Goetta's Got It Going in Cincinnati-- Part 7: NOT Scrapple and Perhaps an Acquired Taste.

"We use the same premium meats for goetta," says Queen City Sausage marketing director Mark Balasa.  "Ours are not made with meat scraps" and onion is added to deepen flavor.  The company sells 5-pound bricks to pre-sliced packs of goetta.

"They look like hockey pucks," quips founder Elmer Hensler.

Goetta production has tripled in 10 years.

AND, DON'T call it scrapple because "that's mushier" and made with cornmeal, says Glier of Glier's Meats.  he considers it more like a hardy oatmeal than sausage.  Goetta usually stays softer inside than meatloaf, so it breaks apart more easily when sliced or fried.

The ratio of pork to beef matters.  So do the seasonings and choice of steel cut or pinhead oats as the binder.  The mixture simmers for several hours, until the oats balloon and soak in the flavor of the meaty broth.  

An acquired taste?  Maybe?

Well, I had some goetta at the suggestion of buddy Denny once in Cincinnati at a neat little breakfast joint, and I liked it right away.  No acquired taste for me.

Hell, I Wanted Seconds.  Gotta Goetta My Goetta.  --RoadGoetta