What is "goetta"

n. (cx US English) A breakfast sausage made with ground meat, oats, and spices, popular in the greater Cincinnati area.

Goetta is a meat-and-grain sausage or mush of German inspiration that is popular in the greater Cincinnati area. It is primarily composed of ground meat (pork, or pork and beef), pin-head oats and spices. Pronounced gétt-aa, ged-da or get-uh in Americanized pronunciation, and gutta in the Low German pronunciation, this dish probably originated with German settlers from the northwestern regions of Oldenburg, Hannover, and Westphalia who emigrated to the Cincinnati and Dayton area in the 19th century. It is very similar to the Scots/Irish 'White Pudding. The word "Goetta" comes from the Low German word Grötte. North of Cincinnati, specifically in the region surrounding Darke, Mercer, Shelby, and Auglaize counties, goetta is often known by the term "grits", not to be confused with hominy grits. This usage of the word "grits" stems from the High German word "Grütze," which is an equivalent of the Low German Grötte.

Goetta was originally a peasant dish, meant to stretch out servings of meat over several meals to conserve money.

Glier's Goetta, the largest commercial producer of goetta, produces more than 1,000,000 lb (450 metric tons) annually, around 99 percent of which is consumed locally in Greater Cincinnati.

Goetta was the World Champion Quarter Running Horse for 1964, and for a time led the list of all time money-earning Quarter Horse racehorses.