What meat is traditionally used in the soul food dish called chitterlings?

Chitterlings are traditionally made from pig intestines.

The dish is prepared by thoroughly cleaning and then boiling, stewing, or otherwise cooking the intestines, often with aromatics and seasonings. It became part of Southern foodways through African, European, and Indigenous influences, as well as the resourcefulness required under slavery and poverty.

The name is also written “chitlins,” a pronunciation and spelling widely associated with African American Southern cooking. Preparation traditions vary considerably, and careful cleaning is an essential part of traditional recipes.

Chitterlings are sometimes confused with tripe, but tripe generally refers to the stomach lining of cattle or other ruminants. Gizzards are muscular poultry organs and are a different ingredient entirely.