Spend a few days in Cincinnati, Ohio and sure enough, you'll be offered Goetta for breakfast alongside your fried eggs. Composed of ground meat, steel-cut oats, and spices, the dish was originally created by German immigrants to stretch the family food dollar. Now, the crispy breakfast meat is an essential part of the greater Cincinnati area food culture, with hundreds of thousands of Ohioans enjoying the breakfast sausage every year.
What is Goetta?
Developed in America, Goetta is like Pennsylvania Scrapple and North Carolina Livermush. Most Goetta recipes contain ground beef and ground pork as well as pinhead oats and spices such as bay leaves, rosemary, salt, black pepper, and thyme. While you can get it at the butcher shop, two main suppliers Glier's Goetta and Queen City Sausage produce over 450 metric tons of the stuff annually. Shoppers in northern Kentucky and Indiana can find these brands in their supermarkets.
Celebrate with the Goettafest
Hosted every year on the Ohio River waterfront, Goettafest is two full weekends of Glier's Goetta, live music and family fun! Snack on deep-fried goetta balls and a grilled goetta donut sandwich with maple syrup at the various food booths. The event is scheduled to take part July 30 - August 2, August 6 - 9 with no news of rescheduling due to the current coronavirus pandemic.
How to Make Goetta at Home
Living anywhere but Ohio? Learn how to make your own goetta at home with this simple recipe.
In a large pot combine steel-cut oats, beef broth, salt, bay leaves, and marjoram. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 90 minutes until the oats are soft and the broth is absorbed. Add in the ground beef and pork along with finely chopped onions, garlic, and various spices. return to a boil and reduce to low, cooking for an additional hour until the mixture has thickened.
Pour the mixture into two loaf pans and let cool completely. Refrigerate overnight.
The next day, cut the loaf into 1/2 inch slices and fry the sausage on a dry skillet, cooking until brown and crispy on both sides, about 4-5 minutes.
