Finding ‘Joy’ in Cincinnati:
crepe, filled with a fried egg, goetta, havarti cheese, roasted peppers and onions.
“Which brings up the subject of how to dress goetta: with ketchup, marmalade, syrup,” Woellert says.
The Netherland eggs Benedict combines goetta, roasted tomatoes and a bearnaise aioli on an English muffin at The Grille at Palm Court, inside Cincinnati’s downtown Hilton, where executive chef George Zappas makes his own goetta — a recipe he developed while working as the hotel’s butcher.
A mile north at Findlay Market, midday entrees at French Crust Cafe & Bistro include a flaky pastry with a sauteed veggie relish, poached egg, hollandaise sauce and goetta. The restaurant is operated by chef Jean-Robert de Cavel, who also brought fivestar dining to Cincinnati.
Eckerlin Meats, a block away, sells goetta by the loaf and pound, or sliced and grilled on egg-andcheese sandwiches. Eckerlin sells 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of goetta weekly. It’s made with only pork shoulder and beef chuck, meaning it’s “leaner, higher in fiber and less sloppy,” says Josh Lillis, one of several family members working at that butcher shop that’s over 150 years old. The seasoning blend, although proprietary, “is nothing crazy or super unique.”
“Goetta used to be made out of necessity,” Lillis notes. “Feeding a family meant using an animal from head to toe.”
Lillis says Cincinnatians care deeply about goetta, especially in West Side neighborhoods that stick to tradition.
“They talk about whether it’s too meaty, has too much oats or doesn’t flip properly,” Lillis says.
What began as hearty winter food is now sold year-round. It pops up in some unlikely places.
At Catch-a-Fire Pizza inside MadTree Brewing in the Oakley neighborhood, goetta and a cracked egg top the Goettup, Stand Up pie.
“Most of our pizzas are named after Bob Marley songs,” write Jeff and Melissa Ledford, the husband-wife owners.
Roasted garlic and olive oil, caramelized onions, peppadew peppers and cheeses complete the pizza. Goetta is browned a little before going onto the pie, and browns more while baking.
Even Camp Washington Chili, which goes through 60 gallons of chili a day, began sneaking in goetta this year. But you have to know to ask for the “513 Way,” a customer’s creation named after the local area code.
Owner Maria Papakirk says the 513 Way begins with a base of grilled goetta instead of spaghetti. Then it’s standard five-way chili: red beans, meaty chili sauce, diced onions and shredded cheddar. The goetta comes from Queen City Sausage, best known
Cincinnati is well represented in one of the country’s most popular cookbooks, “Joy of Cooking,” whose ninth edition hit shelves Nov. 12. That’s no coincidence: Marion Becker, daughter of original “Joy” author Irma Rombauer, had a home near the city and added regional favorites to cookbook editions after her mother’s death.
Those additions include Becker’s recipe for goetta.
Co-author John Becker, grandson of Marion, says he wasn’t raised on goetta in Cincinnati: “My father (Ethan Becker) kept his cereals and breakfast meats separate — usually in the form of halved, pan-fried sausage links and fried cornmeal mush.”
These days, John Becker lives in Oregon but still has his Cincy favorites, like chili from Empress and Skyline, as well as ribs and thick chips from Montgomery Inn and “the impeccably roasted chicken” at Floyd’s, which serves Lebanese food near the University of Cincinnati.
Other Ohio favorites in “Joy” include buckeye candy, Cincinnati chili Cockaigne, Cincinnatistyle cheese Coney hot dog, Ohio farmhouse sausage chili and Ohio Shaker lemon pie.