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I'll try to make this as focused as possible, so that a reasonable answer can emerge. I have a (loaf?) of scrapple, which Wikipedia describes as:

traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. The mush is formed into a semi-solid congealed loaf, and slices of the scrapple are then panfried before serving.

I'm fairly new to cooking, so this is a question about soup stocks in general. Given the ingredients, is it possible to create an edible soup stock from it, as one would from other leftover meats? If so, what kind of ingredients would pair well?

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  • If you are not going to make scrapple, leave out the cornmeal. And you won't have to cook it as long. Scrapple traditionally uses the head and other parts (see Joy of Cooking), which are long cooked. The meat is picked out and placed in the broth, the fat skimmed off, cornmeal added. The whole thing is allowed to set up in a pan and some of the fat is poured over the top to seal it and preserve it.
    – Frankie
    Aug 31, 2011 at 12:49
  • It's actually really good - kind of high in fat though.
    – Frankie
    Aug 31, 2011 at 13:00

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The purpose of stock is to dissolve collagen out of the meat and bones into gelatin. The liquid is then not so watery, collects a lot of flavor, and can be reduced for sauces if desired, etc.

The problem with the scrapple is that, while it does have a some gelatin, it also has a ton of fat and starch. The fat would melt and have to be skimmed off again. The starch would gelatinize. This would result is not a stock but a gravy.

The solution would seem to be to find recipes where the starch and fattiness would be desirable. The first thing that would come to mind would be a thick stew. I would cube and sear the scrapple before adding it. It might take some experimentation to figure out how long to let it stew to thicken the stew without turning the crapple to mush.

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I don't think it would work too well to just throw scrapple in a pot and make a soup. You'd be better off trying to make something "inspired" by it, trying to duplicate similar flavors in a soup. I'd try a thick pork soup, almost a stew, with chunks of pork shoulder and cornmeal-buckwheat dumplings, some sage and corriander and plenty of pepper. I'd definitely use a pork stock made from pork bones (and a pig's foot, sawn in half, for extra body), and ramp up the flavor with a ham hock. Maybe simmer some greens in there for the last few minutes to give it some color.

As for what to do with your existing loaf of scrapple, well, slice it, fry it up, and eat with fried eggs and ketchup for breakfast.

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    +1 for pan frying + eggs + ketchup, although I could eat that meal any time of day, not just for breakfast. Using maple syrup instead of ketchup is also popular (but I still prefer ketchup).
    – ESultanik
    Aug 31, 2011 at 16:45

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