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
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.
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/
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)
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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?
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 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.
