Montana hunters use everything that they can when they butcher up their meaty harvests. Every chunk of meat is carefully trimmed, ground, fileted, and separated when making meat. 

Scraps are limited to whatever you will not eat. Some folks avoid organ meat while others find the heart and innards to be rather tasty. Native people ate everything from hooves to horns. 

One rarely made classic Camo-Plate Special is Scrapple. This recipe uses “everything but the squeal”. Dutch and Germans often made this tasty dish from what was left over when the cutting was done. Modern commercial Scrapple is made from boiled pork and offal mixed with cornmeal and spices. It is then formed into a loaf, then sliced and fried.

Don’t knock it until you try it. Most people never look to see what is in a sausage, Slim Jim, or cold cuts. It’s what’s for Breakfast!

We always brought a 5 lb. block of Scrapple to hunting and fishing camp. Some newbies were shy about their diet, but by the end of camp, they were fat and happy, and the Scrapple loaf was gone. 

Typically, the scrap meat is heart, liver, and butt, but any meat/ trimmings can be used. Ground up game scraps work well. I have also added pork shoulder, or bacon, when making Scrapple. This helps to hold the loaf together and adds flavor. 

There are 4 ingredients to Scrapple. 

• Meat scraps and organ meat
• Spices
• Cornmeal
• Oil or butter for frying

Boil 1 ½ lbs.  meat scraps in 4 cups of water. It takes at least 2 hours to get real tender. Strain the broth into a saucepan. Now run the meat through a grinder. Some folks run the meat through a food processor and make the meat into a paste. 

Bring the broth to a simmer and add the processed meat. Now add the spices of salt, pepper, and sage to taste. Some red pepper flakes are also fun. I have even used Old Bay seafood seasoning. 

Now slowly add 1 cup of corn meal, while stirring constantly, until you have a thick mass. 

Transfer into greased bread loaf pans and refrigerate overnight. You can also package the Scrapple and freeze it. 

When you want to cook the Scrapple, cut it into ¼-1/2-inch slices and fry. It’s done when there is a golden-brown coating and a soft center. Serve it with ketchup or pancake syrup. 

Before going to all the trouble to make Scrapple, buy a 1lb. loaf at the store and give it a try. Local shops may also make their own custom blends. Close your eyes and open your mouth. You will not be disappointed. 

Let’s get Scrappy!

Montana Grant