Hog maw is the

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...

of a

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

prepared as food. More specifically, it is the exterior muscular wall of the stomach organ (with interior, lining mucosa removed) which contains no fat if cleaned properly. It can be found in American,

soul food Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, Pennsylvania Dutch, Mexican,

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

dishes. In addition, it can be prepared in various ways including stewed, fried, baked, and broiled.

Ethnic dishes

Pennsylvania Dutch

Hog maw, sometimes called pig's stomach, Susquehanna turkey or Pennsylvania Dutch goose is a Pennsylvania Dutch dish. In the

Pennsylvania German language Pennsylvania Dutch (, or ), referred to as Pennsylvania German in scholarly literature, is a variety of Palatine German, also known as Palatine Dutch, spoken by the Old Order Amish, Old Order Mennonites, Fancy Dutch, and other descendants of ...

, it is known as Seimaage (sigh-maw-guh), originating from its German name

Saumagen Saumagen (, " sow's stomach") is a German dish popular in the Palatinate. The dish is similar to a sausage in that it consists of a stuffed casing; however, the stomach itself is integral to the dish. It is not as thin as a typical sausage casin ...

. It is made from a cleaned pig's

traditionally stuffed with cubed

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es and loose pork

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

meat. Other ingredients may include cabbage,

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

s, and

spices A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are ...

. It was traditionally boiled in a large pot covered in water, not unlike Scottish

haggis Haggis ( gd, taigeis) is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the animal's stomach though n ...

, but it can also be baked or broiled until browned or split, then it is often drizzled with butter, sometimes browned, before serving. It is usually served hot on a platter, cut into slices, and topped with

horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwi ...

stewed tomatoes Stewed tomatoes is a dish typical of the United States, prepared using fresh tomatoes, garlic and herbs, and consumed with bread or meat. Stew refers to the combination of vegetables and food ingredients that are cooked in a liquid medium. More ...

. It can also be served cold as a sandwich. Often served in the winter, it was made on hog butchering days on the farms of Lancaster and Berks Counties and elsewhere in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It remains a traditional New Year's Day side dish for many Pennsylvania German families; in fact, many families believe that it is bad luck if not even a small piece is consumed on New Year's Day, as is the case with pork and ''

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferm ...

''. The stomach is purchased at one of the many traditional butchers at local farmers' markets. The original recipe was most likely brought to Pennsylvania from the Palatinate area of Germany, where it is called ''

'' and served with ''sauerkraut'', another Pennsylvania Dutch food. Indeed, Saumagen is reported to have been a favorite of former German Chancellor

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

, a native of the Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) Region.

Soul food

As a

dish, hog maw has often been coupled with chitterlings, which are pig intestines. In the book ''Plantation Row Slave Cabin Cooking: The Roots of Soul Food'' hog maw is used in the Hog Maw Salad recipe. Hog maw is also traditionally prepared for New Year's Day for prosperity along with other traditional Southern New Year's Day dishes like collard greens and

Hoppin' John Hoppin' John, also known as Carolina peas and rice, is a peas and rice dish served in the Southern United States. It is made with cowpeas (mainly, Black-eyed peas, Sea Island red peas in the Sea Islands and Iron and clay peas in the Southeast U ...

Chinese cuisine

Hog maw with pork and beef dumplings-2010-19-01

In Chinese cuisine, hog maw is called 猪肚 (zhūdǔ, "pig stomach") often served stir fried with vegetables. It can also be braised, chilled, and sliced as part of a cold cut tray.

Latin American cuisine

Hog maws (called "buche") are a specialty in

taco stand A taco stand or taquería is a food stall, food cart or restaurant that specializes in tacos and other Mexican dishes. The food is typically prepared quickly and tends to be inexpensive. Many various ingredients may be used, and various taco s ...

s all over

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, mostly deep fried with the rest of the pork. In

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, hog maws are called ''Cuajos''. ''Cuajitos'' is a popular street vendor food found around the island and is most often served with boiled green banana

escabeche __NOTOC__ Escabeche is the name for a number of dishes in Spanish, Portuguese, Filipino and Latin American cuisines, consisting of marinated fish, meat or vegetables, cooked or pickled in an acidic sauce (usually with vinegar), and colored w ...

and

morcilla A blood sausage is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Most commonly, the blood of pigs, sheep, lamb, cow, chicken, or goose is used. In Europe and the A ...

(blood sausage).

References

External links

Plantation Row Slave Cabin Cooking: The Roots of Soul Food - American Food History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hog Maw American sausages Cuisine of the Southern United States Offal Cuisine of the Pennsylvania Dutch Soul food African-American cuisine Chinese cuisine Mexican cuisine Portuguese cuisine Italian cuisine Puerto Rican cuisine Vietnamese pork dishes Romani cuisine