Turkey Scrapple

According to Wikipedia, "Scrapple is a savory mush of scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal... The mush is formed into a loaf, and slices of the scrapple are then fried before serving. Scraps of meat left over from butchering... were made into scrapple to avoid waste... Scrapple is typically made of hog offal, such as the head, heart, liver, and other scraps, which are boiled with any bones attached (often the entire head), to make a broth... Scrapple is arguably the first pork food invented in America. The first recipes were created more than two-hundred years ago by Dutch colonists who settled near Philadelphia and Chester County, Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries."

OK, so that's the history of pork scrapple in the United States. So how did turkey scrapple end up becoming a tradition in this California Greek's household? Well, years ago, before I was married, a friend from church came over to my parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner. Somehow, during the course of the preparation & cleanup, she described how she used the turkey carcass to make scrapple. It sounded really interesting to both me and my mom. My mother decided to give it a try, and we both loved it. I've been making it on my own for over 30 years now. Every roast turkey dinner results in scrapple for breakfast. I like this tasty solution to the turkey carcass quandary a lot better than the usual turkey soup.

After slicing off the turkey meat, I gather up all the bones & skin and dump everything into a huge stock pot covering everything with water. I add a chunked up onion, carrot, and celery stalk. I also add a couple of large pinches of dried rosemary, thyme, & sage. I'll throw in 3-5 whole allspice berries and at least a teaspoon of whole black peppercorns too. Finally, I'll add a bayleaf or two and maybe even a couple of cloves of garlic cut in half. Bring all this to a boil, lower the heat, and let it simmer for hours upon hours.

When the turkey stock is rich and flavorful, I'll strain out the solids and pick through the cooled bones to pull out meaty chunks.  Most of the time I roast a 12-14 pound turkey, so I'll end up with quite of few nice meaty scraps. I'm very careful to not include bones or cartilage in my meat pile. I refrigerate the remaining broth overnight. The next morning I'll remove some of the fat that has congealed on the top.

I follow the basic corn meal mush recipe found on the Albers Yellow Cornmeal box (I usually make two recipes' worth). This gives me the correct proportions of liquid to cornmeal. However, I cook the cornmeal in the turkey broth until the mixture is super thick. Then I add the reserved turkey meat scraps and cook an additional 20 minutes. I also add some sage and thyme to the cornmeal while it's cooking, sometimes finely chopped onion too.

When the scrapple mixture is so thick that I can hardly stir it, I spoon it into Pyrex loaf pans that have been lightly sprayed with Pam. I let the scrapple loaves cool completely, cover them, and refrigerate. To absorb any condensation, I usually put a folded paper towel on top of the loaves before covering.

The next morning, I cut 1/2 inch slices and dredge them in flour (I prefer thick slices). I fry them in a couple of tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes per side. I like them really crispy and really browned. I usually fry up enough for 2-3 slices each, depending on how hungry we are. I think we could probably eat an entire loaf's worth at one sitting, but I try to exert some form of self control. I serve the crispy turkey scrapple slices with a drizzling of either honey or maple syrup. Leftover turkey gravy or cranberry sauce is good too.

Turkey Scrapple
(Printable Recipe)

3-1/2 cups broth, divided
1-1/4 cups Yellow Corn Meal
1 tsp. Sage
1 tsp. Thyme
Optional:
1 tsp. Rosemary
1 tsp. Dried onion



I warm the refrigerated & defatted broth in a dutch oven over low heat. I measure out the amount of broth I'll need for one (or maybe two) recipes of corn meal mush. I set aside whatever broth will not be used. Then I pour about 1-2 cups of warmed broth into a bowl and whisk the corn meal into it. I bring the remaining warm broth to a boil in the dutch oven. I do not salt the broth. At this time, I'll add at least a teaspoon each of rubbed sage and thyme. Add optional rosemary, dried onion, if desired. While stirring constantly, I whisk the cornmeal/broth mixture into the boiling broth. I reduce the heat to low and cook for at least 30 minutes until the mixture is quite thick. Then I add the reserved turkey meat, stir it into the cornmeal mixture well, and cook on low for another 20 minutes.

Pour/scrape mixture into lightly greased loaf pans. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate until solid and cold.

The Low Sodium Pantry: Crispies, Crunchies, & Crumbs (Part 1)

I know crumbs don’t sound very exciting, but they do play an important role in living with and enjoying a low sodium diet. Eating is a sensual experience. Food must taste good, appeal to the eyes, and have a pleasing texture. When salt is removed or lessened, taste is compromised. Judicious use of herbs, spices, and other flavorings can mitigate the loss of flavor to a certain degree, but there are still limitations. So, in order to compensate, it’s important to emphasize visual appeal and especially textural appeal. Thus, crumbs! They truly are a formidable weapon in the low sodium battle.

Bread Crumbs

I make homemade low sodium bread frequently and save the ends for running through my food processor. I do the same with low sodium store bought breads too. I like to grind or grate them when the bread is fresh (I think it’s easier) and then let them dry before storing. I just put the freshly made crumbs in a baking pan and stick them in the oven. I either just let them stay in the cold oven, stirring daily, until they’re dry, or I’ll set the oven for about 250 degrees and bake until dry but not browned. I don’t include flavored breads when making basic crumbs. I want just plain, unflavored breads – no caraway rye, etc. I prefer to process my own bread crumbs; they come out crunchier with different sized crumbs. They’re not ground to a finely uniformed powder. Thus more textural interest.

Dried bread crumbs add a wonderful crunch to baked fish, chicken, & pork. When dealing with baked fish fillets or boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I usually put crumbs on the top. Saves calories & mess. I’ll season both sides of the fish or chicken with whatever salt-free blend strikes my fancy at the time. Then I’ll place them in a baking pan that’s been drizzled with a flavored olive oil. I brush on a thin layer of mayonnaise, homemade or store bought.

In a small sauté pan, I combine dry bread crumbs with some butter and/or flavored olive oil. I usually add one or two crushed cloves of garlic and whatever herb and spice combination I think would work. I sauté this mixture just until the butter is melted and stir well to combine everything. Then I spoon a thick layer of the crumbs onto the fish or chicken and bake. The results are pretty impressive considering how little work was needed. The crumbs are nicely browned and make the rather plain, light colored fish or chicken look lovely. And the crunch adds a wonderful dimension to what could have been a rather bland & uninspired meal. This works well for boneless pork chops too. Just be sure you don’t overcook the fish, chicken, or pork.

Flavored crumbs are also great as a coating (after dredging in flour and dipping in an egg wash) for fried or sautéed fish, chicken, and pork chops. They are wonderful when baking or frying vegetables like eggplant, squash, potatoes, and even sweet potatoes. And, of course, they make a great topping for casseroles and cooked vegetables.

Pasta Sprinkle

One of my favorite ways to use dried bread crumbs is as a topping for pasta. My husband & I love to eat giant bowls full of pasta – pasta with homemade marinara sauce, pasta with homemade meatballs, pasta with homemade Italian sausage, etc. But we also like what I call “plain” pasta – without any tomatoes, meats, vegetables, or any other stuff. Sauced with just a combination of olive oil, butter, crushed garlic, a bit of  NSA chicken broth, and possibly some red pepper flakes. But this is the kind of pasta dish that begs for some sort of topping. Straight shredded Parmesan is out because of the high sodium content. No fear! Flavored & toasted bread crumbs to the rescue.

Pasta Sprinkle
(Printable Recipe)

I combine about 1 cup of dry bread crumbs with about one tablespoon of unsalted butter and one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a small sauté pan. I add one or two crushed cloves of garlic (or more) and at least a teaspoon of dried basil and oregano. If I have fresh herbs on hand, I’ll chop some up and add them too. I sauté this mixture until the butter is melted and the combined mixture is a bit toasty. Then I’ll take the pan off heat and add about a tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese.

I sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on our “plain” pasta just like I used to sprinkle on shredded cheese. It adds a nice textural component and the addition of some Parmesan in the crumb mixture makes us feel less deprived. I keep any leftover flavored crumbs in the fridge. Good with vegetables too.

Panko

Many people love Japanese Panko crumbs because they tend to be lighter, crispier, and crunchier than ordinary bread crumbs. Panko is an extruded crustless bread product that produces flake-like crumbs. They have a large surface area and tend to stay crispy longer than regular bread crumbs. You can find them in the Asian foods sections of most grocery stores now; you can also find them online at Amazon. Panko crumbs are a wonderful product, but you need to look at the labels carefully. Some brands may contain MSG, and the sodium content varies.


If you cannot find a good source for Panko crumbs, you can always make your own. Follow this technique published in the July, 2005, issue of Cook's Illustrated:

“Fit a food processor with a medium or coarse shredding disk. Trim the crusts off the bread slices (five slices will make about one cup of crumbs) and cut the slices in half. Drop a stack of three or four pieces (or as many as will fit comfortably) into the feed tube. Put the feed tube plunger in place and turn on the machine, allowing the weight of the plunger to push the bread through the shredding disk (do not apply additional pressure by pushing down on the plunger). Spread the crumbs in a thin, even layer on one or two rimmed baking sheets and let them dry at room temperature overnight.

If you can't wait that long, you can bake the crumbs in a 300-degree oven until dry to the touch, about eight minutes; stir intermittently, but do not allow them to brown. The crumbs tend to clump in the oven; when the crumbs are cool, break up the clumps by rubbing them gently between your fingers. Once dried, the homemade Panko can be stored in an airtight container or zipper-lock bag for two to three weeks at room temperature or for several months in the freezer.”

By the way... when crusting baked fish, chicken, vegetables, etc., I always mix in some oil or butter with the crumbs. Many recipes call for drizzling melted butter or oil over crumbed foods, but I’m not a good drizzler. So I end up with parts of the foods with lots of butter and other parts without. I’ve tried spraying with Pam, and don’t like that option either. The force of the spray sends the crumbs flying all over my counters. By mixing the crumbs with butter or oil before baking, the fat content is evenly distributed.

Croutons

I make my own croutons. Just cube up some plain white or whole wheat bread, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with herbs and garlic powder. Bake in a 300 degree oven until dry and toasty. Pretty simple. Then, after cooling, I bag them up & stick them in my freezer. They make perfect additions to salads, of course. But they can also be sprinkled on soups or crushed over vegetables. I’ve even used them as a basis for my own homemade Stove-Top style stuffing.

Mashed Potato Flakes

There are all kinds of other choices for adding textural interest to foods. One of my favorites is instant mashed potato flakes. Look for a brand like Betty Crocker’s Potato Buds that doesn’t have any salt added. The dry potato flakes make a fabulous coating for baked or sautéed chicken, fish and vegetables. Use the potato flakes in the same way you’d use bread crumbs. They give a wonderful potato-flavored crunch. I especially like baked eggplant slices crusted with potato flakes.

Cracker & Pretzel Crumbs


You can run unsalted or low sodium crackers through the food processor to make cracker crumbs. They too are good for breadings & crunchy toppings. You can find different brands at most grocery stores. Crushed, unsalted pretzel crumbs also make good breadings. Snyder’s of Hanover makes Unsalted Mini Pretzels. You can find them at most grocery stores. Unsalted matzo crackers are another good source. You can find them in the ethnic food sections of most grocer stores or order them online from  Healthy Heart Market.

Unsalted rice cakes can also be crushed for crumbs.

A Bread Machine!

Santa Came Early This Year! I’ve been tossing around the idea of a bread machine for several years now. I know that many people use breadmakers to do the kneading while shaping and forming the dough themselves. That feature sounded interesting to me. I’d heard good things about the Zojirushi machine, but it is rather expensive. I didn’t want to spend money on something I might not really use. So I hesitated and never did anything.

A few weeks ago my son & his family came down for a visit. In between playing with my two darling granddaughters, I chatted with my daughter-in-law about a whole range of subjects including breadmakers. She told me that she had one and used it all the time. Well, that conversation got me from just thinking to talking about eventually getting a machine. I must have blathered on & on about it because about a week ago I got a surprise gift from my husband. Yup, you guessed it. He bought me a Zojirushi and two bread machine cookbooks. He’s always buying me things that I just won’t get for myself.

Of course, I had to try it the day it arrived. Boy, what a disaster! I followed the manual’s recipe for white bread, but the loaf sunk and never got fully cooked. I was beyond discouraged. I know what successful bread dough is supposed to feel like, but I hadn’t checked on the dough during the kneading process. I stupidly thought I didn’t have to. A few days later, I tried just making dough for dinner rolls. This time I opened the top during the kneading process to check on the dough. Everything was fine, and the rolls turned out great. I felt a little more confident.

A few days ago I tackled a 100% whole wheat bread. I used coarsely ground Stone Buhr whole wheat flour and used the recipe for a two pound loaf. I knew from experience that whole wheat flour seems to just suck up liquid, so I watched the dough carefully during the kneading process. I ended up adding about two extra tablespoons of water, one teaspoon at a time. I kept pinching the dough, and when I thought it was OK, I let the machine finish its work. I felt pretty confident but was prepared for a squat, super dense & heavy loaf. When the beeper sounded, I could hardly believe my eyes. The loaf was perfect! We’ve been munching on it ever since. It is so hearty that one slice toasted can keep you going all morning. I think it will become my weekly standard.

And, of course, the good news is that I think I will be able to use the machine both for dough making and for complete loaves. Beth Hensperger’s "The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook" has been a great help. It’s not only full of great recipes that I can’t wait to try, but it is a source of invaluable information.

A Disclaimer: Because I’m still getting used to my new toy, I have followed the recipes exactly as written and have used the full measure of salt called for. Once I become more comfortable with the machine, I will reduce the sodium content, probably by only half.

A Note on Baking Low Sodium Bread: Salt serves an essential purpose in bread making. Beth Hensperger explains it well: “Salt is very important in bread not only as a flavor enhancer, but in controlling the rate of yeast fermentation. In the presence of salt, the dough rises at a slower rate and the salt strengthens the gluten. Loaves with no salt collapse easily. The addition of salt results in a good crumb, better keeping qualities, and more flavor.”

In simple terms, salt keeps the yeast under control. Yeast dough made without salt or with a lower salt content will rise much faster and could collapse. A good rule of thumb to remember is to reduce the amount of yeast the same as the amount the salt has been reduced. For example, if the salt content is reduced by half, then reduce the yeast by half. Obviously, if you’re making totally salt free bread, you need to reduce the yeast by at least half and watch the dough carefully during rising. It will probably rise at close to double speed, so you need to check it often. Do not let it over proof or it will collapse once it starts baking.

Even if you have lowered the amount of yeast used, it still is important to watch the dough as it is rising to avoid over proofing. Unless you let the dough take its time rising in the cool environment of a refrigerator, you can’t just walk away and forget it. Dough made with less salt is not quite as forgiving as regular dough. For a more thorough understanding of dealing with salt free or low sodium bread making, please read this discussion from Cooking for Engineers.

I’ve found that I get better and more useful information from bread making cookbooks and websites than low sodium sites. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation out there regarding working with low sodium yeast dough. Here are some of the inaccuracies I’ve found on low sodium websites: “Removing salt alone will still give you a bread that rises but not very well. Salt in bread is not the sole leavening agent... And it won't rise to the commercial level you're accustomed too." It’s pretty obvious from those statements that the role of salt as a yeast inhibitor is not understood. Yet these statements come from low sodium sites purporting to give advice on baking with yeast dough.

Some suggestions for making low sodium breads in a bread maker:

• Reduce the amount of yeast as much as the salt has been reduced. If making salt free dough, reduce the yeast by at least half.
• Until you're completely comfortable making low sodium loaves in your machine, use a recipe for the smallest loaf your bread maker can handle. You don’t want to run the risk of the dough over-proofing and spilling over the bread pan and onto the heating elements.
• Choose one recipe for a basic loaf to experiment with. Reduce the salt each time you make the bread. Reduce the salt in increments of ¼-½ teaspoon at a time and make notes about the results. Be sure to reduce the amount of yeast accordingly.
• If baking in the bread machine, be sure to check the dough frequently during both kneading & rising. If the dough seems to be rising so quickly that it might overflow the pan, remove it and continue with rising, shaping, & baking manually.
• Use the dough setting only; shape & bake the dough manually. However, check the dough during both kneading & rising. If the dough seems to be rising so quickly that it might overflow the pan, remove it and continue with rising, shaping, & baking manually.
• Consider using a biga, poolish or other pre-ferment to add flavor to your low sodium bread. Sourdough starter is another good choice. Find recipes made especially for bread machines so you can follow the correct techniques. Lean, French type breads really benefit from a pre-ferment or starter.
• Consider using recipes that call for buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream. The acid/sour component adds a flavor kick that low sodium breads lack.
• Sugar, fat, and dairy all add flavor to low sodium bread, so try to use recipes that have some of each.

• Additions of spices and herbs (dried or fresh) can make bland low sodium breads more flavorful. Dried onion flakes and chopped chives are great, as are dill seed and rosemary. Additions of nuts and seeds (especially if they're toasted) add both flavor and textural interest, again something that's often needed with the blander low sodium breads.

• Beth Hensperger recommends adding at least 1-2 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten to each cup of white bread flour and 1-1/2 to 3 teaspoons per cup of whole grain flour in bread machine recipes. If you can’t find this product at your local grocery or natural foods stores, both Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour sell vital wheat gluten online.