I promised everyone in this blog on the day that I left for Scotland that I would eat some haggis. True to my word, I did. During our castle tour day, we stopped at a pub in North Berwick and I saw haggis on the menu. I was feeling adventurous, and so I ordered a plate for Joey and I to split. (That way, if I didn’t like it, I could make him eat it.) Luckily, or maybe unluckily, I didn't have to push the plate his way: we both devoured it like vultures on a dying man in a desert.
For those of you
who don’t know why tasting the traditional Scottish meal "haggis"was a big deal, here is a recipe for your reading enjoyment:
Ingredient Numero Uno: A set of sheep's heart, lungs and
liver (cleaned by a butcher)
One beef bung (What is that exactly? I do not know the answer and I don’t know if I want to know.)
3 cups finely chopped suet (Not really sure what that is either.)
One cup medium ground oatmeal
Two medium onions, finely chopped
One cup beef stock
One teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
One teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon mace
Mash all of that up together and cook it inside a giant sheep's stomach. Oh, and also serve it inside the sheep's stomach, traditionally.
One beef bung (What is that exactly? I do not know the answer and I don’t know if I want to know.)
3 cups finely chopped suet (Not really sure what that is either.)
One cup medium ground oatmeal
Two medium onions, finely chopped
One cup beef stock
One teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
One teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon mace
Mash all of that up together and cook it inside a giant sheep's stomach. Oh, and also serve it inside the sheep's stomach, traditionally.
You can find the instructions at http://www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/blrecipe_haggis.htm,
which is where I took the recipe from. I
am sure it is made differently at every restaurant and household in Scotland,
but these directions came out on top in the search engine, so the recipe must
be popular.
A more traditional looking haggis meal - not so appetizing! (turnbullclan.com)
The haggis was surprisingly good, for a meal made of sheep
innards and onion. (I hate onions with a passion.) Our meal consisted of haggis (already removed from the sheep's stomach, thank goodness) and mashed
potatoes piled into a tower with peppered gravy flowing over it like a
volcano. I really enjoyed it, except
when I accidentally bit into a whole peppercorn a time or two.
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| Our haggis tower with the peppered gravy - yum! |
According to the advice of local Scotsmen,
“Just don’t think about what you’re eating, and simply enjoy the taste.” That was what I did, and it turns out I like
haggis! Not that I would eat it
everyday, let’s not get carried away... but I tried it, and liked it. Ah, the spirit of travel!
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| Our haggis meal, half devoured! |
you forgot yo mention that all that meat its stuffed inside lamb intestines, ñom ñom ñom
ReplyDeleteI've tried haggis before. I had a coworker who's family is Scottish and always made it for Robbie Burns day so I tried some. I liked it also, but thinking about what it actually is, pretty disgusting lol
ReplyDeleteIt IS tasty, right Becky? But yes, you really shouldn't think about what it actually is as you're eating it.
ReplyDeleteAh Que Caray - I've seen pictures of haggis stuffed inside lamb intestines (not appetizing at all!) The haggis we ate was not, thank goodness. It was jammed inside a volcano of potatoes instead. Sometimes it is also stuffed inside a lamb stomach. Yummy indeed!
Although I was unfortunate enough to be reading this post while having breakfast, I must say my hopes for trying haggis one day (the second, alternate version) have been uplifted.
ReplyDeleteBah ha ha - sorry to ruin your meal! But yes, it is worth trying, if only just once.
DeleteJust don't think about what you are eating...Great advice from that man! Kudos for digging in, especially if you hate onions! :)
ReplyDeleteLike they say, do what the locals do! And you won't know if you like it or not unless you try it...
DeleteI had been told it was put into a cleaned-out sheep's stomach. However it is made, it is my favorite dish since I tried it on my last trip to Scotland. It just tastes like a very well-seasoned sausage mixture. My friend didn't care for it so she gave me her's too. I ate that and then came home with a can of Haggis also and had it when I came home. It was good, but not as good as the freshly made kind. I hope I can learn to make it.
ReplyDeleteI am both thankful and a little disappointed that our meal didn't come in the sheep stomach. Not sure how I would have liked it. I was wondering how the canned haggis would taste - I bought canned alligator down in New Orleans and for sure it wasn't as good as the fresh stuff! But that's no surprise! :)
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