Everyone who makes it has their own “special” recipe and way to cook it.

Charlene Mecklenburg shares this interesting information about goetta:

“My husband and I lived in Germany two different times.  We lived in both the Munich area and near Bonn.  We also could never find Goetta or any German who knew what we were talking about.
Then while living in Belgium we traveled to northern Germany to the city of Bremen. We had dinner with some German acquaintances and asked them about Goetta.  We were visiting during the winter and were told that we were there at the right time. They said there was a local dish that sounded similar to the ingredients I listed for Goetta, that it was a favorite in the winter months and only made then.  We went to a restaurant that was serving this dish.  It was named “Kohl and Pinkle”.  The Kohl was red cabbage, the Pinkle was a sausage.  Inside the sausage was what we know as Goetta.  It tasted exactly like my German Grandmother’s Goetta back here in Cincinnati.  The Kohl and Pinkle were served with fried potatoes, the same way my Grandmother served Goetta for dinner.
We were told that the dish might have originated in the area around Göttingen, Germany.  The anglicized spelling of Göttingen is Goettingen.  Göttingen is about 250 KM (approximately 150 miles) south east of Bremen.  It is interesting that a similar dish known [here] as Goetta might come from the area around Goettingen in Germany.
It is certainly possible that many of the German immigrants to Cincinnati came from this part of Germany.  My German Great Grandfather came from Rhinow which is about 250 KM due east of Bremen and also about 250 KM north east of Göttingen.”

More Goetta Recipes
I have a lot of different recipes from readers, friends and colleagues. Here’s some of the best.

JIM REINHART’S CROCKPOT GOETTA

Jim’s recipe continues to be very popular. Here are Jim’s comments: “Add enough salt or it will be bland.  I use bouillon cubes instead of beef broth because of the salt content. Be careful not to add too much water or you’ll be frying mush in the morning”. Jim usually leaves out the sage and I have had more readers say this is an excellent goetta. One reader uses pork sausage instead of plain pork.

Ingredients

3 cups pinhead oatmeal

5 cups water

1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons salt

1 pound each of ground beef and pork

2 medium diced onions

6 bay leaves

1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, black pepper, crushed red pepper and sage

2 teaspoons allspice

4 beef bouillon cubes

2 additional cups of water.

Instructions

Combine 3 cups of oatmeal with 5 cups of water in crockpot and cook on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. An hour and a half into the cooking, combine all ingredients, except the ground meat and onions, into a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and let simmer until reduced in 1/2 ( one cup). Strain and stir liquid into crockpot. While spice liquid is still reducing, brown beef and pork with onions then add to crockpot either before or after the spice mixture. When all ingredients are in the pot, turn to low and mix well, stirring often for another 2 hours.

Don’t be tempted to add water, even though the goetta gets very thick. Let cool and spoon into 2 casserole dishes. Put one in the frig and one in the freezer for later use. To cook, brown in a non-stick pan or cast iron skillet until personal preference of crispiness is reached.

BILL SANDER’S HEIRLOOM GOETTA

This is from my catering partner, Bert’s, sister, Nancy. It was her husband Bill’s recipe, handed down from generation to generation. This west side Cincinnati recipe is yummy too!

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

2 pounds cubed pork loin

6 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons pepper

2-1/2 cups pinhead oats

2 huge onions, diced

4-8 bay leaves

Instructions

Put water, salt and pepper in a big pot. Bring to a boil and add oats. Lower heat to a gentle boil and cook for 1-1/2 hours, covered. Stir every 15 minutes. Add meats, onion and bay leaves. Mix well, cover and cook on low for 3 more hours. Uncover and if not thick enough, cook longer, stirring often. Remove bay leaves. Pour into loaf pans. Cool and refrigerate. Cut into thick slices, fry in hot bacon fat until golden on both sides. Freezes well.

DAVE MEISER’S GOETTA

This is from daughter-in-law, Jessie’s family. Maggie, her mom and husband Denny enjoy this goetta on their houseboat in the fall. Denny’s brother, Dave, makes this every year for them.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1lb ground pork

8 cups water

2.5 cups DORSEL’S pinhead Oatmeal

1 large onion

1 to 4 bay leaves optional

3 teaspoons salt

a pinch of pepper

*Variation: Substitute 2 teaspoons dried summer savory in place of onion and bay leaves

Instructions: 

Regular method:

1. put water into pan,when boiling add salt,pepper,and oatmeal.

2. Cook 2 hours,stirring often,keep lid on while cooking low heat.

3. Add meat,onion,bay leaves,mix well

4. Let cook 1 hour,stirring often

5. Pour into bread pans. When cool place in refrigerator. Will keep for 10 days

6. When readyto use,slice the loaf of goetta and put into a pan in which there is a little hot bacon fat. Fry until well browned

Slow cooker method:

Use same ingredients as in above recipr with one exception–use only 6 cups water

1. Put water,salt and pepper into cooker,cover and heat on high for 20 minutes

2. Stir in oatmeal,cover and cook on high 1.5 hours.

3.Add meat,onion,and bay leaves,mix well Cover and cook on low 3 hours

4.Uncover–if not thick enough cook a little while longer stirring often

5. Proceed as in direction No. 5 and No 6 for regular method.

MARY LOTT’S GOETTA

Goetta Recipe (easy crockpot goetta with little fuss and easy clean up)

Mary told me: “My mom made this recipe all the time. You can personalize to your tastes by adding things like garlic, jalapenos, sage, or sausage. Personally, I like the basic recipe the best.”

Ingredients

• 5 cups of water
• 2 ½ cups pinhead oatmeal (also called steel cut oatmeal)
• 2 tablespoons of salt (It calls for 3 tablespoons but you can always add salt at the table.)
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1 whole large onion finely chopped. (I use ½ to 3/4 a large onion.)
• 1 pound ground pork (I buy pork tenderloin because there is less fat. I have it ground. Or, Kroger carries ground pork.)
• 1 pound ground beef (I buy an eye of the round for less fat and have it ground. Or,90 % lean can be used.)
• 3 bay leaves, optional
• (Optional items—some people put 3 bay leaves added after stirring beef, pork, and onion in the mix. The bay leaves are discarded after the five hour cooking time.)

Instructions

Put water, oatmeal, salt, pepper, and bouillon cube into a crock pot. Mix well and cook covered for 1 ½ hours on HIGH. Then add ground beef, ground pork, and finely chopped onion. Stir well until thoroughly mixed. Cover and cook 5 hours on LOW. Uncover, stir 4 or 5 times and continue cooking ½ hour without covering.

For easy cleanup—line 2 loaf pans with aluminum foil and divide cooked goetta among the two pans. Cool in the refrigerator overnight. Pull out the foil and slice to desired thickness.

Do you make goetta? What is your favorite recipe or story?