What is livermush, a Southern food made primarily from pork liver, head meat, and cornmeal?

Livermush is a pork-and-cornmeal loaf made primarily from liver, head meat, and cornmeal.

The dish is especially associated with western North Carolina, where it may be sliced and fried for breakfast or served in sandwiches. Seasonings commonly include salt and pepper, while regional recipes differ in texture and the proportions of liver, meat, and cornmeal.

Livermush belongs to a broad family of traditional foods that use the whole animal. It is often compared with scrapple, but the two foods come from different regional traditions and use different characteristic mixtures. The word “liver” in livermush identifies its defining organ-meat ingredient.