Haggus

[Bondbug 32]

No I am not a Scot, but I was in a Scottish regiment, lived, worked, played and sang in Scotland for long enough, so I feel qualified. And I have made haggis and survived.

 

The traditional haggis was stuffed into a sheeps stomach, which has made it something of a laughing stock in France 'stuffed lamb's paunch'. But the sheep's stomach is irrelevant. We tried it once. It was a pain in the butt and contributed nothing at all to the haggis itself. Modern commercial haggises are offered in a very plastic looking skin and bear little resemblance to the old traditional mix. Also sold in 'sausage' format in fish and chip shops. We took our recipe from an old cookbook. I don't know what diehard Scots will think of it but a French butcher friend, very cynical and under no obligation to be polite, enjoyed it. When I first tried it here there was a butcher in a nearby village with a small slaughterhouse out back, and on the odd occasion when he used it, good fresh material was easy to order. Brussels, in its wisdom - aimed to control big business and kill off small family businesses - has since forced him to close this facility. I remember my veterinary daughter bewailing the same loss of facilities in Scotland as meaning long painful journeys for terminally ill animals (not subsequently used for haggis).

 

The basic mix is similar to a paté but with a very large proportion of oatmeal and suet added. It takes a lot of time and I can't guarantee that YOU will like the end product. But it is an experience!

 

You need:

 

- 1 lamb's paunch (not recommended) or sausage skins and a pump for making sausages (not expensive and making your own sausages is a way of getting away from the universal pork for sausage filling) We get sausage skins free from the local supermarket butchery section - 'boyau', those miles and miles of internal tubing found in all animals. Not as disgusting as it sounds. If you insist on a paunch, make sure it is already scraped and cleaned and soak it in cold salt water for at least 3 hours, or overnight. Neither paunch nor sausage skins are in effect essential.

 

- the 'abats' - heart, liver, lights. Precook the lights (with the windpipe trailing over the side of the pan) 1hr30mins, and the heart 45 mins. Chop this lot up, including the uncooked liver, and mince fairly coarsely, with 2 large onions

 

- Put into a large mixing bowl and stir in: 12 oz coarse ground oatmeal, 12 oz shredded suet, juice of 1 lemon, 2 teasp grated nutmeg, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons whisky. 1.5 pints of stock (water and a stock cube) are included in the recipe but mix this in progressively and stop if the mixture threatens to become sloppy!

 

OK if you have survived this far - but it's not cooked yet.

 

3 options:

 

a) If you opted for the paunch..You may have to tidy up the paunch into a reasonable bag shape. Stuff the mixture into the paunch, but not too tightly or it will burst in cooking and that is a messy business.. Sew up the opening(s) with strong thread or string. Put into a large pan of boiling water and simmer gently for 3 hours. Serve hot.

 

b) Forget the paunch, forget the sausage skins. Put the mixture into a basin, cover, and steam for 2 hours. Serve hot. Or you can then roll it into patties, or pieces the right size to fry and put in a hamburger. Be adventurous.

 

c) For the sausage method, proceed as for b) above. Let the mixture cool and use it to fill sausage skins following the instructions for your sausage maker. Mine is a bit like a large version of the thing you use for piping things onto deserts or cakes, or like a short fat bicycle-pump, with a long enough open end to shove the sausage skins onto. You can then heat the sausages any way you like: steam long enough to reheat, or micro-wave, or fry, or deep fry in batter is nice but they might burst.

 

The traditional accompaniment is mashed 'neaps' - I.e. turnips (N.Eng and I believe Ireland), swedes (S.Eng), rutabaga (US and France) AND A GOOD WHISKY. All the traditional stuff with piping in the haggis and reading Robbie Burns does not affect the haggis itself, but the whisky sure does

 

We found that the main problem was to avoid the mix being too soggy.

 

And finally Borg , as we say, the best of British mate.

Edited June 16, 2007 by Bondbug

[Borg 0]

No offense meant but I think I have found a new way to reduce my hunger pangs now *lol*

[myles 2]

I have the stomach to try one. I'm willing to try any food at least once.

[Bondbug 32]

Yep Borg - I thought it might put you off ! But you did say.........

I might just post one to Myles.

[gogoblender 3,070]

wow. This is quite the recipe, Bondbug. I have a few questions though. Why exactly do people eat this? Texture, flavor...bragging rights?

A few years ago I was in Scotland and we were drinking in a bar while waiting (yeah golf time woot! ) I saw on the menu that haggus was offerred and so decided to indulge my curiosity. The waiter suggested, much as has been suggested in this thread, to get a good glass of scotch with it and so we ordered a round. Dude...I tried and tried...but I could not even finish one third of the plate. I don't know what it was...but it kept catching in my throat. I've prided myself on being able to palate almost every cullinary concoction this world has to offer and indeed find a place in my heart to appreciate it. But the consistancy, flavor...I don't know what...just didn't work. We asked the waiter for ketchup. Then MP sauce. Then soya, then extra salt and pepper. Nothing seemed to work.

 

Did I miss something here?

 

I'm hoping that this was a badly prepared example of this dish and that somewhere in the world there are parts that beg tasting.

 

 

gogo

[Bondbug 32]

Bragging rights perhaps, and plain bloody minded national pride perhaps, and all the tourists want to try it.

I quite enjoy it, though. Yes, it can be heavy, and a life's work to make. The commercial ones are perhaps easier for the beginner, but I expect that is what you were served..

 

Just come from another thread. I have the same attitude as you have, but your haggis is my gazpacho ............ I will get to like it, even if it kills me....mutter...mutter...

Edited June 20, 2007 by Bondbug

[gogoblender 3,070]

Allright then Bondbug, I'll send you some gazpacho and you send me some of your Haggis, we'll take pix of our faces while eating and then compare.

 

gogo

[Borg 0]

Gogo I was reading your comments on eating in Scotland out loud to my wife and we both laughed so hard we had tears coming out of our eyes

[Bondbug 32]

Yep. I guess Borg is cured of any taste for trying haggis - but if you are ever in Scotland.....

[gogoblender 3,070]

awww, poor Bond...I hope I didn't give off the impression that haggus is some sort of absolute evil. But it was kind of funny how my first experience with it turned out to be my last. @ Borg and Wife (hello Borg's wife btw! )

Good thing about that?

Boy did all those "recommended" scotch shots to help it go down with ever get us plastered.

 

 

 

gogo

[Bondbug 32]

Hey Gogo

haggus is some sort of absolute evil.

Properly prepared in a sheeps paunch it is

[Borg 0]

There is another recipe that I cant quite remember it was from Scotland I believe or maybe England and had to do with eggs, maybe bacon wrapped I am not sure

My wife says hi back to you gogo

HAY what going on here she's old enough to be your mother

Edited June 28, 2007 by Borg

[Carolyn Hacker 0]

Could what you're thinking of be "Scotch eggs" Borg? I'm not sure if they're really Scottish, nor can I recall where I heard of them initially, but it's funny because I was thinking of making them last week. It's (at least the way I do it) hard boiled eggs, covered in a layer of sausage, covered in a layer of bread crumbs and then fried until the sausage is cooked and the bread crumbs are browned and tasty.

 

Very yummy, and very pretty on the plate when you've sliced one up

[Borg 0]

Could what you're thinking of be "Scotch eggs" Borg? I'm not sure if they're really Scottish, nor can I recall where I heard of them initially, but it's funny because I was thinking of making them last week. It's (at least the way I do it) hard boiled eggs, covered in a layer of sausage, covered in a layer of bread crumbs and then fried until the sausage is cooked and the bread crumbs are browned and tasty.

 

Very yummy, and very pretty on the plate when you've sliced one up

Yea thats it thanks I am going to try those too

and strangly when I wanted to reply to this I kept having to keep your original message in as if I was using quote oh well

Edited June 28, 2007 by Borg

[gogoblender 3,070]

Love Scotch Eggs. And they taste nothing like Haggus! One of the two Scottish ladies that's my neighbor celebrated her 91st birthday party...with scotch Eggs!

 

 

More than enuff to go around and lemme say...deeeeeeeeeeelish...if rather filling.

 

 

gogo

[Bondbug 32]

Scotch eggs...great for picnics and snacks, with salad.

 

Only trouble we have is that the sausage tends to shrink and open in places instead of staying nicely wrapped round the egg.

[gogoblender 3,070]

Never thought of them as something to bring to a picnice. Good idea. And actually, me getting to a picnic this year is something which I should get going on.

 

gogo

[fRACTAL 0]

I have the stomach to try one. I'm willing to try any food at least once.

Even This

I don't think I'll be trying either

~Doom

[Arilaftia 0]

Oh Doom!

Now I would try haggus if I don't watch it being prepared, but rotten shark.. Oh thats brutal!

Edited June 29, 2007 by Ari'Laftia

[gogoblender 3,070]

well...we could look at it this way...rotten just being a kind of fermenting, right? ^^

Cheese, wine, etc...

 

Maybe this could be a new take on a sharkfin soup?

 

gogo

[Arilaftia 0]

hahaha Everyones tastes are different.. I guess for me personally I can't eat anything that has "fermented" LOL

If its fuzzy or green I dont touch it... Of course Wine, Beer... Jack Daniels is a totally different story!

[myles 2]

lol.

 

Actually shark meat is so dense, dry, and thick, I tried it once in a restaurant that serves it as a main course. It is simply indigestible. I dunno how to describe it, but you put it in your mouth and you know you will have stomach ache later for eat such ghastly things (which I did).

 

The fin however is tasteless, its all ligament. The sharkfin soup is all about the base.

[DreDBanGeR 32]

hmm I wouldn't mind a good haggis (( properly prepared off course in tha pauch ) and the whiskey would also do well to make the stuff more tastefull by tossing a bottle in the meal before cookin yup I'd eat that no problem...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the hakarl however.......( it's a good thing a iallready ate )

[gogoblender 3,070]

ahhh, now that's just about the ONLY thing I didn't toss into the Hagus when I attempted to eat it!

 

gogo

[Bondbug 32]

Hey Miles, did you ever try whale meat? We used to get it in the Hitler war, like stringy fish flavoured beef. I think I was the only one that ever admitted to liking it, but then active kids will eat and enjoy most anything.