Few things are better than warm, freshly cooked scrapple. But cooking scrapple yourself can be a bit challenging at times, and we’ve found that many people become frustrated when their scrapple starts falling apart while they’re cooking it. Thankfully, this is an easy problem to solve! So how do you cook scrapple without it falling apart?
Start with 1/4 inch slices of scrapple. Pan fry with 1/4 inch of oil in the pan to create a crispy shell, which prevents crumbling. Or bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, flipping only once to prevent the scrapple from falling apart.
Cooking mouth-watering scrapple isn’t hard once you know how to do it the right way. Thankfully, here at Stoltzfus Meats, we have a few people around here who consider themselves “scrapple cooking experts!” Keep reading to learn from our experts about how to make delicious scrapple every time.
One of our in-house experts is none other than Stoltzfus Meats owner, Myron Stoltzfus. Myron shares two scrapple cooking options with us: pan fry or bake.
How To Pan Fry Scrapple (Without It Sticking To The Pan)
According to Myron, pan frying scrapple is the best way to prepare scrapple. Slice your scrapple into ¼ inch thick slices (or thicker if you like it to stay soft on the inside). Simply heat a skillet over medium heat with about ¼ inch of oil in the pan.
You want the scrapple to be almost submerged in the oil. The oil helps to create a crispy shell. Put the scrapple into the hot oil and pan fry until brown and crispy on one side. Then flip and cook the other side. It’s that simple!
Key takeaway: make sure you use plenty of oil and only flip the scrapple once! This will help prevent it from sticking to the pan and keep it from falling apart.
How To Bake Scrapple In The Oven (Without It Falling Apart)
Another option for cooking scrapple is to bake it. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Slice your scrapple into ¼ inch thick slices (or thicker if you like it to stay soft on the inside). Place your scrapple slices on a parchment lined baking sheet. Be sure to leave space in between each slice on the sheet.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending how crispy you like your scrapple to be. You can flip halfway through to ensure even cooking, but that is not absolutely necessary.
Most importantly, Myron said to avoid flipping the scrapple multiple times, as moving it around more than necessary leads to it crumbling or starting to fall apart.
When done correctly, these two scrapple-cooking methods should result in the perfectly cooked piece of scrapple: hot, perfectly seasoned Stoltzfus Meats scrapple with the perfect crisp on the outside. Serve it up with a side of eggs and toast and you have a delicious breakfast!
Make sure you refrigerate any leftover scrapple and eat it within a few days, since cooked scrapple doesn’t last long before it goes bad.
Can You Cook Scrapple Without Flour?
Yes, you can! Sometimes people coat each side of the scrapple with flour to make it firmer to prevent it from crumbling and falling apart. This can be effective, but it’s not necessary, and it impacts the taste of the scrapple.
The key to preventing crumbling is to flip the scrapple only once, and to use plenty of oil when pan frying. If you do that, coating it with flour is simply not necessary.
How Do You Make Scrapple Not Stick?
The most important thing you can do to prevent scrapple from sticking is to use plenty of oil when pan frying (the oil should almost be submerging the scrapple), or use a parchment lined baking sheet when baking scrapple.
What's So Special About Pennsylvania Dutch Scrapple?
Scrapple is a traditional PA Dutch food that originated from German ancestors who settled in the mid-Atlantic states. According to The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, scrapple was a “rural tradition during hog-butchering time” in Germany. It was a good way for them to minimize scraps and use different parts of the pig that couldn’t be used in things such as bacon or sausage.
As the tradition was brought to Pennsylvania, it meshed with local traditions and eventually became the PA Dutch food we know (and love) today. Stoltzfus Meats is located in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch County, right where scrapple originated. So we know how to make it right, with its original authentic taste and consistency. Our scrapple is kettle-cooked and has the perfect blend of spices. In our opinion, it is the most scrumptious scrapple you will ever taste. Click here to try it for yourself!
13 comments
I had my 1st taste of Scrapple in Philadelphia at a hotel restaurant and it has been one of those types of things that I enjoy when I want a breakfast side that is different and delicious! Your Stolzfus Scrapple is made and tastes just like the first time I had it over 40 years ago. thanks for the cooking tutorial, I plan on having it with my Saturday morning breakfast tomorrow. I think i’ll put a few of your cheese curds on it right after it comes out of the pan! Yum!
I am a vegetarian who tries to cook nice meats for my husband. He grew up with scrapple and I’ve never been able to make it like they do at our many New Jersey diners. Finally your website helped me realize I’m just not using enough oil. Made a piece today and he was very impressed with the crispy outside. Thanks for helping me out!
Hi Sandrea, What a great question about cooking scrapple in the air fryer! This is something we actually have not experimented with yet ourselves, but based on some research it looks like people recommend setting it to 400 degrees F and cooking it for 9 minutes, flipping it, then doing another 9 minutes. I hope this works well for you!
Could you cook Scrapple in an Air Fryer? What would be the procedure to cook it in an Air Fryer?
Hi Joann! Thanks for the feedback. We definitely agree that frying scrapple is the best option for the crispy outside, but baking in the oven can usually be a decent alternative.