Goetta
Goetta is a breakfast sausage of likely German-American origin that is popular in the greater Cincinnati area. It is primarily composed of ground meat (pork, or pork and beef), pin-head oats and spices.
Goetta was originally a peasant dish, meant to stretch out servings of meat over several meals to conserve money.
Composition
Goetta comes in a variety of forms, all goetta is based around ground meat combined with pin head or steel cut oats. Usually goetta is made from pork shoulder or "Cali", but occasionally contains equal parts
pork and
beef. Goetta is typically flavored with
bay leaves,
rosemary,
salt,
pepper, and
thyme. It contains onions and sometimes other vegetables.
Preparation
Goetta is typically formed into small loaves, and then cut into squares and fried, often in the oil left over from browning the meats or in bacon drippings. Traditionally a breakfast food, goetta is often served with apple butter, ketchup, mustard, syrup, grape jelly,
honey, or eaten by itself.
More recently, goetta has become an all purpose food eaten with any meal. New goetta products in the Cincinnati area include goetta burgers, goetta dogs, and goetta pizza. As the meat in goetta is precooked during the process of making the loaves, goetta can be kept in the freezer.
