Philly loves scrapple enough that we've had Scrapple Fest. As one local chef put it, it's a pork product containing everything but the oink.
But now The Oyster House on Sansom Street is serving Saturday brunch. They offer scrapple, and yes, it's made with oysters instead of pork.
Fresh oysters are chopped and blended with otherwise-traditional scrapple ingredients. The biggest challenge was getting it to "set" the way a pork-based product does. The first batch didn't hold together the way Ted Manko, the executive chef at The Oyster House expected, so he added gelatin to the mix and the second attempt "set" as he wanted. He's made no changes since.
Most people who've tried the "new" scrapple like it. As it turns out, it's pretty local and completely sustainable. Some customers have asked, but at this time, there's no plan to sell the new scrapple to cook at home.
The Oyster House is at 1516 Sansom Street, serving brunch Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. There's more information about The Oyster House, Saturday brunch, and the oyster scrapple on their website, http://www.oysterhousephilly.com. For reservations, you may phone them at (215) 567-7683.
