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Chitlins, or chitterlings, or hog intestines, are . . . an acquired taste, guess you'd say. Their roots as soul food date are said to date to slavery, when African Americans were given only the leavings of the kill floor at slaughtering time. But, as the Freep's John Carlisle tells us in a typically well-done story today, it's more complicated than that. He takes readers into a west-side store that sells hand-cleaned chitlins, hog maws and other things you're unlikely to find in the meat case at Whole Foods.
Chitlins: For people who eat everything but the squeal. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
For one thing, chitlins require a lot of work.
They can only be taken so far by a machine. After that, they need the attention of a skilled pair of human hands. Before you dive into this next section, you should ask yourself: How are you feeling today? Stomach settled? You're not about to eat anything? No? OK, read on:
“Chitlins are hog intestines, so quite naturally you have to clean the shit out of them,” said founder Bruce Tucker, 67. “But after you get them cleaned down to that level there’s another level that has to happen, because there’s still debris and skin, an extra inner coat that has to be removed like a membrane. So that’s where the hand cleaning comes in.”
Cleaning chitlins takes a lot of work. They’re loaded with harmful bacteria when raw, along with unwelcome surprises like hair, straw and undigested food such as corn. So even after a machine removes the feces, chitlins have to be thoroughly washed and boiled for hours before they can be eaten, and any surfaces they came into contact with need to be cleaned with chlorine or bleach. On top of all that, they stink up any place where they’re being cooked.
Hoo-boy, do they stink. Most Midwesterners have had the experience of driving through the country and coming across a hog operation. Imagine that, with an extra dose of Eau de Nearby Cholera Epidemic, and you're getting close.
As usual with Carlisle, this is a great read. But maybe save until after lunch.
