" Pigmeat, for example, is a deliberate acknowledgement of the status accorded to African-
Americans in the past. 'Most unclean animal by Biblical standards, the pig was
rated of more importance to the planter than the slave, who remained conscious of
being "treated like a hog"'(Oliver, 1990: 112). The irony lay in the fact that
certain blues singers prided themselves on being a 'rooting ground-hog'or 'dirty
ground-hog' as a direct challenge to their earlier abasement. In addition, bacon,
chitterlings, hog's maws, pig feet, ham and other meats were regarded as delicacies
and cheap to obtain."

From "The bedroom blues: love and lust in the lyrics of early female blues artists" by Greg Watson.