For those us that love the combo of sweet and salty, breakfast foods offer a variety of ways to get both at the same time. An old classic is scrapple, breaded meat that’s often served with syrup. This Amish apple scrapple hits all the right notes, and once you try it this one might become a new breakfast favorite- especially for those big weekend brunches.
Traditionally scrapple was made from the scraps of butchering. The amalgamation was then breaded and fried. The Amish brought this recipe over from Germany and it is frequently known as “pan rabbit” (panhaas in German) in Amish areas.
However, this modern version uses pork sausage as the base and is elevated with the addition of diced apples to the mix. Pork and fruit is a classic combination and they work really well together in this dish.
The first step to making this recipe is to sauté onions with the sausage. Once this is done it’s time to sauté the diced apples with thyme, sage, and pepper. We used Granny Smith apples for tartness and crunch, but other varieties will also work just fine.
The thing that holds the scrapple together is cornmeal mush which is really simple to make. Mix together water and cornmeal and cook until a wooden spoon can stand up in the mixture. Then mix the cornmeal together with the apples and sausage and form into a loaf shape using a 8″x4″ loaf pan. Refrigerate this for at least 4 hours. This would be a great thing to make the night before and to let sit overnight.
When the loaf is firmed up remove from pan and cut into 8 equal slices. Dip the slices in flour before frying them up in butter. Scrapple slices are ready when browned on both sides and warmed all the way through.
Serve this scrapple piping hot with some warm maple syrup to pour on top. If you’ve never had this Pennsylvania Dutch scrapple before then you’re in for a real treat.
Amish Apple Scrapple
Allergens: Gluten
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb pork sausage
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/2 cup diced apple, unpeeled
- 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups water, divided
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Preparation
- In a large skillet, sauté onions and sausage over medium-high until sausage is no longer pink. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings and drain the rest. Remove sausage and onions from skillet.
- Add drippings, 2 tablespoons butter, apple, thyme, sage, and pepper to pan. Cook until apple is fork tender (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add to cooked sausage.
- In a large pan bring 2 cups water to boil. In a separate bowl combine cornmeal, salt and remaining cup of butter. Slowly add this mixture to the boiling water. Allow to return to boil and then reduce to a simmer. Stir constantly to avoid scorching. Add more water if needed, but mixture should be thick enough for a wooden spoon to stand up in.
- Add sausage-apple mixture to cornmeal and stir. Pour the final mix into a greased 8”x4” loaf pan. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
- Cut the scrapple into 1/2” thick slices. Coat both sides of each piece in flour. Fry in remaining butter over medium heat until golden brown on each side. Serve hot with maple syrup.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.