Scrapple

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Quick Bite

Scrapple is a Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast loaf made from pork scraps, cornmeal, flour, and spices, sliced and fried until crisp. It is nose-to-tail cooking with a crunchy edge and a devoted fan club.

History

Scrapple comes from Pennsylvania Dutch food traditions and is especially associated with southeastern Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic. German-speaking settlers brought recipes for meat-and-grain loaves that made practical use of pork trimmings after butchering.

The basic idea is thrift made delicious. Pork scraps, broth, cornmeal, buckwheat flour or wheat flour, and seasonings are cooked into a thick mixture, poured into loaf pans, chilled, sliced, and fried. The result is crisp on the outside and soft inside.

Scrapple has always been a breakfast food with strong opinions attached. Some people eat it with eggs. Some put it on sandwiches. Some use maple syrup, ketchup, apple butter, or mustard. Some refuse to discuss the ingredients until after the first bite.

Today, scrapple is sold in grocery stores, farmers markets, diners, and Pennsylvania Dutch restaurants across the region. It remains one of Pennsylvania’s great “trust the process” foods.

Fun Facts

• Scrapple is usually sliced from a loaf and pan-fried.
• It comes from Pennsylvania Dutch nose-to-tail cooking traditions.
• People top it with everything from syrup to ketchup, and everyone thinks their way is normal.

Where to Try

Dutch Eating Place Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia
A Pennsylvania Dutch counter in Reading Terminal Market whose menu includes scrapple.

Down Home Diner Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia
A classic diner-style stop in the market where scrapple fits naturally beside eggs and breakfast plates.

Dutch-Way Family Restaurant Gap / Myerstown / Schaefferstown area, Pennsylvania
A Pennsylvania Dutch country restaurant group where scrapple is right at home with hearty regional breakfasts.

About the Game

This recipe is part of Van Life Challenge, a travel-themed board game from Gray Dog Games where players explore the United States, discover regional foods, and collect memorable experiences along the way.

Each featured food celebrates a real place, a local flavor, and the kind of delicious roadside discovery that makes every trip feel like an adventure.

Recipe

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Home-Cook-Friendly Scrapple Makes: 1 loaf Prep: 25 minutes, plus overnight chilling Cook: 1 ½–2 hours Difficulty: Medium Style: Pennsylvania Dutch / Breakfast Loaf

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork shoulder or pork scraps
• 4 cups water or pork broth
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon sage
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• ½ cup buckwheat flour or all-purpose flour
• Butter or oil, for frying

Instructions

1. Start the pork: Place pork, water or broth, onion, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, and nutmeg in a pot.
2. Simmer: Simmer until the pork is very tender.
3. Chop the pork: Remove the pork and chop or grind it finely. Reserve the broth.
4. Measure broth: Measure 3 cups of broth back into the pot.
5. Bring to a simmer: Bring the broth to a simmer.
6. Add grains: Slowly whisk in cornmeal and buckwheat flour.
7. Add pork: Stir in the chopped pork.
8. Cook thick: Cook, stirring often, until very thick.
9. Chill: Spoon into a greased loaf pan and chill overnight.
10. Slice: Slice into ½-inch pieces.
11. Fry: Fry in butter or oil until deeply browned and crisp on both sides.

Traditional note: To make it more traditional, use pork trimmings, pork broth, cornmeal, buckwheat flour, and sage. Fry slices slowly so the outside crisps while the inside stays tender.

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