Thursday

Oh my....it's Thursday again????
Weekend Assignment #15: Tell us about the the most disgusting food/drink you've ever had in your mouth. Please note that I'm emphasizing the words "food and/or drink" -- No fair talking about the time you ate an earthworm or Play-Doh, or drank antifreeze, or ate something else that doesn't actually constitute food. You know what I'm talking about, here. Let's all be grown-ups, shall we. Real food, please: It can be badly prepared, strange and awful, accidentally rancid or whatever, but it's gotta be something someone somewhere recognizes as food.

Extra Credit: Name an actual food product that was so awful that you couldn't even bring yourself to try it.



This one is actually pretty easy for me....some of my faithful readers may remember that I've told stories about how my Grandpa (the one who was a big part of my childhood) was black. This is relevant because this whole entry is going to be about Soul Food. Good old fashioned soul food with textures and smells that only people from the deep south can truly understand. Ham hocks and collard greens. Cornbread with cheese and diced peppers. Grits. Harmony. Getting the picture? More importantly, are you getting the smells?

The summer I was 14 I went on one of those notorious across country road trips with my grandparents and four other kids. I was the eldest kid. Because it was summer and all of us were either out of school, not working or waiting to work so we took our sweet time getting from here, there and back to here. We were gone for about 2 1/2 months....and on our trip we stopped for a week in Louisiana and spent time with Grandpa's blood.

Now what does this have to do with the worst thing I ever ate you may be thinking....it was chitlins. {{{In colonial Virginia, December was the time that hogs were slaughtered. In those days, the hams and pork chops went to the big house, while the chitterlings (or "chitlins" - the large intestine of the hog) and other offal meats were given to the slaves. Through this tradition, chitlins entered the African-American diet and also became a tradition for the winter holidays - especially Christmas and New Years. }}} Some poor animal's intestines.....barfola. Puke. Yuck....grrrrrrr. I had to taste it because the rule in my family was one couldn't declare they disliked something unless they ATE a whole bite. Chitlins smell like an old folks home in mid August and they taste worse. ~Bear in mind that I have never actually tasted anything in an old folks home but I do have a vivid imagination.~



Now for the extra credit? I refuse, and I do mean refuse, to even be in the same room with Rocky Mountain Oysters. Double barf.

Recipe By : Texas on the Halfshell ISBN: 0-385-17904-9
2 pounds bull testicles*
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup red wine
salt
black pepper
garlic powder
Louisiana Hot Sauce
cooking oil**

*aka: calf fries, Rocky Mountain Oysters (sheep or turkey testicles may be used also)

** pure hog lard is the best, but a mixture of 60% peanut oil and 40% vegetable oil will do

With a very sharp knife, split the tough skin-like muscle that surrounds each "oyster." Remove the skin. Set "oysters" into a pan with enough salt water to cover them for one hour (this takes out some of the blood). Drain. Transfer "oysters" to large pot. Add enough water to float "oysters" and a generous tablespoon of vinegar. Parboil, drain and rinse. Let cool and slice each "oyster" into 1/4 inch thick ovals. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of sliced "oyster" to taste.

Mix flour, cornmeal and some garlic powder to taste in a bowl. Roll each "oyster" slice into this dry mixture. Dip into milk. Dip into dry mixture. Dip into wine quicky (you may repeat the procedure if a thicker crust is desired). Place each "oyster" into hot cooking oil.

Add Louisiana Hot Sauce to cooking oil (go wild with it, buy watch out for repercussions -- hot splashes). Cook until golden brown or tender, and remove with a wire mesh strainer (the longer they cook, the tougher they get).

Serve in one of those cardboard beer cartons that four six packs come in, layered with paper towels. Eat 'em, don't wait for nothin'! Chase with beer.

Variations include serving cooked "oysters" on a real oyster half shell with a sprig of parsley and a few drops of lemon juice.



Garry's Home Cookin'
Eat first, ask questions later!



* all quotes, pictures and receipes shamelessly borrowed from the linked sites. Also....am I the only one who didn't know turkeys had testicles? Huh? Am I?



ckays1967 at 11:02:00 PM PDT Link to this entry

This entry has 10 comments: (Add your own)
"ICK"!!!! :>) Like your journal, but I think I won't copy down the bull testicle recipe!!!

Comment from bookncoffee - 7/17/04 6:02 AM



Of course I've heard of chitlins but I had no idea what they were. GROSS!! I think you may win some type of gross food prize on this one...this sounds just about as bad as it gets.
Comment from sunflowerkat321 - 7/17/04 1:36 AM



"Harmony." I think you meant Hominy. LOL Growing up part of my life in the south I know what "Soul Food" is. I love it all except for fried gizzards and those chitlin boogers. Chitlins and pork rinds taste the same to me. Yuck! :-) ---Robbie
Comment from krobbie67 - 7/16/04 10:21 PM



Hi there! I had heard about your wonderful journal here in j-land.... thanks so much for coming to visit. I loved your comment. Hope you are having a fabulous day today...... judi
Comment from judithheartsong - 7/16/04 8:38 AM



Chitlins are definitely on my list of won't try it foods. The smell is bad enough, and unless you have smelled chitlins cooking, you can't imagine it.
Comment from sistercdr - 7/16/04 6:38 AM



Now, there`s two I`ll never try!!
V
Comment from deabvt - 7/16/04 5:48 AM



I had no idea what chitlins were.........until now. Gross. You can bet I will never be trying those. :-)

net/jersey shore

Comment from cneinhorn - 7/16/04 5:20 AM



Okay...I'll go with your evaluation of chitt'lin's. And Rocky Mountain oysters would be...bull's balls? Nope, can't see myself eatin' those, either! Lisa :-]
Comment from mlraminiak - 7/15/04 11:30 PM



Chittlans are animal intestines? Ewwwwwwww! I know sausages are really stuffed animal intestines but I can work my way around that but eating just the intestines is so awful! Who would have thought something with such a cute name was THAT? LOL!


Comment from readmereadyou - 7/15/04 11:21 PM



So, Christina, are you gonna DO this assignment, or just copy it down? LOL Lisa :-]
Comment from mlraminiak - 7/15/04 11:08 PM