What is the SECOND thing that comes to mind when you think about the delicacy called chitlins, a corruption of the word chitterlings?  The word is usually spoken as a plural noun, but there is a singular spelling perhaps for those when are brave enough for just one serving but unsure of the second helping. I already know what your first thought is. Just be careful how you pronounce the first letter. And that initial thought seems to be a major detriment to keeping this Southern dish away from the table of most diners. But despite the negative attitude that a majority holds towards this dish, there are many who champion its place on the table of those true soul food gourmands. Count me in with the majority. I do not have an adventuresome palate even if the dish arrives with plenty of catsup and is  heavily battered usually capable of obscuring both the taste, smell and the appearance of practically any serving.  So what are chitlins?
I grew up on a farm and while chitlins were not consumed by the family members per se, still if you ate the pork sausage back then you probably also ate what is known as a chitlin.  A chitlin (or chitlins) is the intestine (guts) of a hog, carefully processed especially when one considers its bodily function.  Back then the intestine was customarily used as a ‘casing’ for the stuffed, seasoned sausage. The hog chitlin, generally thought of as a disposal part of the animal, was not wasted neither were other parts such as the skin (cracklins’), the feet (pickled), the jowls, the mountain ‘oysters’  and other (offal)  parts (used for making ‘sauce”  meat).  The fat was rendered into lard and could also later be used to make lye soap.
But the chitlin could also be prepared for consumption.  The gut was always VERY carefully cleaned, washed and rinsed and then washed again then boiled to make doubly sure the finished product was absolute clean of content.  Once this process was completed, the chitlin was immersed briefly into boiling grease after having been battered with a thick coat of a flour based recipe.  The result was a golden brown serving similar to what might be compared to your better known chicken fingers.
Cooking chitlins is best done out of doors because the pungent smell is not one of its best attributes.  By the way, locally one generally thinks only of hog chitlins but from my reading any animal intestine can be thusly identified as a chitlin.  For a cow, the intestine (stomach layer) is not called a chitlin but is known as beef tripe.
What we consume is usually dictated by our culture.  There are people who refuse to eat pork or beef yet have no problem with grasshoppers and even (unmentionable) domesticated animals.
I know someone who regularly kept rattlesnake filet in his freezer.  He said it was pretty white meat that tasted just like chicken.
I’ll stick to chicken, thank you.
Should you be adventuresome and want to try something different, chitlins are available at the local grocery store, ready for the final preparation, that is if you trust the initial cleaning process.
Or, on second thought, maybe you’d rather attend and participate in the next annual World Famous  Chitlin’ Strut at Salley, SC the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Bon appetit.
*
Bill Lee
PO Box 128
Hamer, SC 29547