Everything You Need To Know About Goetta A Cincinnati Delicacy

If you’re in Cincinnati for a meal or two, you’re likely to notice an unfamiliar item on the menu: goetta. Cincinnati has plenty of signature food favorites, such as Skyline Chili, cheese-smothered hot dogs, and Graeter’s Ice Cream. Goetta, a variation on the traditional breakfast sausage with German-American roots, is yet another Queen City foodie mainstay.

Not from Cincinnati? Then you might be wondering what the heck goetta is in the first place!

In its most basic form, goetta doesn’t always look enticing (though it’s always tasty). Grainy, brown, and loaflike, goetta is actually a German-inspired treat that started off as a quick, affordable breakfast food or an alternative to traditional sausage.

Goetta first showed up on the plates of German-American working families when they needed to make ends meet and didn’t have enough sausage to go around. Combining steel-cut oats and a variety of spices with ground pork and occasionally beef, families made pricier meats last for a few extra meals by “filling them out” with grains. Cincinnati locals made a working-class staple into a regional favorite, adding their own flair and creating new recipes as time went on.

Since goetta’s humble beginnings, Cincinnatians have gotten a lot more creative with it. Goetta is still popped onto breakfast plates next to eggs, omelets, hash browns, and bacon at nearly every diner and local restaurant in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. But it’s also served up buffalo-style, with jalapenos, on artisanal grilled cheese sandwiches, and atop many a hamburger and hot dog. There are even vegetarian and vegan reimaginings of goetta for die-hard Cincinnati folks who want to get their fill while sticking to their dietary choices.

Looking for the best goetta in Cincinnati? You’ll have a hard time picking the tastiest variation, but you can start with the traditional goetta at Ecklerin’s Meats or Grandma Debbie’s Kitchen at the famous Findlay Market, or a goetta burger at the Great American Ball Park during a Cincinnati Reds game.

For something a bit more creative, try the goetta fried rice at Yat Ka Mein or Cincy Goetta Pizza at brick oven pizzeria Pizzelii.

Goetta is also popular in every iteration at Zinzinnati, Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest (the largest in the U.S.!), while Goettafest takes place every August in Newport, Kentucky. Glier’s Goetta, the largest distributor of goetta worldwide, hosts the event every year along the Ohio River waterfront.

https://www.instagram.com/p/-PLbMRvB-w/?hl=en&tagged=goetta

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.