Cincinnatians accompany breakfast with griddle-cooked slices of the pork and pin-oat loaf known as goetta.
For Cincinnatians, goetta (say “getta”) is a soothing taste of home. A pork and pin-oat loaf that is cut into thin slices and fried, it is similar to scrapple but usually more rugged-textured, the oats a significant presence. It is primarily breakfast meat, served plain alongside eggs or pancakes, but also frequently adorned with syrup or apple butter. Goetta is found nowhere beyond greater Cincinnati, where, like New Jersey’s pork roll, it has a legion of loyal fans—who in recent years have invented goettaburgers and even goetta-topped pizza (both of which can be sampled at the annual Goettafest in Covington, Kentucky, on the other side of the Ohio River). Originally created by German peasant cooks as a way to stretch the meat supply, it has become a celebrated icon of Old World culinary heritage.