Part 8

Scrapple

Scrapple, a favored breakfast dish in many sections, is made of cooked pork and broth thickened with cornmeal, flour, and sometimes shorts. The following formula is popular:

• 30 pounds of cooked and ground meat • 30 quarts of broth • 10 pounds of cornmeal • 3 pounds of buckwheat or rye flour • 1½ pounds of rolled oats • 15 ounces of salt • 3 ounces of pepper

Cuts of pork such as the head, tail, kidneys, heart, tongue (skinned), spareribs, and pork trimmings may be used to make scrapple. Clean and trim all pieces thoroughly and place them in a pot or vessel; cover with water and cook until the meat separates easily from the bone. Separate the meat from the bones and grind or chop fine. After grinding return the meat to the broth and bring to a boil, add corn meal, buckwheat flour, and rolled oats and cook until the mixture has the consistency of thick mush. Season with salt, pepper, and spices; remove from the heat and pour into molds or shallow pans to harden.

When adding the cereal, moisten it with some of the cooled broth so that it may be added without forming lumps.

If made properly, scrapple can be sliced and fried easily with little crumbling.

Headcheese

Headcheese is easy to make. Split the head, remove the eyes, clean the ears and nostrils, cover the cleaned pieces in water with the tongue, heart, and some lean trimmings and cook until the meat is well done and separates easily from the bones. Grind the meat and cover with broth. Add seasoning (salt, pepper, and others if desired), cook for 15 to 20 minutes and pour into pans. Headcheese can be eaten cold or fried the same as scrapple or panhas. Headcheese does not hold together as well as scrapple because of the absence of corn meal and flour.

The following quantities of seasoning per 100 pounds of cooked meat, including the added broth, are recommended:

2–2½ pounds of salt

3–5 ounces of black pepper

1 ounce of red pepper

1 ounce of ground cloves (if desired)

1 ounce of coriander (if desired)

2 ounces of sweet marjoram (if desired)

Panhas (pon-hos)

Using the broth remaining after making headcheese, strain out all the bones and thicken with corn meal, buckwheat or rye flour. Use three or four parts broth to one part meal to make a thick paste. To prevent lumping, it is best to slightly moisten the meal with a little cooled broth before adding it to the other broth. Season to taste with the seasonings given for headcheese. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes and pour into shallow pans to cool. Slice and serve like scrapple.

Pickled Pigs’ Feet

Pigs’ feet should be clean, free from hair, and the toes removed. Make certain to clean between the toes and trim any remaining hair.

Cure clean, chilled feet in brine for 15 days to 3 weeks. Use the same brine suggested for curing hams. Weight the feet to keep them from floating above the solution. Use enough solution to completely submerge the feet. Keep the feet cold throughout curing period (at 36° to 40° F, if possible).

After curing, slowly cook or simmer the feet until they are tender. Cook them slowly to keep the skin from parting excessively and the feet from pulling out of shape. Thoroughly chill the cured, cooked feet and pack them in cold, moderately strong vinegar, add spices such as bay leaves or allspice. Use the feet at once or store them in the vinegar.

MEAT COOKERY

Tender cuts of meat are best cooked with dry heat such as broiling, roasting, and panbroiling. Less tender cuts of meat are tenderized by cooking with moist heat. Connective tissue is softened and tenderized by cooking slowly in moisture.

Temperature control is very important in meat cookery. Meat loses moisture, fat, and other substances during cooking. However, some of the meat juices and fat may be retained in the pan drippings.

Cooking losses can be minimized by controlling the oven cooking temperature and final internal temperature of the meat. Shrinkage is increased when hot oven temperatures are used for cooking and when meat is cooked to a higher internal temperature.

The meat thermometer is the most accurate guide to the degree of doneness of meat. Cooking time in relation to weight is often used as a guide to the degree of doneness, but this may be influenced by the cut’s fat and moisture content and by its shape or size.

Fresh pork, smoked picnic shoulder, shoulder roll, and other smoked products should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160° F (71° C). Excessive cooking will toughen and dry the meat, thus decreasing its acceptability.

Hams cooked to 140° F (60° C) are not fully cooked and should be cooked before eating. Hams which are cooked to 150° F or higher should require no further cooking and are labeled “fully cooked.”