These come from higher on the hog than chitterlings.
Compared with those sometimes rubbery pork intestines, hog maws (about a pint, $7) are firmer, almost muscular in texture. Both varieties of pork parts must be well washed, but hog maws, cut from the lining of the stomach, are less likely to retain unpleasant alimentary aromas. These were cooked with cabbage, celery, and maybe a little onion, and they had a pleasant vinegar flavor that I didn't want to shroud in hot sauce. If I weren't on the move — Rib Shack is takeout only — I would have treated myself to a scoop of one of the good-looking cobblers, peach or apple.
Next door is an unprepossessing business, perhaps with Georgia roots. H. Huston & Sons Produce Plus isn't much of a market for browsers, but it does stock an assortment of Southern goods: watermelons, greens "when in season," peanuts, scuppernongs, and a small selection of cured meats.
Rib Shack
157-06 Linden Blvd. (157th-158th Sts.), Jamaica, Queens
718-659-7000
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