well. Cook for another hour, stirring often.
Remove bay leaf (leaves). Pour into bread pans- size of pan does not matter. Refrigerate overnight.
To serve: Slice the goetta and fry it until crispy or just until heated through.

I have found that 3 hours is not enough time to cook, and I don't use a bay leaf, but sub in other spices.