# Does anyone actually eat chitterlings (chitlins)?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 6, 2004, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324 "2004-12-06T05:20:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2004, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/21 "2004-12-06T17:58:48Z")
> [@Cowgirl Jules](#):
>
> They’re eaten in Argentina too. My Mom was born there, and got a hankerin’ for some several years ago.
>
> They were having some sort of big family party, and Dad was barbecueing. Mom must have found these things at a Mexican food market. She braided them, and I guess there’s some sort of trick to keeping the snoodge in the intestines. (They were small intestines, not large, so the snoodge wasn’t as gross as all that, but still!) She cooked them on the grill - Dad wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.
>
> I did try one. Tasted a little like liver, only nastier. The Argentine relative liked them, but I haven’t seen Mom making them again. I guess she didn’t like them as much as she thought she had.
I always thought the “snoodge” (love that word!) was supposed to be cleaned out first! Years ago, I had a colleague who grew up in rural Alabama. He used to love when his grandmother would fix chitlins for the family. Until the day he saw her cleaning them. She would grab hold of one end of the “strand” with one hand, then pinch the intestine with the other hand, then run that hand all down the length of the intestine to force out the contents. Shhhhhhhhhquirrrrrttt!!! :eek:
He never ate them again.
[hijack]Anyone ever seen the movie Tampopo? There’s a scene where the gangster has just been shot, and is dying, and lovingly describes hunting wild pigs in a forest where they eat yams… and how the intestines are so wonderful, they’re like yam sausages… “I wish I could have eaten yam sausages with you (sob)” [/hijack]
Oh yeah: I have never eaten chitlins. I see no need to remedy that omission 😃
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### Author:  [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/22 "2004-12-06T18:36:09Z")
I have seen chitterlings frozen in supermarkets around my area (Northern VA/DC area). In the Washington Post a while back, there was an article about a black woman who started a business selling fresh chitterlings, and how business was booming because a lot of black people in the area grew up on them and it was like comfort food/home cooking for them. I remember it talking about how you had to wash them _really, really_ well. I am going to see if I can find the article, it was really interesting.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/23 "2004-12-06T18:43:53Z")
Oh dear god, what the hell is “snoodge?”
(Thank GOD I’m Polish!)
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### Author:  [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/24 "2004-12-06T18:46:18Z")
Here is the web site of the woman I spoke of, who opened her own business selling chitlins on the web. There’s a nice pic of chitlins of the main page…UCK!!!
“Shauna’s Chitlins are guaranteed hand cleaned to perfection!” [http://chitlinsbyshauna.com/](http://chitlinsbyshauna.com/)
And a quote from an article about her business:
> [@](#):
>
> They’re making cash for Shauna Anderson. She had this idea that there were large pockets of people in the Washington, D.C., area, many from the South, who grew up eating chitlins - a regional delicacy made of pig intestines. These people missed eating them, and they didn’t know how to cook them.
>
> In late 1995, Anderson quit her government job and opened the Chitlin Market, selling hand-cleaned raw chitlins in 10-pound buckets. The operation started in Mount Rainier, Maryland, and grew so fast she had to move it to a larger storefront in Hyattsville, Maryland. In September 2000, she reached a tipping point, and converted to an Internet-only business, [chitlinsbyshauna.com](http://chitlinsbyshauna.com).
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### Author:  [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/25 "2004-12-06T19:01:05Z")
Fried chitlins are actually pretty good, if they’re fried hard. Kinda like eating a pork skin. The boiled kind though don’t have a whole lotta taste to me. Ox tails, however, are wunnerful!
-swampbear (I even have a recipe for 'possum and sweet potatoes)
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### Author:  [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/26 "2004-12-06T19:31:56Z")
FWIW, Chinese people eat them, too. Stewed in black soy sauce, and served with rice “pasta”, also stewed in black soy sauce.
I never liked them, though. In any case, it’s usually the small intestine that I’ve seen people eat. It’s actually quite a popular thing to eat…
Not for me, though.
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### Author:  [@TheInterruptingCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheInterruptingCow)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/27 "2004-12-06T22:56:37Z")
I eat 'em. Mostly to freak people out, impress my black friends, or to get someone else to try them. Sometimes all three. They taste exactly like what they’ve spent their lives next to. A lot of hot sauce helps.
I look at it this way…if they’re there, you gotta eat some…just to remind yourself how lucky you are that you don’t have to eat them all the time.
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### Author:  [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/28 "2004-12-06T23:28:42Z")
No. Never.
Many years ago I had three roommates that would cook them on a semi-regular basis. Just the smell of the kitchen while they were cooking (and entire flat) for that matter, was nasty.
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### Author:  [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/29 "2004-12-06T23:40:25Z")
The “snoodge” is the white gook in the middle. At least it was white the time my mom cooked them, and I distinctly remember her being careful not to lose it.
I would not eat brown snoodge. (I would not eat it in a boat, I would not eat it with a goat.)
**swampbear** , oxtails are pure gelatinous heaven! And the best part about them is that I don’t have to share them with immediate family, but get them all to myself. My mom, you can imagine, is nuts for them too.
Thanks for reminding me of them; I think I’ll whip up some oxtail stew this weekend. No chitlin’s, thanks.
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### Author:  [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/30 "2004-12-07T00:00:02Z")
> [@Cowgirl Jules](#):
>
> The “snoodge” is the white gook in the middle. At least it was white the time my mom cooked them, and I distinctly remember her being careful not to lose it.
Are you saying that this is mostly-digested pig food that has been semi-converted to excrement? I’ve got a pretty strong constitution, but _gawd dayum_, that makes me want to throw up!
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### Author:  [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/31 "2004-12-07T00:02:47Z")
Fishbicycle: you live in Florida, which is in the south, but not The South™.
Maybe that’s why?
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### Author:  [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/32 "2004-12-07T00:12:57Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#):
>
> …I have no clue what the difference between ‘hog maws’ and chitterlings are. I haven’t had them in years, either. From what I gather, they were a bitch to clean and Granny just doesn’t want to be bothered with them anymore. Sadly, I’ll never cook them and wouldn’t even begin to know where to get them.
I was curious about this myself. Apparently hog maw is a bit further up the alimentary canal than chitterlings as it’s hog stomach. I’ve never been inspired to try either dish though I see buckets of chitlins in the grocery hereabouts all the time. My brothers have eaten tripe in chinese and mexican restaurants but I haven’t tried that one yet either. Maybe someday when I’m feeling bold.
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### Author:  [@slai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slai)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/33 "2004-12-07T00:13:00Z")
When I lived in Memphis in 1999, I discovered a restaurant in a shopping center called Chitlins N Thangs. I am not sure what the thangs were.
I wish I took picture of it. I wonder if it is still there.
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/34 "2004-12-07T00:19:16Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#):
>
> Fishbicycle: you live in Florida, which is in the south, but not The South™.
>
> Maybe that’s why?
I live in South Florida, which is definitely not The South. But the more North you go, the more South you get. If Fishbicycle lives in North Florida, that might be The South.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/35 "2004-12-07T00:29:49Z")
> [@flickster](#):
>
> They have a chitlin’ festival in Sally, SC
> [http://www.chitlinstrut.com/2004ChitlinWebHome.htm](http://www.chitlinstrut.com/2004ChitlinWebHome.htm)
>
> Yes, I have been there, but I didn’t eat the chitlins
It is not a “festival”, it’s a “strut”. I’ve been there - you can smell it coming a mile up the road. I did in fact sample the spotlight food item. I wouldn’t have it again, but it wasn’t _awful_.
Thread, meet [thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=290348)
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### Author:  [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/36 "2004-12-07T00:47:00Z")
I lived in Orangeburg for a couple of years and visited the “Strut”. I was very glad there was a nice breeze blowing that day and I made sure to stay on the upwind side. I’ve got pictures packed away of that same J I Case steam powered tractor pictured in their photo gallery.
Speaking of their photo gallery, do you think there’s much pride in being the chitlin queen outside of the Sally city limits?
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### Author:  [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/37 "2004-12-07T01:19:24Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#):
>
> Fishbicycle: you live in Florida, which is in the south, but not The South™. Maybe that’s why?
Naw, that’d make me want to throw up if I lived in Timbuktu or Twin Falls or Trois Rivieres! Honest, it’s really hard to gross me out, but this thread is going to put me off my supper! Ewwwwwwww…
I did ask, and thanks for telling me, but _jeez!_
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/38 "2004-12-07T05:59:20Z")
Wouldn’t you have to worry about bacteria? I mean, I’m sure they’re cleaned, but…ew.
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### Author:  [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/39 "2004-12-07T10:15:45Z")
I mentioned _isaw_, Filipino chicken intestines, in my post upthread but what I didn’t mention is that Ruby, the girl I was seeing, told me that they’re not always cleaned fully when sold. When I asked her how she could eat the stuff when it’s literally got shit in it, she just shrugged and told me it tasted good and she didn’t care.
I was more than just a little nauseous after that and haven’t been able to even think about Filipino food since then. Between that and _belut_ … ugh. I’m going to be sick.
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### Author:  [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-eat-chitterlings-chitlins/278324/40 "2004-12-07T20:37:18Z")
> [@Aesiron](#):
>
> I mentioned _isaw_, Filipino chicken intestines, in my post upthread but what I didn’t mention is that Ruby, the girl I was seeing, told me that they’re not always cleaned fully when sold. When I asked her how she could eat the stuff when it’s literally got shit in it, she just shrugged and told me it tasted good and she didn’t care.
>
> I was more than just a little nauseous after that and haven’t been able to even think about Filipino food since then. Between that and _belut_ … ugh. I’m going to be sick.
I’ll eat most anything. But I think I’d rather die than enjoy this particular delicacy.
So I gotta ask, what’s _belut_?
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