Follow our step-by-step, recipe to prepare Chitlin Loaf. Whether you call them Chitlins, or Chitterlings, we’ll show you how to enjoy them. Chitlin Loaf is probably the easiest and best way to try them.
Chitterling Loaf Recipe
Whether you call them Chitlins, or Chitterlings, they are still hog intestines. You just can’t get around that part of the story. I guess calling them Chitterlings is suppose to make them sound more sophisticated, but they will always be Chitlins around Taste of Southern.
Mama never cooked them.
I have absolutely no memory of Mama, or my Daddy, ever cooking Chitlins. I don’t have any memory of them ever eating them. Older brother says he doesn’t either.
Despite the fact that we raised hogs in my younger days, and despite that we killed and butchered those same hogs around Thanksgiving each year, Chitlins weren’t on the menu. At least not that way.
When the intestines were removed during “hog killing” time, they were emptied, cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned a couple of more times. As you can imagine, the smell was atrocious around that area during the process.
Pig intestines, once cleaned, were referred to as “casings.” These casings were often used to stuff the homemade sausage into, then hung up in the smokehouse and allowed to air dry for use later throughout the year.
Chances are, if you’ve ever had any truly old fashioned, homemade, link Sausage, you’ve tasted pig intestines.
For the record, I recently turned down some fresh intestines that were offered to me from a hog killing that older brother and I had been invited to attend. I could have done the whole complete thing, but I passed on the opportunity. Wonder why? Smile.
Instead, I purchased a “half-loaf” of Chitterlings, fully cooked, from Nahunta Pork Center down in Pikeville, North Carolina. This is a large retail center that sells only pork products and a few frozen vegetable items. Nothing else.
On a recent visit, I met a lady that was buying about $100.00 worth of these Chitterling loafs.
I waited until she came outside the store, then stopped her to ask if she would share with me how she prepared them. She graciously obliged my interest, and I pulled out my phone and videoed her telling me how she does them.
Her name was Pat, and she was from Florida, visiting her sister in the area. Pat was taking Chitterling Loafs back with her to Florida to share with family and friends there.
One thing that Pat mentioned, was that she would often pour off about half of the liquid from the cooked loaf once it started to cooking. Then, she would add some additional items to make them a little “spicer,” she said.
So, with Pat’s suggestions, and those of some other close family and friends, I’m presenting the Chitterling Loaf recipe below. I hope you enjoy the ride.
I had only tasted Chitlins once before in my life. I found some, surprisingly, on an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet restaurant that I visited once. I placed a spoonful on my plate, just out of curiosity.
When I got up the nerve to taste them, I chewed them a bit, then covered my mouth with a napkin and spit them out. They were so rubbery, I couldn’t eat them. It wasn’t the taste that turned me off, I just realized I’d never be able to chew them.
So, did I eat these? My family and friends were pretty shocked when I started talking about cooking some Chitlins. A few said they liked them, but most just gave me really funny looks.
Yes, I did eat a few of these, but not all of them.
The taste reminded me of Souse Meat, if you’ve ever had that. The vinegar taste also reminded me of our Eastern North Carolina Barbecue that I so dearly love. It really wasn’t bad, and certainly wasn’t nasty if that’s what you’re wondering.
The main thing seems to be that folks know they are pig intestines, and that turns them off.
I told several folks that if they didn’t know what it was, they would probably like them. Let’s just leave it at that.
Ready to give our Chitterling Loaf a try. Alright then. Raise all the windows, open the front and back door, get out the big fans, and let’s head for the kitchen. In other words… Let’s Get Cooking.
Chitlin Loaf Recipe: You’ll need these ingredients.
At $5.99 per pound, they aren’t exactly cheap any more.
Here in the South, we can find cleaned chitlins in big red tubs at most Walmart stores, or in our local grocery store.
Walmart sells a 10lb tub for less than $10.00. They typically come frozen, and need to be cleaned extra well prior to cooking.
We’ll save that one for another time. Smile
Half Loaf: This is considered to be a “half loaf” of Chitlins. They generally come packaged in tubs that are twice this size as a loaf. Again, these are fully cooked. They already have some vinegar, red pepper, and other spices cooked with them.
You can’t help but notice the “earthy” aroma when you open the package. Smile.
Nahunta Pork Center display – Pikeville, North Carolina
This is where I purchased my cooked Chitterlings. As you can see, they had a lot of them. That’s because they sell a lot of them. They’re very popular here in the South.
You might find chitterlings at your local grocer that say they are “cleaned and ready to cook.” I highly suggest that you search out more information on how to further clean those prior to cooking them.
Some even claim to be “Super Clean.” You just want to take a good look at them prior to cooking them.
Practically all will claim to be “hand cleaned.”
See the gelatin holding everything together?
Your’s may contain more gelatin than this one does. I was advised that I might want to remove some of this once it melted down, but there really wasn’t enough of it that I needed to do that. More about that a little further down.
I began by slicing the loaf into about 3/4 inch slices.
Folks sometimes dredge slices like this in flour, then fry them. Again, that’s another recipe we’ll just save for later.
Next, I cut the slices into small cubes.
I cut them into smaller pieces in hopes they might be easier to chew when finished. Just personal preference here.
Place the cubes in a medium sized sauce pot, over Medium heat, on your stove top.
Let the loaf “melt down” before you add any additional seasonings.
I was advised that I might want to remove about half of the liquid from this loaf, but this particular one didn’t have very much liquid at all once the gelatin part had dissolved down. So, I proceeded to add my additional items.
Place the cubes in a medium sized sauce pot, over Medium heat, on your stove top.
Let the loaf “melt down” before you add any additional seasonings.
I was advised that I might want to remove about half of the liquid from this loaf, but this particular one didn’t have very much liquid at all once the gelatin part had dissolved down. So, I proceeded to add my additional items.
Add the Black Pepper.
Add the Vinegar.
Add the hot sauce.
Go easy on the hot sauce at this point. You can always add more to your personal taste once they’ve been served. Also, they have red pepper flakes already in them, at least these did.
Give everything a good stir.
Bring the chitlins up to almost the boiling point, then REDUCE the heat to a low simmer.
Let the Chitlin Loaf cook for about 45 minutes, uncovered, on a low simmer, stirring often. Just keep a close eye on them and don’t let all the juices cook away. As you can see, there wasn’t a lot of juice in this batch.
You could add a little water if needed. You’ll find many folks like them soupy and served in a bowl over rice. Again, it’s a matter of preference.
Either way, just let them cook until they are tender.
As you might imagine, they do have a unique “aroma” to them. I suspect it would have been even more intense had I been cooking some that hadn’t already been fully cooked. I do plan to do that one day, but I’ll need to let my neighbors know in advance I think. Smile.
Enjoy!
Serving Suggestion: I served these up with some mixed greens, sliced baked sweet potato, black eye peas with a piece of seasoning meat from the pot, and some cornbread.
