Quote Originally Posted by KiltedBrewer View Post
My wife and I recently purchased a lamb from a local rancher and I realized that since we own the entire animal, this will be my best chance to make haggis without the trouble of searching out all the necessary organs.
A guid haggis is a bit o' work, but everyone should make it the "right" way once. If for no other reason, then you can compare other styles to it. Haggis is a sausage, pure and simple. Nothing to get in a dither over.

Having been in your position back in my more carnivorous days, I took the heart and liver for my haggis.

We have acid rain and diesel exhaust with which the early Scots did not have to contend, so leave the lungs out.

Cut up the heart in cubes, removing any strings of muscle. Roughly chop an onion and put the heart and onion in a 4-quart pot with 3 quarts of water. Boil until tender.

Cut up the liver in cubes, removing any blood vessels. Roughly chop an onion and put the liver and onion into a 4-quart pot with 3 quarts of water. Boil until tender.

Toast 4 cups of stone-ground (not steel-cut or flaked) oatmeal in the oven at 400 degrees F. Stir frequently. Aim for a golden-brown colour.

When the liver and heart are done, grind them through a fine plate and "clean" the grinder with two or three onions. The operative word for onion in haggis is "redolent." Reserve the liver broth. Give the heart broth to a well-meaning cat.

Mix together the ground heart, liver and onion. Season with a few blades of mace well ground, as well as rosemary and a bit of thyme. Add approximately 3 cups of oats, and moisten with liver broth until it is the consistency of stiff cookie dough. Add salt and pepper -- taste it.

If it doesn't taste good or at least edible to you at this point (the meats are all cooked so it won't hurt you), then cooking further won't improve it. Put it in a large bowl and call in the dogs, then take the young lady out to dinner. If it passes this test...

Consider what your doctor told you on your last checkup. If you are hale and hearty, take one pound of the best lard you can buy and work it into the mixture. If you are hearty but not hale, take one half pound. If you are neither hale nor hearty, see the directions for "Bowl Haggis" below.

Mix it well in. If you wish to use a "natural" casing see if you can get what butchers call a "blind stump." This is a cow's stomach with only one hole in it. Regulations vary. In some places you can buy it, in others not. You may be able to get large hog casing and use a sausage stuffer. I've used manufactured casings for summer sausage, which come sealed at one end.

"By any suitable method" as the patent papers say, pack the haggis pate into the casing. Allow approximately 40% room for expansion. Tie or sew the ends shut. Pierce the casing with a knitting needle or icepick several times, if it is not pre-pierced.

Get a large kettle of water on the boil, as if you were in an old movie and someone was about to have a baby. Put a large steamer on the bottom of the pot, or a baking rack or similar device to hold the haggis up slightly. When you have the water boiling merrily, slip the haggis in and cover the pot. Boil for 2-3 hours.

As it cooks, fat will leak out and wonderful smells with permeate your kitchen. When it's done, hopefully you've got all the rest of the goodies fixed. Pump up the piper and serve the meal.

Bowl Haggis: if you don't want to mess with casings, just put it in a bowl and STEAM it instead of boiling it. Because it's in a bowl the fat will not leak out -- so use 1/4 pound of lard. You can use butter or some vegetable oil if you prefer. Purists will moan but there'll be more haggis for you.

Dealing with leftovers: crumble it up and sprinkle it into scrambled eggs, or slice cooked cabbage and boiled potatoes and fry up with haggis. Make a good potta strong tea and it looks like breakfast to me.

A note about oatmeal: I make extra toasted oatmeal. Some I will cook as normal and eat for breakfasts. Once it's toasted, it's cooked, technically, so you can eat it just like that. Works for me, maybe not for you. My favourite thing to do with extra toasted oats is to get a litre or so of the best vanilla ice cream I can find, and soften it. Then I stir in a couple of generous handsful of toasted oats, and a hefty shot of Laphroaig 15 and put it back in the freezer. Use your favourite malt. It's a glorious end to any meal.

Including breakfast.

:ootd: