A friend grabbed my arm at the farmers market last spring, practically dragging me toward a vendor's table. "You HAVE to try this," she said, pointing at golden-brown slices sizzling on a griddle. I'd never heard of scrapple recipe before, and honestly, when the vendor explained it was pork and cornmeal loaf, I wasn't sure. But my friend had that look - the one that says trust me. One bite changed everything. The outside crackled like the crispiest hash brown, while the inside stayed smooth and packed with sage and pepper.
Why You'll Love This Homemade Scrapple Recipe
From making this every weekend for the past year and serving it to everyone from my picky eaters to my foodie neighbors, here's why it keeps winning people over. This Pennsylvania Dutch scrapple recipe works because you're in control - no weird fillers, no mystery ingredients, just pork shoulder, cornmeal, and spices you recognize. You make it once on Sunday, slice and fry throughout the week. Emma loves that it's crunchier than bacon, and I love that it stretches our grocery budget while tasting better than anything from the store.
The prep happens in stages, which sounds annoying but actually fits into a normal weekend. Simmer the pork one day while you're doing laundry or watching TV. The next day, mix it with cornmeal and pour it into loaf pans to chill overnight. Then you've got breakfast ready whenever you need it - just slice and fry until the edges get dark and crispy. It freezes well too, so I usually double the batch and stack slices between parchment paper in freezer bags. One Saturday of cooking gives you weeks of breakfasts.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Homemade Scrapple Recipe
- Ingredients for Scrapple Recipe
- How To Make Scrapple Recipe Step By Step
- Smart Swaps for Your Scrapple Recipe
- Scrapple Recipe Variations
- Equipment For Scrapple Recipe
- Storing Your Scrapple Recipe
- What to Serve With Scrapple Recipe
- Top Tip
- What to Serve With Scrapple Recipe
- FAQ
- Time for a Real Farmhouse Breakfast!
- Related
- Pairing
- Scrapple Recipe
Ingredients for Scrapple Recipe
The Pork Base:
- Pork shoulder or pork butt
- Pork liver
- Pork bones for broth
- Bay leaves
- Black peppercorns
- Fresh sage
The Binding:
- Black pepper
- Yellow cornmeal
- Buckwheat flour
- Reserved pork broth
- Salt
Spice Blend:
- Ground sage
- Dried thyme
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Cayenne pepper
- Ground cloves
For Cooking:
- Bacon fat
- Butter or lard for frying
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Scrapple Recipe Step By Step
Day One - Build the Broth:
- Toss the bones and bay leaves
- Place pork shoulder and bones in your largest stockpot
- Cover completely with cold water, about 2 inches over the meat
- Drop in bay leaves and peppercorns
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to gentle simmer for 3-4 hours
- Meat should fall apart when you poke it with a fork
- Add liver in the last 30 minutes if you're using it
- Strain everything through mesh strainer, save that broth
- Pull meat apart with two forks until it's shredded fine
Day One - Make the Mush:
- Measure 6 cups of your pork broth into clean pot
- Bring to simmer over medium heat
- Pour cornmeal in slowly while whisking constantly
- Keep whisking to break up any lumps that form
- Cook and stir for 20-25 minutes until it's thick like oatmeal
- Stir in your shredded pork and all the spices
- Mix until pork is spread throughout
Setting It Up:
- Grease two loaf pans with butter or cooking spray
- Pour the mixture into pans, split it evenly
- Smooth tops with spatula dipped in water
- Press plastic wrap right on the surface
- Refrigerate overnight, needs at least 8 hours to firm up
- Should slice clean without crumbling when ready
Frying Day - The Good Part:
- Serve right away while still crackling hot
- Slice your chilled scrapple about half-inch thick
- Heat cast iron skillet over medium heat
- Add bacon fat, butter, or lard - enough to coat the bottom
- Lay slices in pan without crowding
- Fry 4-5 minutes until bottom is dark brown and crusty
- Flip once and fry other side same way
- Edges should be almost black, that's the good stuff
Smart Swaps for Your Scrapple Recipe
Meat Options:
- Pork shoulder → Ground pork (cuts cooking time way down)
- Pork liver → Skip it entirely (add extra sage instead)
- Pork bones → Chicken or turkey bones work fine
- Traditional pork → Turkey scrapple (use all turkey parts)
Grain Choices:
- Yellow cornmeal → White cornmeal (no real difference)
- Stone-ground → Regular cornmeal (texture won't be quite as good)
- Buckwheat flour → Just use all cornmeal
- Traditional → Gluten-free cornmeal (check the label)
Broth Alternatives:
- Pork → Beef broth (changes the flavor a lot)
- Homemade → Store-bought pork or chicken broth
- Fresh → Concentrated broth diluted with water
Scrapple Recipe Variations
Spicy Breakfast:
- Add diced jalapeños to the mush
- Extra cayenne pepper
- Serve with hot sauce on top
- Top with melted pepper jack cheese
Apple Sage:
- Fold in dried apples (chopped small)
- Double the fresh sage
- Drizzle with maple syrup when serving
- Side of warm applesauce
Southern Style:
- Fry in bacon grease (always)
- Use grits instead of cornmeal
- Add crumbled breakfast sausage
- Season with Cajun spices
Equipment For Scrapple Recipe
- Fine mesh strainer
- Heavy-bottomed stockpot (at least 8 quarts)
- Two standard loaf pans
- Long-handled whisk (the cornmeal bubbles and spits)
- Cast iron skillet (10 or 12 inch)
- Sharp slicing knife
Storing Your Scrapple Recipe
Refrigerator (1-2 weeks):
- Keep in loaf pan covered tight with plastic wrap
- Or slice and wrap each piece individually
- Separate slices with parchment paper
- Ready to fry straight from the fridge anytime
Freezer (3-4 months):
- Slice before freezing (way easier than after)
- Wrap each slice in plastic wrap
- Stack in freezer bags with parchment between layers
- Label with the date
- Fry from frozen (add 2 minutes per side)
Make-Ahead Magic:
- Freeze what you won't use in a week
- Always have breakfast ready to go
- Make full batch on weekend when you have time
- Portion into meal-sized amounts
What to Serve With Scrapple Recipe
From years of Saturday morning breakfasts, here's what works best with this crispy, savory scrapple recipe. The standard plate is fried eggs with runny yolks, hash browns or home fries, and buttered toast. For a Southern spin, pair it with cheesy grits, biscuits and gravy, or fried apples with cinnamon. If you're doing the sweet and savory thing, scrapple goes surprisingly well alongside pancakes or waffles with maple syrup - the sweetness plays off that salty, porky flavor. Emma always requests scrambled eggs with cheese, toast cut into triangles, and orange slices on the side.
The best pairing is something that cuts through the richness. I usually serve scrapple with fried eggs and a side of sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper. That bright, acidic bite from the tomatoes balances out the fatty, savory scrapple. My grandfather ate it this way every Saturday for forty years, and now I get why. You can also go lighter with a simple green salad, sliced avocado, or fresh berries if you're watching what you eat but still want that crispy scrapple.
Top Tip
- My grandfather had a trick with this scrapple recipe that nobody else in the family knew about until I spent a whole weekend watching him work. While most folks just simmered their pork and called it done, he'd pull the pot off the heat about halfway through and let it sit for twenty minutes. "Lets the meat relax," he'd say, poking at it with his fork. I thought he was just being stubborn.
- Turns out he was right. That rest period lets the pork soak back up some of the flavorful broth before you shred it, making the final scrapple way more moist and tasty. His other trick? He'd brown a few tablespoons of butter in a separate pan until it smelled nutty, then stir it into the cornmeal mush right before adding the pork. That browned butter adds this subtle depth that you can't quite put your finger on but makes people ask what's different about your batch.
What to Serve With Scrapple Recipe
From years of Saturday morning breakfasts, here's what works best with this crispy, savory scrapple recipe. The standard plate is fried eggs with runny yolks, hash browns or home fries, and buttered toast. For a Southern spin, pair it with cheesy grits, biscuits and gravy, or fried apples with cinnamon. If you're doing the sweet and savory thing, scrapple goes surprisingly well alongside pancakes or waffles with maple syrup - the sweetness plays off that salty, porky flavor. Emma always requests scrambled eggs with cheese, toast cut into triangles, and orange slices on the side.
The best pairing is something that cuts through the richness. I usually serve scrapple with fried eggs and a side of sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper. That bright, acidic bite from the tomatoes balances out the fatty, savory scrapple. My grandfather ate it this way every Saturday for forty years, and now I get why. You can also go lighter with a simple green salad, sliced avocado, or fresh berries if you're watching what you eat but still want that crispy scrapple.
FAQ
What exactly is Scrapple Recipe made of?
Traditional Scrapple Recipe combines pork scraps (shoulder, trimmings, sometimes liver) with cornmeal and pork broth, seasoned with sage and spices. Everything gets cooked down, mixed into cornmeal mush, then chilled into a firm loaf. It started as a way to use every part of the pig during butchering season in Pennsylvania Dutch country, creating a breakfast meat that keeps well and packs plenty of protein.
How to make the perfect Scrapple Recipe?
Perfect Scrapple Recipe comes down to three things: cooking the pork until it shreds easy, adding cornmeal slowly to avoid lumps, and getting the thickness right so it slices clean but stays creamy inside. The pork-to-cornmeal ratio matters most - too much cornmeal makes it dry and crumbly. Fry slices in hot cast iron until deeply browned and crispy on both sides.
Is Scrapple Recipe healthy or unhealthy?
Scrapple Recipe is moderately high in protein but also has saturated fat and sodium, so it's better as an occasional breakfast rather than daily. A typical slice runs around 120 calories. Homemade versions let you control what goes in - I use lean pork shoulder and go light on salt. It's got more nutrients than a lot of processed breakfast meats, giving you iron and B vitamins.
Should scrapple be boiled or fried?
Scrapple should always be fried, never boiled. The boiling happens during prep when you cook the pork in broth. Once the scrapple is set and chilled, you slice and pan-fry it in butter or bacon fat until crispy and golden. That contrast between the crunchy outside and creamy inside is what makes good scrapple. Boiling prepared scrapple would just turn it into mush.
Time for a Real Farmhouse Breakfast!
Now you've got everything you need to make proper Scrapple Recipe the way Pennsylvania Dutch cooks have for generations. This recipe connects you to a time when nothing went to waste and breakfast was the most important meal made with care. My grandfather would be proud knowing another generation is frying up these crispy slices on Saturday mornings.
Want more hearty morning favorites? Pour our The Best Smoked Salmon Breakfast Recipe over biscuits alongside your scrapple for a serious stick-to-your-ribs breakfast. Need something different for brunch? Check out our Best Kings Hawaiian Cheesecake Danish that uses up all those leftovers in your fridge. Or try our Easy Homemade Stollen Recipe for a sweet balance to all that savory pork.
Share your scrapple success! We especially love seeing how different families serve theirs!
Rate this Scrapple Recipe and join our farmhouse cooking community!
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
Scrapple Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Fine mesh strainer (For separating broth)
- 1 Large stockpot (At least 8 quarts)
- 1 Loaf pans (Standard size (9x5 inch))
- 1 Long-handled whisk (For safely mixing hot cornmeal mush)
- 1 Cast iron skillet (For frying scrapple)
- 1 Sharp slicing knife (For clean slices)
Ingredients
The Pork Base:
- 2 lb Pork shoulder - Or pork butt
- 0.5 lb Pork liver Optional
- 1 lb Pork bones - For rich broth
- 2 Bay leaves - Whole
- 1 teaspoon Black peppercorns - Whole
- 2 tablespoon Fresh sage - Roughly chopped
The Binding:
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper - Ground
- 1.5 cup Yellow cornmeal - Stone-ground preferred
- 0.5 cup Buckwheat flour - Or substitute with cornmeal
- 6 cup Reserved pork broth - From boiled pork
- 2 teaspoon Salt - Adjust to taste
Spice Blend:
- 1 teaspoon Ground sage
- 1 teaspoon Dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion powder
- 0.5 teaspoon Cayenne pepper - Optional heat
- 0.25 teaspoon Ground cloves - Just a pinch
For Cooking:
- 2 tablespoon Bacon fat - Or lard/butter for frying
- Butter or lard - As needed for frying
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