Talk about a goetta-making day: This is it. We have almost 10 inches of snow on the ground and it’s still falling. Frank, my husband, is waiting to plow the lane after the snow stops. When I went out to put bird feed on the window ledges and to feed the chickens, the snow had drifted almost up to my knees.
The herb garden is snuggled under a thick blanket of snow. When I came in, I pulled off boots, hat and gloves and sat on the woodstove’s hearth until I got toasty warm.
Rita’s goetta
Before I give you a recipe, I need to talk a bit about goetta. Everyone who makes it has their own “special” recipe and way to cook it. Good friend Don Deimling makes a delicious version and he cooks his in one of those free-standing electric roasters. I cook mine on top of the stove, while others use the oven or crockpot. First, you need to use pin-head/steel cut oats for most recipes, mine included. Dorsel pinhead oats are what I use. I find them at Kroger and most grocery stores should carry them. (Call 1-800-626-0702 for a list of retailers near you). Available off the web at www.cincy2u.com .
My German mother-in-law, Clara, always made goetta in the fall from their own pigs. They used a bunch of different parts of the pig. But after they moved from the farm, Clara started using pork shoulder, with the bone in. Her recipe was simple, much like my sister-in-law, Claire makes today.
My adaptation is a bit more involved, and so far has been a hit. The key here is to get fresh pork shoulder, sometimes called pork butt, from the butt of the shoulder with a nice layer of fat on it. Also, you really need to cook this on the stove a long time. When a spoon stands up straight in the mixture, it’s ready to pour in the pans.
4 pounds pork shoulder
1 pound hot or regular sausage
10 cups water
3 generous cups finely chopped onions
1 teaspoon celery salt plus 4 ribs celery, chopped with leaves OR
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon salt
3 large bay leaves
Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon dried granulated garlic
3 cups pinhead oats
Cut meat into several large pieces. Put in large, heavy bottomed pot with everything but pinhead oats. Bring to a boil and lower to simmer. Cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for at least two hours or until meat falls apart. Strain, and when meat is cool enough to handle, chop finely. Set meat and veggies aside and pour liquid back into pot. Add oatmeal. Bring to boil and lower to simmer. Cook, uncovered, stirring often, for one hour. Mixture will be thick. Add chopped meat and veggies back into pot. Simmer for another hour and half to two hours. You’ll know it’s cooked long enough when a long handled spoon stands straight up on its own without falling over. Don’t worry if it looks too thick. It has to be extremely thick to set up.
Line three to four loaf pans with foil and spray foil. Pour goetta in and let cool to room temperature before putting in fridge to cool overnight. I like to leave mine uncovered so a nice crust develops and it becomes easier to slice and fry. Then, you can keep it up to two weeks in the fridge, covered, or freeze for several months. To serve, slice and fry in bacon fat with bacon alongside. Or however you want.
Clara Heikenfeld’s goetta
Clara never measured, like many good cooks. Here’s as close as I can get to her recipe.
2-3 pounds pork shoulder with bone in
8 cups water
3 cups chopped onions
2 large bay leaves
1 tablespoon salt
1-2 teaspoons pepper
3 cups pinhead oats
Follow instructions above.
Goetta trivia
For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, goetta has Germanic origins, but most people who live in Germany have never heard of it. Inge, my daughter-in-law who was born and raised in Germany, said she didn’t have a clue as to what goetta was until she moved to Cincinnati. Yes, it’s definitely a Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky “thing.”
A possibility about the name is that it comes from the German word “gote” or “gotte” which means peeled grain. The word became Americanized to mean “goetta,” since the ingredient you cannot do without when making it is pinhead oats. I make my mother-in-law’s recipe using pork shoulder but have to admit, I still cannot replicate that elusive, absolutely addictive, flavor of Glier’s goetta.

Jim Reinhart’s crockpot goetta
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. I leave the sage out (usually)
3 cups pinhead oatmeal
5 cups water
1 1/2 to 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.
Combine 3 cups of oatmeal with 5 cups of water in crockpot and cook on high for two 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 two hours. Don’t be tempted to add water, even though the goetta gets very thick. Let cool and spoon into two casserole dishes. Put one in the fridge 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
Bill lives with his wife Nancy on the west side of town, and is the co-owner of Woody Sander Ford. Bill has been making this for years. I don’t have room here to share more goetta recipes, but check out www.abouteating.com and log onto the newsletter for Jim Reinhart’s crockpot goetta, along with mine and a bunch of others from readers.
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
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 one and half hours, covered. Stir every 15 minutes. Add meats, onion and bay leaves. Mix well, cover and cook on low for three 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 from Maggie Hoerst, who enjoys this with husband, Denny, on their houseboat in the fall. Denny’s brother, Dave, makes this every year for them.
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. 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
Regular method
1. Put water into pan,when boiling add salt, pepper and oatmeal.
2. Cook two hours,stirring often, keep lid on while cooking low heat.
3. Add meat, onion,bay leaves, mix well
4. Let cook one hour, stirring often.
5. Pour into bread pans. When cool place in refrigerator. Will keep for 10 days.
6. When ready to 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 recipe with one exception – use only 6 cups of 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 for an hour and half.
3. Add meat, onion and bay leaves; mix well Cover and cook on low three 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.