Budello

Intestines are mostly used as skins and containers for salami. The gut of cows, lambs and pigs are those most frequently used by butchers, but the intestines of very young lambs are also popular because, as the animals have only been fed on milk, their guts are relatively clean. A part of veal intestines produces tripe, one of the most loved offals in Italy and for which there are many recipes (see Trippa).

In Sicily, a special dish called stigghiole is prepared with the intestines of milk-fed lambs. They are flavoured with spices then threaded on wooden skewers and grilled over charcoal. I bought some from a roadside vendor in Sicily and my wife Priscilla, usually a little reserved about such foods, agreed that it was delicious. Similar specialities can also be found in Puglia, Calabria and Sardinia.