It doesn’t taste like other parts of the pig, either. Pig intestines have a mild flavor and the taste can vary based on how you season them. Some compare the texture and flavor to calamari and various other seafoods. Many people say that chitlins are an acquired taste .
What are some different ways to eat intestines?
Korean cuisine offers makchang, a form of grilled pork intestines; while French cuisine has tricandilles, which are grilled as well; and China has jiangsi chao dachang, in which the intestines are stir fried. Many countries around the world consume either sheep or cow intestines too.
Do chitlins taste like poop?
Chitterlings are, in fact, pig intestines. As you can imagine, the intestines carry feces. This will not change the taste of your chitlins and actually makes it easier to clean them. Similarly, can you get sick from eating chitterlings?
What are pork cheeks made of?
Pork cheeks are exactly what their name implies: the slip of meat in the hollow of the cheek, underneath the animal’s eyes. (Guanciale, the famed Italian bacon, is made sometimes from the cheeks but also from the jowls of the pig.).
You may be wondering “What is cheek meat like?”
But cheek meat is like hock meat —the same kind of lean meat connected by lots of tissues and collagen. Cook it for a long time, and the meat breaks down into hockey-puck-sized nuggets of fork-tender flesh.
What are the best tips for cooking pork cheeks?
Though pork cheeks can be obtained raw, most guanciale is cured. Dice up or throw a thin slice of guanciale on the frying pan and let it simmer in its own fat, crisping the bit of meat available. From there either cool or add the hot chunks to a salad, mixed with eggs, on top of pizza or in any food that could use a punch of pork flavor.
Pork cheek isn’t often found in the run-of-the-mill grocery store, though some smaller markets with full meat counters may offer it. Guanciale can be purchased online from many reputable importers, although it’s not exactly inexpensive.