Headline: TRADITION,
SCHMADITION: IF CHITLINS AREN'T ON YOUR THANKSGIVING MENU, IT'S NOT A REAL HOLIDAY
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman
Publication: ST.
LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Tue., Nov. 26, 1996
Section: WAR PAGE, Page: 11B, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT
WHILE SOME of
you are preparing for a mouth-watering turkey this Thanksgiving, my mouth is
preparing for something entirely different: chitterlings.
They're
pronounced chitlins really, unless you're the formal type. Then look for raised
eyebrows when you say "chit-ter-lings." I've been eating chitterlings
since I can remember, and I love 'em. They're no health food by any stretch
of the imagination, and they're certainly not on my diet. But since I eat them
maybe once a year, I figure it's OK to take the chance.
Hard as it is
for me to believe, some people have never tasted chitterlings. Some have never
even heard of them. Unlike calamari, a word someone decided looked better on
a menu than the word squid, chitterlings don't hide behind a nice, trendy name.
They are, put bluntly, the small intestines of a pig.
Don't
sound particularly appetizing? Maybe you haven't tasted them. All right, maybe
you have. Chitterlings are the kind of food people love or hate.
When
I grew up, holiday meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas weren't the same without
chitterlings with Louisiana hot sauce, ham, a carved turkey, macaroni and cheese,
collard greens and sweet potato pie for dessert. My mother cooked the best chitterlings,
bar none. She still does. So on Thursday, she's preparing Thanksgiving dinner,
which will include the requisite chitterlings.
You don't just
eat chitterlings, though. They require cleaning.
It takes some real work to clean chitterlings. The preparer can
spend several hours pulling the fat away from the meat. Chitterlings that aren't
cleaned properly can cause a bacterial infection called yersiniosis. But before
you say "A-ha, that's why I don't eat chitterlings, " consider that
yersiniosis can also come from other foods, including shellfish, tofu, ice cream
and milk.
Some
stores have started carrying pre-cleaned chitterlings, but most chitterling
purists turn their noses up at them (and it's not just because of the smell).
It's always best to clean your own chitterlings, they insist. Quality control,
you know.
After cleaning,
chitterlings are put on for a long boil, often with hog maws, a little vinegar
and salt and pepper.
Chitterlings
aren't known for having a great smell when they're cooking, so some people toss
in a potato or an apple to help absorb some of the odor. But the smell is worth
it once you take your first bite.
Some
people choose to bread chitterlings and then fry them. There's even a chain
of restaurants in Atlanta where you can drive up and order fried chitterlings
with french fries and cole slaw.
Some African-Americans
are offended by chitterlings because they were eaten by slaves in the Old South
because their white masters got the best parts of the pork. The idea that blacks
had to eat leftover parts like chitterlings is, to some, demeaning.
Because
of that, I know some black folks who are closet chitterling eaters. They love
them but don't want people to know; they would never order them in a restaurant.
Yet chitterlings are a part of African-American history, or at least in the
South. In other parts of the country, blacks prepared and ate different foods
altogether.
For years, I'd
thought that chitterlings were strictly a soul food, something eaten only by
African-Americans. I later learned that chitterlings are also popular among
many Southern whites, who consider them part of Southern cooking. They're also
part of Cajun cooking. That andouille sausage that you like so well? That heavily
smoked sausage is made from chitterlings and tripe.
It's
not just Americans who are eating chitterlings. I've known for years that chitterlings
are eaten in Mexico in a spicy, tomato-based soup. But more research found that
chitterlings are truly international. In Hungary, I found, chitterlings are
used for cases and as stuffing for sausages. Chitterling sausages are also a
delicacy in France. And chitterlings can be found in certain Asian dishes.
So while you're
slicing that turkey or ham this Thanksgiving, think about me, diving into a
plate of chitterlings with all the trimmings.
Pass the
hot sauce, please.
COPYRIGHT © 1996, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Note: Readers' letters in response to column.
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