[Sca-cooks] haggis?

[Mairi Ceilidh]

Dang, I hate being blonde some days.  Guess it would be more helpful for you
if I paste in the recipes before hitting the send button, huh.

Traditional Haggis

1 sheep's lungs (may be omitted if not available)
1 sheep's stomach
1 sheep heart
1 sheep liver
1 pound fresh suet (kidney leaf fat is preferred)
1 cup oatmeal (steel cut, not rolled oats)
3 onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup stock
1/2 cup Single Malt Whisky

Wash lungs and stomach well, rub with salt and rinse. Remove membranes and
excess fat. Soak in cold salted water for several hours. Place the lungs in
a pan of cold water with the windpipe hanging over the edge (to facilitate
the removal of any impurities) and slowly bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and
simmer for about 20 minutes.  Chop fairly finely.  Turn stomach inside out
for stuffing. Cover heart and liver with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce
heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Chop heart and coarsely grate liver.
Toast oatmeal in a skillet on top of the stove, stirring frequently, until
golden.  Chop suet finely.  Combine all ingredients and mix well. Loosely
pack mixture into stomach, about two-thirds full. Remember, oatmeal expands
in cooking. Press any air out of stomach and truss securely. Put into
boiling water to cover. Simmer for 3 hours, uncovered, adding more water as
needed to maintain water level. Prick stomach several times with a sharp
needle when it begins to swell; this keeps the bag from bursting. Place on a
hot platter, removing trussing strings.

Have a piper play Scotland the Brave as the platter is carried to the table.
Have a bard ready, sgine dubh in hand, to pay honor to the haggis in the
time honored words of the National Poet of Scotland (Ode to the Haggis by
Robert Burns).  Serve with Tatties and Neeps (potatoes and turnips, boiled
and mashed together), Oat Cakes and Single Malt.  Listen for the change in
your patterns of speech.

Now, it is all very well and good to provide recipes like this, but it is
seldom that one has a chance to lay hands on all the authentic ingredients.
For that reason, I developed a version that seems to be acceptable to native
Scots and cause less aversion in PA Americans (yes, that stands for pansy
a$$).

Mother Mairi's Haggis

1 lb. ground lamb
1 lb. chicken livers
1 lb. hard leaf suet
1-2 large onions
1 cup McCann's Steel Cut Oats (available at Publix)
Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg to taste
1/2 cup broth (from cooking livers)
1/2 cup Single Malt

Chop onions and sauté with ground lamb.  Boil livers in just enough salted
water.  Cool and grate.  Chop suet finely.  (The chopping can be done in a
food processor).  Toast the oats until they are light golden brown.  Mix all
ingredients, and wrap in a double layer of cheese cloth (or place in a
pudding bag).  Be sure to do this over the pot in which you plan to cook the
haggis so that none of the juices are lost.  Wrap tightly and put in pop
with the fold down.  Add water to cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat
and simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours.  Remove to a plate and open cheese cloth
carefully.  Even more carefully transfer haggis to a large sheet of plastic
wrap.  Fold plastic to completely encase and place on a heated serving
platter.  (Putting it in the plastic facilitates serving and makes the bards
performance work better when he plunges the sgine dubh into the "steaming,
reeking pudding".)  Serve as noted above.

Have fun!  Haggis is not the evil some make it out to be (neither is fruit
cake).  Most people who turn up their noses at organ meats are to ignorant
or prejudiced to try them.  I have no patience with those who would condemn
things they have never tasted.  Just don't offer me chilled monkey brains or
eyeball soup.  Even I have my limits.

Mairi Ceilidh





>
> i may find myself entering a haggis cooking competition,
> if the autocrats indeed go through with it.  (throw down a
> gauntlet at ME, will ye!?!?!?!) 8)
>
> anyone got any tried and true recipes?  i know the alton
> brown recipe, and several similar, but usually see
> 'spices' in the recipe as opposed to exactly what spices.
>  now, i know what you put in scrapply, but that's a
> different animal...  literally, i guess.
>
> oh yeah, and good scotch to go with it.
>
> thanks
>
> cailte
>
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