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08/13/2003: "Pawnhaus"

What is it? Where can I get some? The answers to these and other questions about the movie, the band, and why they can't just make up their minds, are finally answered. Click more..below.

The Dutch came to these shores and, settling in Pennsylvania and the mountainous mid-Atlantic states, became what we in Chicago call "Hillbillies." During this migration and subsequent metamorphosis, changes to their native language were inevitable. Pawnhaus became the easier to pronounce ponhaws, and finally, after enough grandmothers died, even the simpler ponhaws faded from memory. Since it was originally made from ‘scraps' of pork, saved during hog butchering season in the fall of the year, and since "that mushy stuff from scrapps that Granny used to fry up for breakfast when we was butchering" was a lot of words, ponhaws became "scrapple". Scrapple, after scrapps, get it?

Some of these Hillbillies moved to the edges of large urban areas, becoming "Hillrods", so named because of a tendancy to retain their original appearance and automobiles while forgetting their simple culture and manners. The more creative of these "Hillrods" borrowed the the name "Scrapple", presumably because of its "downhome, back in the holler" sound, and its "cute" reference to hog scraps. Cute? Don't ask me. And, made a movie called Scrapple:

"SCRAPPLE exemplifies low-budget movie-making at its best. Luck and love play big-time roles in this off-beat, entertaining tale of friends and a mystical pig. SCRAPPLE delivers fresh faces, cool music and quirky plot twists."
--Annie Liao, Austin Insite Magazine

I haven't seen it, but I understand it's an Easy Rider ripoff. Others copped the name for a band:

"Scrapple performs something called Popera -- a cabaret of musical vignettes rolled out with props, costumes and such stuff -- backed by a wall of garage-disco-punk. Scrapple delivers a full-on cabarockshow, fraught with messages of love (Trash Ass), power (Shesus), safe sex (Slip It On), and genital telepathy (Light-Up Alien P)."

Garage-disco-punk-cabarockshow? Glad I wasn't there. On the other hand, the "Pure Metamorphosis" hand me down Dutchman is too proud, or fearful of risking his heritage, to move any closer to a large urban area than thirty-five miles. In the Chicago area, for instance, Joliet is city, while Kankakee is pure country. And, it is to him, this Duchman, and his heritage, that we owe our modern knowledge of Pawnhaus, Ponhaws, or Scrapple. This fine and venerable breakfast food can be obtained, any morning of the week, in the state office building cafeteria, in Springfield. You can, if you like, eat Pawnhaus along side biscuits with sausage gravy, while at the same time savoring the scent of the lunch time favorite, Statehouse Bean Soup, simmering away in preparation. If you live in Chicago, however, and you want Pawnhaus, Ponhaws, or Scrapple, you have to make it. It's not too hard, and it's worth it. First, if you're completely ignorant, is a summary of where you're going:

Pawnhaus, Ponhaws, or Scrapple is boiled pork scraps (neckbones - cheap and easy to find, strain and pick out the bones, all the bones) mixed into cornmeal mush, cooked, and then shaped in a loaf pan; then cool it, slice, and brown in butter to serve. Here are the details from the second edition of The Joy of Cooking:

Into 1.5 quarts of boling water, add 2 lb pork neck bones, 1 sliced onion, 6 peppercorns, and 1 small bay leaf.

Simmer the pork until the meat falls off the bones. Strain, reserving about 4 cups of liquor.

In a clean bowl, combine and stir I cup white or yellow cornmeal, .5 cup cold water, 1 teaspoon salt.

Place the 4 cups reserved liquor into a double boiler or heavy stock pot. Slowly stir in the cornmeal mixture. In a double boiler, steam the mixture for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. In a stock pot, cook 15-20 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add the finely chopped meat to the cornmeal mixture. Season with salt to tast, 1-2 teaspoons grated onion, .5 teaspoon dried thyme or sage.

Pour the scrapple into a bread pan that has been rinsed in cold water. Chill it until it is cold and firm. To serve, slice and saute slowly in butter.

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