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Palmetto Scrapple

Source of Recipe

From "Pig: King of the Southern Table" by James Villas


Recipe Introduction

"Originally made from pork 'scraps' and served primarily as a breakfast dish, scrapple is generally acknowledged to be a Pennsylvania Dutch creation. Do not, however, tell that to South Carolinians, who've been making their own distinctive mush since colonial days. The differences are noteworthy. Up North, scrapple is usually composed of lean, primal cuts of pork and white cornmeal, while the South Carolina version has more fatty meats, plus liver, and favors yellow cornmeal. Yankee scrapple is fried in butter, South Carolina scrapple in bacon grease. Also, outside the Palmetto State, the same basic concoction found packaged in Southern markets is often simply called 'livermush.' Personally, I love them all—sliced and fried just like sausage patties and served with fried apples."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 meaty pork hocks, dressed
â—¦ ½ pound fresh lean pork belly, rind removed
â—¦ ¼ pound pork liver
â—¦ 1 ½ quarts water
â—¦ 1 teaspoon dried sage
â—¦ 1 teaspoon salt
â—¦ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal
â—¦ 1 medium onion, minced
â—¦ Bacon grease for panfrying


Recipe

Place the hocks, belly, and liver in a large, heavy pot and add the water, sage, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer till the meat on the hocks almost falls from the bones, about 2 hours. Remove the meats from the broth, discard the skin and bones of the hocks, and either coarsely grind or mince the meats. Strain the broth into a bowl, let cool, and skim off the fat.

Pour the broth into the top of a large double boiler, add the cornmeal, and stir over boiling water till thickened, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Add the meats and onion, cover, and cook over boiling water for 45 minutes. Taste for seasoning, scrape the mixture into a 9 by 5 by 2-inch loaf pan, and let cool. Cover with foil and chill till firm, about 2 hours.

To serve, unmold the loaf, cut into medium-thick slices, and panfry the slices on both sides in a little bacon grease over moderate heat till nicely browned. Serve hot.

Makes 6 servings