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Chitlins (Chitterlings) with Hot Vinegar Sauce

Chitlins (Chitterlings) with Hot Vinegar Sauce reads sourness 6.2, salinity 4.5 and warm spice 4.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Soul Food main, about 8 hr 9 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 4.9 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 4.1 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 6.3 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.8 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 0.6 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 5.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sourness 6.2 · Salinity 4.5 · Warm Spice 4.3 · Allium 4.0 · Sweetness 3.9 · Floral 3.2 · Heat 3.0 · Umami 2.2 · Funk & Ferment 1.8 · Earthy 1.6 · Herbaceous 1.3 · Bitterness 1.1 · Fruity 0.7 · Richness 0.6

What's in it (14)

• pork chitterlings — 4500 g
• cold water — 2000 g
• distilled white vinegar — 120 g
• coarse salt — 30 g
• yellow onion — 280 g
• green bell pepper — 160 g
• bay leaf — 1 g
• black peppercorns — 15 g
• cloves — 600 g
• salt — 10 g
• red chili flakes — 5 g
• apple cider vinegar — 240 g
• hot red chile — 20 g
• sugar — 4 g

Time & effort: about 8 hr 9 min (6 hr 5 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 24.4 kcal, 0.5 g protein, 1 g fat, 5.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

1. This is a dish with a history attached to it and it should be cooked with that in the room: chitterlings are the hog's small intestine, given to the enslaved because the planter did not want them, and turned by generations of Black cooks into something people now drive across a state for. Nothing about the cleaning is optional, and nothing about it is quick.
2. Turn each length of chitterling inside out and pull away every piece of fat and membrane with your fingers. This takes two to three hours for ten pounds and there is no shortcut. Buy them from a butcher who sells them fresh in a bucket rather than frozen in a bag — you can see what you are working with.
3. Soak the cleaned chitterlings in the cold water with the white vinegar and coarse salt for 1 hour, then rinse them under cold running water at least five times, until the water running off them is completely clear. If it is cloudy, keep rinsing. Cut them into 5 cm lengths.
4. Put them in a large heavy pot, cover with fresh water by 5 cm, and add the onion, bell pepper, bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves and the fine sea salt. Bring to a boil, then drop straight to a slow simmer.
5. Simmer uncovered 3 hours, skimming the grey foam off in the first half hour and topping up with hot water if the level drops below the meat. They are done when they are completely tender and a piece bends without any spring in it. Stir in the red pepper flakes for the last 10 minutes.
6. While they cook, make the sauce: warm the cider vinegar with the sliced chiles and the sugar in a small pan until it is just steaming, about 4 minutes, then take it off and let it infuse at least an hour. Drain the chitterlings, pile them in a bowl, and pass the hot vinegar at the table. Some cooks split the batch and deep-fry half — that is a Carolina habit and a good one.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Utopenci (Pickled Sausages, the Drowned Men) — Czech
• Red Beet Eggs — American · Pennsylvania Dutch
• Chow Chow (End-of-Garden Relish) — American · Appalachian
• Jambon Persillé de Bourgogne — French · Burgundy
• Gomen Wat (Spiced Collard Greens) — Ethiopian

Keep reading: what sourness, salinity, warm spice mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.