The 5th Quarter : The Innard Limits: Meats You’ve Been Missing : Game for Chitterlings?

“There’s nothing glamorous about chitterlings,” says William Woods, owner of Original Murray’s Cafe. They haven’t been prettied up or slimmed down over the years, he says. “You either eat them or you don’t.”

I don’t, and neither does he, but many people who eat in his restaurant love them. They sprinkle them with hot pepper sauce, vinegar or catsup and eat them just like any other meat entree.

We decided to confront dread. After all, slaves ate pork intestines. So did farm dwellers. We picked up our forks and each took a stab at the plate of garlic-spiked wrinkles. They were surprisingly tender and predictably gamy--very gamy. I won’t say they are worth all the fuss of cleaning and boiling, but if you do like them, Murrays’ chef Charles Thompson’s recipe is a good one. Rinsing in a salt water bath reduces the strong odor during cooking.

MURRAYS’ CHITTERLINGS

10 pounds chitterlings, thawed

1/2 cup salt

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt

1 bay leaf

Strip fatty membrane from casing, then place chitterlings in large pot or Dutch oven. Cover with water and bring to boil. Cover and boil 5 to 10 minutes. Pour off water and rinse. Add salt to water and rinse chitterlings second time. Rinse again with cold, clear water.

Return to pan and cover with water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, 2 hours. Add onion, celery, peppers, garlic salt and bay leaf. Cook 1 hour longer or until tender. Chitterlings are tender when they pull apart easily. Makes 4 to 6 servings.