D oes goetta have a grip on us, or what?

“Hello!” Marysville reader Cathy Emery writes. “I have been watching with interest your columns about gotta or goetta or, as my ex’s German grandmother in New Albany, Ind. (right across the river from Louisville, Ky.) used to call it, ‘haben gotta,’ which was a pork and oatmeal dish she made for breakfast.

“As Jo Fricke of Granite Falls wrote in the Sept. 18 Forum column, we never saw a written recipe, either, or even knew how to spell the name.

“Grandmother would cook up a pot of oatmeal early in the morning and, at the end of cooking, add chopped leftover pork roast from the night before, plus some of the ‘pork jelly’ from the bottom of the pan, and salt and pepper.

“She would pour the oatmeal-pork mixture into a baking dish and chill it for a few hours until firm. Then, she would cut it in squares and fry it, and serve it with maple syrup. It was delicious, and I’m happy to know the roots of this dish!”

Next, Lisa Ogle of Everett tells us, “Goetta is pronounced get-a. I am enjoying all of your columns about this fabulous hometown treat that I love so much! I have sent copies of your last article to all of my aunts back in Kentucky.”

And we hear from longtime Forum helper-outer Phyllis Henshaw of Everett, “When I saw the request for scrapple in the Forum, I knew exactly where to look. The recipe for pawnhaas was in ‘The Dutch Cookbook,’ that I purchased in Burton, Ohio, in 1968. And the recipe for oatmeal scrapple, which sounds like what Sharon Weiden is looking for, is in the “Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book’ I bought in Lebanon, Pa. in 1969.”

Dutch pawnhaas (or scrapple)

3quarts broth (directions follow)

Cornmeal

2cups cooked pork (cut fine)

2teaspoons salt

1/2teaspoon pepper

1/2teaspoon sage (if desired)

To make the broth, boil together one cleaned hog’s head, with heart and liver and pieces of pork for several hours. Remove the meat from bones and grind. (Some of this can be used to make puddin’.) Bring the broth to a boil; into it dribble cornmeal, stirring constantly, until the consistency of mush has been achieved. Add meat and seasonings. Cook slowly in a heavy kettle or double-boiler, stirring constantly for the first 15 minutes, and then frequently for a half-hour. Pour into loaf pans about 3-inches deep and keep in a cool place. To serve, slice 1/4-inch thick and fry in hot fat until brown on both sides.

Note: Farm-made scrapple is much superior to the Philadelphia scrapple in circulation. This is a by-product of butchering, created to use the broth that was left from making pudding.

Pennsylvania Dutch oatmeal scrapple

3pounds lean pork

1large bone

1pound (about 5 cups) uncooked rolled oats

5teaspoons salt

1 1/2teaspoons pepper

5teaspoons onion juice

Put pork and bone into large heavy kettle and cover with water; simmer until meat is tender. Remove meat from bone and cool; put meat through fine blade of food chopper. Return meat to liquid, bring to boiling and stir in oats, seasonings and onion juice. Cook slowly for 1 hour. Pour mixture into well-greased loaf pans and set aside to cool. Cover and store in refrigerator. When ready to serve, slice and fry in hot fat until golden brown.

SOS: Doris Leidholm over there in Clinton says, “I’m requesting a recipe for stuffed peppers done in a crockpot. I do them in the oven but would like a change, so I could fix them in the morning and they’d be ready at dinnertime.”

If you can help, please write to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206. We are always happy to receive your contributions and requests, but please remember that all letters and all e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code. No exceptions and sorry, but no response to e-mail by return e-mail; send to kruse@heraldnet.com.

The next Forum will appear in Wednesday’s Food section.