Ultimate Burns Night Blunder??

**shawhighlander** · 12th February 09, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by thescot

Make your own.

Originally Posted by Alan H

Here's how I do it.

Now that's a way to think like a resourceful Scot!

**Alan H** · 13th January 09, 08:47 PM

It' snot that hard to make yourself. Instead of a sheeps stomach, make it in super-sized sausage skins.

http://www.texastastes.com/p154.htm

Fibrous Casings for 4" X 22" Salami.
(Item # 632245)
(5 pk) - Casing measures 4" X 26". Each holds approximately 5 lbs of meat.. Includes hanging string and clips for sealing.
Price: US$4.99

There's a recipe for Haggis in the Joy of Cooking. I'm totally serious.

Here's how I do it.

get a pound of two of lamb liver, hearts and ground meat. If you simply can't get lamb liver, substitute beef hearts and liver with a lot of ground lamb. Get a pound of suet...not beef fat SUET. The butcher will probably give it to you for free. You'll need a couple of cups of oatmeal and a lot of spices like mace, turmeric, etc.

1. parboil the liver for a while. this means to boil it in water. Let it go for 45 minutes or so.
2. brown the ground meat for a while...like get it half-cooked. ditto for the beef/sheep hearts.
3. Now dice the liver into bits as fine as you can stand it. This will take a while, so settle in.
4. Put a small handful of suet through a cheese grater until you have a fist-sized pile of grated suet.
5. Mix oatmeal, browned meat, parboiled liver and suet in a big bowl. Really mix it up good.
6. Add seasonings...mace and Turmeric for sure, look at some online recipes for other suggestions. Don't under-season, you'll be surprised how much you can use. Mix it all together something fierce.

7. Take the big salami casings, and put a clamp on one end....they come with steel clamps and you mash 'em with pliars or a vice-grips. Now stuff a mess of meat and oatmeal into the casing, packing it in well. Make sure that you don't stuff too much, the resulting tube has to fit into your biggest pot without bending. You may have to cut your casings in half and stuff 2-3 casing-halves. Once stuffed full, use vice-grips or if you're out of wire, use galvanzied or copper wire to clamp the other end shut.

8. boil for 45 minutes to an hour.

9. Take it out of the water and bake it for another 45 minutes to an hour. Open up the over door every 10 minutes or so to let the steam out.

Voila! Haggis!

**RamsayClanCommish** · 14th January 09, 09:50 PM

The haggis dilema has been solved!

Thank you all for your advice and thoughts. Good to know the board is full of helpful folk with great advice.

**1MUNK3** · 16th January 09, 08:11 AM

Hello,
Please do tell, how was the infamous Haggis dilema solved ? Who did you end up going with or are ye making it yourself ? I hope you along with everyone enjoys their Burn's Night / Dinner festivities.

**vmac3205** · 16th January 09, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by 1MUNK3

Hello,
Please do tell, how was the infamous Haggis dilema solved ? Who did you end up going with or are ye making it yourself ? I hope you along with everyone enjoys their Burn's Night / Dinner festivities.

Indeed. Inquiring minds want to know.

**RamsayClanCommish** · 25th January 09, 10:35 PM

Originally Posted by vmac3205

Indeed. Inquiring minds want to know.

Apologies for not mentioning it.

The wife of the emcee will be making it herself. I have tasted her haggis before and it is grand. The amazing thing? She and her husband are vegetarians!

How they make it so well I do not know. But they do.

**Standard** · 16th January 09, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by RamsayClanCommish

The haggis dilema has been solved!

Thank you all for your advice and thoughts. Good to know the board is full of helpful folk with great advice.

Thank goodness, I had bad images in my head of the "Piping in o' the Roast Beef".

**pdcorlis** · 25th January 09, 10:55 PM

Ah - looks like you have it handled then - well done!

**Jack Daw** · 2nd February 09, 06:49 AM

For the past 6 or 7 years, I have been an attendee (and the haggis procession piper for 2 of those) at the Heather & Thistle Society's Rabbie Burns Supper. The Supper is hosted by that year's H&TS chieftain, but the event is planned by a past chieftain. One year, we lost our usual haggis butcher and ordered from another maker. After inspection, the hotel chef refused to cook and serve the haggis because he discovered that some of it was tainted. It was the first year that the haggis was literally declared "NOT fit to eat", by the chieftain. The chieftain did so with some embarrassment but mostly in good humor; but, he also took a lot a grief for it later even though it was not his fault.

**The Barry** · 6th February 09, 10:55 AM

After inspection, the hotel chef refused to cook and serve the haggis because he discovered that some of it was tainted.

That's too bad, haggis isn't something that you can run down to your local supermarket and replace at the last minute. Especially in a small-ish town.

At least the chief had humor about it!