More frequently used in European and Latino cooking, these budget-friendly meats have become increasingly popular the last few years in the United States. Many traditional and ethnic dishes are made with variety meats, like Feijoada, Brazil's most famous regional dish. This stew-type dish is made with black beans and different variety meats such as pork feet, ears, and/or tongue.
Panhas, a traditional German dish was the inspiration for "scrapple" here in the United States. The Pennsylvania Dutch, German descendants settling in the Pennsylvania farmland, created their unique version of scrapple, made with cooked pork "scraps" from pork offal. The scraps are mixed with cornmeal, pork broth and seasonings such as sage, thyme and pepper, and cooked into mush. The mush is then packed in loaf pans and cooled. Slices of scrapples are typically pan-fried and eaten for breakfast.
Fatback and hocks are typically used to season vegetables, beans, soups and stews that require lengthy, slow cooking in liquid.
Variety meats at Indiana Kitchen include pork neckbones, hocks, tails, fatback and feet, both front and hind. Offal meats at Indiana Kitchen include pork liver, tongue, ears, stomach and brains.
Black-Eyed Pea and Ham Hock Soup
Pork Hock with Braised Greens