6 things you (probably) didn't know about goetta

Goetta is Cincinnati in a sausage.

Inspired by its birthplace's German roots, goetta has taken on a life of its own, mixing prime cuts of beef and pork with oats and subtle spices. The oats historically served as a way to extend a limited supply of meat over the long winter. Today, the sausage keeps those oats for their signature crunchy and fibrous texture when fried – always fried – it's just better that way.

Goetta is also a mix of Midwest Americana with Southern charm, a proud product of Porkopolis. Here are six super fun facts about Cincinnati's beloved sausage that you might not know.

1. Despite its German roots, you won't find goetta in Europe.

Goetta's ancestors might be European, but goetta was born and raised in the Greater Cincinnati area. If you walk into a restaurant in Hanover, Germany, and order a plate of eggs mit goetta, there's no telling what the waiter might serve you. If you ask for knipp, however, you might find yourself enjoying something close.

Similarly, goetta lovers are known to enjoy Scotland's haggis, a sausage much like goetta, though traditionally cooked inside the stomach of a sheep (an artificial casing is often used these days).

2. Not all goetta is created equal.

No two goettas are the same because no two goetta-makers use the same recipe. With varying combinations of spices like cloves, onion, pepper, thyme, sage, bay leaf, paprika and more, you would be hard-pressed to find one goetta with the exact flavor profile of another. Goetta textures also vary widely depending a butcher's particular meat-to-oat ratio. And these alterations make a big difference.

Different strands of goetta can be found at local butcher shops and restaurants all throughout the city. Trying all the iterations is a doable task for any aspiring goetta expert, so let us know in the comments if you're one of those brave souls.

3. Goetta has an enemy in Pennsylvania ... called scrapple.

Scrapple might be goetta's biggest enemy. This loaf-looking sausage traces its roots to regions along the German-Dutch border but finds a home today in Pennsylvania's Amish country. Using corn meal instead of steal-cut oats to supplement the sausage meat, fried scrapple falls short of maturing into goetta's beloved crispy texture, according to former Enquirer food writer Polly Campbell.

Long-time Cincinnatians are thus often displeased with the comparison between the meat mixes. Scrapple also includes pork liver, an addition that might further put off local goetta lovers. So maybe scrapple is not an enemy, but more like a little brother, trying to do things differently, but not quite living up to its elder's glory.

4. Which restaurant serves the most goetta? It's no surprise.

Opened in 1962, Price Hill Chili, the staple restaurant of Cincinnati's West Side, unsurprisingly serves the most goetta in the Queen City, according to the "Glier's Goetta Recipe Book" by Dan Glier. On weekends, the busy Price Hill kitchen adds an extra five-square-foot flattop griddle saved exclusively for goetta.

5. There's a goetta hanky panky recipe.

These Old Cookbooks called Hanky Panky "an old fashioned Polish mistake," but there is no mistaking this Cincinnati dish for any other. Ground meat, Velveeta cheese and a whole bunch of goodness toasted on a slice of pumpernickel loaf, The Enquirer thinks the one thing this dish needs is more meat.

So now, you can cook the region's favorite appetizer with the region's favorite sausage! A few years ago, Glier's released a recipe for goetta Hanky Panky. We tried it out, and you should too.

6. There's a two-week festival in Newport dedicated to goetta.

Goetta mac 'n' cheese, goetta hoagies, goetta vending machines and large lemonade slushies? That means Glier's annual Goettafest is back on at the Newport riverfront. The event started Friday, July 28, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 6.

Goettafest is hosted by Glier's, the largest goetta manufacturer in the world, whose Covington factory was formerly the home of the Bavarian Brewing Company. Glier's produces over a million pounds of goetta a year, using the same original recipe since 1946.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 6 fun facts about goetta, the Cincinnati sausage