Conversation:

from http://www.greatworldchefs.com/chitlins.html

Chitterlings is the formal name, but most folks call ‘em Chitlins. And, if you know about chitlins, well there is nothing formal about them.
They are the large intestines of a pig. As such, they possess a distinct, er, uh ,... aroma, when you cook them. Some people turn up their noses (literally and figuratively) at the mention of chitlins. They are a food that most people either love or hate....

Standard recipes call for simmering the chitlin's for three to five hours in water seasoned with salt, black pepper, and perhaps hot peppers, along with vinegar and an onion. But everyone has a different recipe. Sometimes they are cooked with hog maws (hog stomach), or fried in a batter.