The Divisive Soul Food Aretha Franklin Adored

The late, great Aretha Franklin may have been the Queen of Soul, but was she also the queen of soul food? Well, it depends on who you ask, given that one of her favorite soul food dishes was the source of a fair bit of controversy. The "Respect" singer, who Rolling Stone named one of the greatest of all time, was a major fan of chitterlings. 

Chitterlings, sometimes abbreviated to chitlins, are boiled or fried pork intestines, often served with hot sauce. They're a classic soul food dish, and can be made with cow intestines for those who don't eat pork. In an interview with Ebony magazine in the 1960s, Franklin said chitterlings were her favorite food, especially when served with "hot water cornbread and greens or ham."

However, in a 2008 interview with NPR, the singer declared her once-beloved dish "canceled." While some people think chitlins are gross and may be uncomfortable with the very idea of eating intestines, that's not why Franklin gave them up. In the NPR interview, she explained that making chitlins a part of her diet was impeding her weight loss goals and keeping her blood pressure too high.

If you've never tried chitterlings before, they're worth experiencing at least once if you're interested in soul food or traditional Southern cuisine. If you can't find a restaurant that serves them near you, you can make them at home, although you'll have to source the pork (or beef) intestines from a butcher. Be aware that cooking chitterlings yourself can be quite labor-intensive, as it's important to clean them thoroughly before cooking to remove any unpleasant smells and bacteria that can make you ill. If you're especially concerned about potential bad smells from cooking them, be sure to buy them pre-cleaned, and use plenty of onions and vinegar during the cooking process — these will not only add a nice punch of flavor to the chitterlings, but will help neutralize their natural smell.

Once you've got yourself some chitterlings, you can turn them into a meal that Aretha Franklin herself would have loved – with collard greens (often referred to as simply "collards" in soul food) and a side of cornbread that tastes like it's from a BBQ joint. You can also serve them as a side dish to a plate of classic Southern fried chicken or on tortillas to create Mexican-style tripitas tacos. Add a side of black bean-infused cornbread for an extra boost of protein.