Goetta’s got it going on
for making bratwurst and mettwurst.
“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.
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 and 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? Perhaps.
But the midsummer Glier’s Goettafest that began as a oneday party in 2001 has expanded to eight days of goetta, beer, music and T-shirts emblazoned with slogans like “Goetta Grip” or “Goetta Life.” Goetta is sold in mac and cheese, omelets, nachos and fried rice. Sliced goetta is fried for sliders, kabobs and glazed doughnuts. Quesadillas, tacos and calzones are filled with the festival’s namesake product.
“When people make this at home, and some still do,” Glier says, “it’s usually part of a meal at Grandma’s for Christmas.”