Does anyone have a good recipe for making Goetta?

 

My mom used to make it when I was a kid.  I'll have to see if I can find her recipe.

Here's mine...it's a combination of both of by grandmother's recipe along with the recipe of one of my wife's grandmothers.

GOETTA

Stock:
- (1) pound fresh ham *
- (3) pounds pork shoulder
- (1-1/2) pounds boneless beef short rib **
- (1-1/2) pounds pork neck bones
- (1) pound beef soup bones
- (2) teaspoons kosher salt
- (1) teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- (3/4) teaspoon dried rosemary
- (1/2) teaspoon ground coriander
- (1/2) teaspoon whole allspice
- (1/4) teaspoon red pepper flake
- (6) bay leaves

* Original recipe, which came from a 1960's Glier’s Meats employee, called for pork heart instead of fresh ham.
** Can substitute 1-1/2 pounds of beef chuck after major sections of fat and grizzle have been trimmed away. Goal is to have well-marbled but not overly-fatty beef in the protein mix.

Other:
- (1) pound steel-cut oats
- (2) medium onions
- (1-1/2) tablespoons kosher salt
- (1) tablespoon ground black pepper
- (1) teaspoon ground white pepper
- (1) teaspoon rubbed sage
- (1/2) teaspoon crushed caraway seeds
- (1/2) teaspoon rubbed thyme

Instructions:
1.) Starting with a large (at least 10-quart) stock pot, cut all of the proteins into 1-1/2" cubes and add them, along with the soup bones, all of the stock seasonings, and just enough water to cover everything over in the pot. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and allow to simmer for 2 hours, skimming away any scum that rises to the top of the water.

Note: It's important to make sure not to leave out the pork neck bones from the stock because you need as much gelatin as possible to boil out of the connective tissues in them in order to give the goetta the right consistency in the end - otherwise you'll end up with something the consistency of porridge.

2.) Remove from heat after 2 hours, pick any meat from the bones and separate meat to a large bowl. Make sure to check the meat thoroughly for any small bones from the pork necks. Strain the stock, discarding all of the solids aside from the separated meat, and allow the meat and stock to cool and chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

3.) The next day, using a grinder with a 5mm (3/16") grinding plate, grind 2 onions and all of the meat to a burger consistency. The cooled stock will have a layer of gelatin on top. Remove all of the gelatin and add it back to your large stock pot, along with the ground meat and onions. Add in 2 quarts of the remaining stock liquid, mix in the remaining spices, and gradually mix in the steel-cut oats. Once the mixture is combined thoroughly, cook over medium heat until oats have softened, mixing regularly as it cooks.

Note: You can cook the goetta mixture in a large slow-cooker, but be sure to check on it regularly to make sure not to over-cook the oats. You only want them softened to just barely past an al-dente texture and not completely softened through.

4.) After the oats have softened, grease (2) 9x5-inch loaf pans and fill with goetta, packing the pans tightly. Cover with foil or cling-wrap and cool in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the goetta loafs from the pans the next day, cut into desired portions, wrap tightly in cling-wrap for freezing. (Vacu-sealing is the best option for freezing, if you have a vacuum sealer.)

Just now, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

Here's mine...it's a combination of both of by grandmother's recipe along with the recipe of one of my wife's grandmothers.

GOETTA

Stock:
- (1) pound fresh ham *
- (3) pounds pork shoulder
- (1-1/2) pounds boneless beef short rib **
- (1-1/2) pounds pork neck bones
- (1) pound beef soup bones
- (2) teaspoons kosher salt
- (1) teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- (3/4) teaspoon dried rosemary
- (1/2) teaspoon ground coriander
- (1/2) teaspoon whole allspice
- (1/4) teaspoon red pepper flake
- (6) bay leaves

* Original recipe, which came from a 1960's Glier’s Meats employee, called for pork heart instead of fresh ham.
** Can substitute 1-1/2 pounds of beef chuck after major sections of fat and grizzle have been trimmed away. Goal is to have well-marbled but not overly-fatty beef in the protein mix.

Other:
- (1) pound steel-cut oats
- (2) medium onions
- (1-1/2) tablespoons kosher salt
- (1) tablespoon ground black pepper
- (1) teaspoon ground white pepper
- (1) teaspoon rubbed sage
- (1/2) teaspoon crushed caraway seeds
- (1/2) teaspoon rubbed thyme

Instructions:
1.) Starting with a large (at least 10-quart) stock pot, cut all of the proteins into 1-1/2" cubes and add them, along with the soup bones, all of the stock seasonings, and just enough water to cover everything over in the pot. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and allow to simmer for 2 hours, skimming away any scum that rises to the top of the water.

Note: It's important to make sure not to leave out the pork neck bones from the stock because you need as much gelatin as possible to boil out of the connective tissues in them in order to give the goetta the right consistency in the end - otherwise you'll end up with something the consistency of porridge.

2.) Remove from heat after 2 hours, pick any meat from the bones and separate meat to a large bowl. Make sure to check the meat thoroughly for any small bones from the pork necks. Strain the stock, discarding all of the solids aside from the separated meat, and allow the meat and stock to cool and chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

3.) The next day, using a grinder with a 5mm (3/16") grinding plate, grind 2 onions and all of the meat to a burger consistency. The cooled stock will have a layer of gelatin on top. Remove all of the gelatin and add it back to your large stock pot, along with the ground meat and onions. Add in 2 quarts of the remaining stock liquid, mix in the remaining spices, and gradually mix in the steel-cut oats. Once the mixture is combined thoroughly, cook over medium heat until oats have softened, mixing regularly as it cooks.

Note: You can cook the goetta mixture in a large slow-cooker, but be sure to check on it regularly to make sure not to over-cook the oats. You only want them softened to just barely past an al-dente texture and not completely softened through.

4.) After the oats have softened, grease (2) 9x5-inch loaf pans and fill with goetta, packing the pans tightly. Cover with foil or cling-wrap and cool in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the goetta loafs from the pans the next day, cut into desired portions, wrap tightly in cling-wrap for freezing. (Vacu-sealing is the best option for freezing, if you have a vacuum sealer.)

My memory makes me wanna say that recipe will actually make closer to three 9x5-inch loaf pans worth of goetta rather than just two. It's been a year or two since I made it last.

How much trial and error over the years did people attempt until Goetta was perfected? How many guys had to choke down their wives concoctions before they got it right?

13 minutes ago, Breds82 said:

How much trial and error over the years did people attempt until Goetta was perfected? How many guys had to choke down their wives concoctions before they got it right?

I've definitely had some over the years that I thought was definitely NOT good. The stuff that Queen City Sausage sells in a lot of stores is pretty tasteless, if you ask me. If I'm buying it, 9 times out of 10 I'm getting it from Finke's Meats in Fort Wright, but Eckerlin Meats and Glier's are both good, as well. I haven't tried it yet, but Glier's has recently put out a new variety with Grippo's Barbecue seasoning in it.

One of the reasons I combined recipes to come up with my recipe was because the recipes I originally had from my two grandmas were both pretty mehh. One of my grandmas had the flavor down right, but the texture was too loose and it was almost like eating rolled oats that tasted like goetta. Then the other had the texture perfect, but hers was pretty much tasteless.

On 1/7/2026 at 12:27 PM, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

I've definitely had some over the years that I thought was definitely NOT good. The stuff that Queen City Sausage sells in a lot of stores is pretty tasteless, if you ask me. If I'm buying it, 9 times out of 10 I'm getting it from Finke's Meats in Fort Wright, but Eckerlin Meats and Glier's are both good, as well. I haven't tried it yet, but Glier's has recently put out a new variety with Grippo's Barbecue seasoning in it.

One of the reasons I combined recipes to come up with my recipe was because the recipes I originally had from my two grandmas were both pretty mehh. One of my grandmas had the flavor down right, but the texture was too loose and it was almost like eating rolled oats that tasted like goetta. Then the other had the texture perfect, but hers was pretty much tasteless.

My sister came in town from Florida over Christmas.  Before she went back home, she tried to find the Gliers Grippo Goetta, but it was sold out at the stores she tried.  Have to agree that Finkes has the best I have tried so far.  Thanks for the recipe!