Goetta Life

My mom made goetta (pronounced get-uh) for me while I was home and sent a loaf back to NY with us. I took it out of the freezer yesterday and it's still not quite thawed, so a quarter of it just went into the microwave on defrost.

Goetta is an alleged breakfast (I'd eat it anytime) food of German origin and is fairly popular in Cincinnati. It's a vegetarian's nightmare and is supposed to be made with pinhead oatmeal (which is hard to find outside of Cincinnati), equal parts of ground pork and beef, and some spices. Then you put it into bread pans, let it set, slice it and fry it up nice and crisp. Mom fries it in a little bacon grease, which she always had a jar of in the fridge. Yes, heart disease runs in the family. Odd that.

As I'm fresh out of congealed pork fat, I'm hoping that a little Pam will do the trick. Hey, there's an idea ... why don't the Pam people come out with a "bacon flavored" variety? Tell me that wouldn’t be a hit in the Midwest.

I've never had store-bought variety and don't recall seeing it in too many restaurants ... Pete Rose used to have it in his eatery on the west side. I *bet* that's long gone. To me, it's one of those comfort foods that only Mom can make, using leftover roasts and grinding her own meat (not a euphemism). Although a quick Google provides a couple recipes that look awfully familiar.

Yum, it's frying up now. Smells like home. Larry's keeps walking by the kitchen and making horrible faces. Me, I can't wait.

Now, if there was only some Skyline for lunch, I'd be in Buckeye heaven.