Goetta

Goetta (GHET-ə) is a meat-and-grain sausage or mush of German inspiration that is popular in Metro Cincinnati. It is primarily composed of ground meat (pork, or sausage and beef), steel-cut oats and spices. It was originally a dish meant to stretch out servings of meat over several meals to conserve money, and is a similar dish to scrapple and livermush, both also developed by German immigrants.

The dish probably originated with German settlers from the northwestern regions of Oldenburg, Hannover, and Westphalia who emigrated to the Cincinnati area in the 19th century. The word goetta comes from the Low German word Götte, meaning groats or coarse grains (or a food made from them).

Goetta's texture is slightly mushier than loose breakfast sausage, and the flavor tends to be sweeter and more complex depending one what spices are used. The richness of pork and beef combine with the nuttiness of the steel-cut oats. Some goetta has traces of warming spices like cinnamon, clove and mace. Other versions feature spicy notes of ginger, garlic and even cayenne pepper.

The Sarge’s goetta

3 quarts water
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
5 cups steel-cut oats
2 pounds each ground beef and ground pork sausage
2 large onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup oil

Bring water, salt and pepper to boil in a slow cooker set to high. Stir in oats, cover and cook 90 minutes. In a large bowl, mix together the beef, pork and onions; stir into the oat mixture and reduce heat to low. Cover and continue cooking for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Transfer the mixture to a medium baking pan and cool until semi-solid. Turn out onto waxed paper and chill 1 hour in the refrigerator, or until mixture is firm. To cook, heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the refrigerated mixture into thin slices and cook the slices, 1 at a time, in the hot oil until evenly brown.