h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You know, it doesn't sound that bad! Might try it one day.
-B-

If you like haggis (which you will coz it is gorgeous)why not try some other sheep derivatives.
Sweetmeats are good!!
(For the uninitiated only boy sheep have these in pairs!)
And of course there are the firm favourites: heart, liver, kidneys...
"Offally" Good

You are really fond of your meat, aren't you
I know they have some "delicasies" in Iceland made of pickled sheeps testicles.
Not their biggest export article I'mfraid.
-B-

You must be the first person I know who fancied trying haggis AFTER they found out what goes in it. I would though, as it is very nice. You should, however, note that if you order a haggis supper from a Glasgow chippie it will come out looking like a bratwurst gone wrong, rather than Burn's delight. Still very nice, especially if you are drunk.

I like to see myself as openminded, specially when food are in the picture

-B-

I'd agree that I'd give it a go, only it's a spot difficult to find on my side of the Atlantic. I've eaten beef heart, cow tongue and pig's stomach so this shouldn't be too horrible, except for being made from sheep, I've nearly been there and done that!

- X

Some other Haggis morsels :-

The eating of haggis should be accompanied with whiskey, especially during a Burns Night supper. This seems to improve its qualities and helps you forget what is in it.

Left over haggis, there usually is some, is just as great the next day for breakfast as a black pudding substitute.

You can also obtain a vegetarian haggis - honest. I think the company that made them did it as a bit of a joke but found that it caught on and now sell them commercially. The ingredients are just as much a mystery and seems to include a wide variety of nuts and pulses. To some this has less appeal than a sheeps stomach. A few years ago I served both veggie and real haggis to some friends that included vegitarians. Everyone preferred the real thing for taste but all preferred not to think about it too much.

VEGETARIAN haggis?!!?!**

It sounds DISGUSTING!

Ragnar Hairybreeks


PS: 'Vegetarian Haggis' =
SAVAGING HERITAGE

Vegetarian Haggis??? I guess the biggest problem would be finding a vegetarian butcher to make it for you!!

Haggis is definitely at its best when battered, deep fried and served with chips with loadsa sauce (HP diluted with vinegar is the ONLY sauce to have!) after several pints of 80/- swiftly followed by a hot mutton pie from the all night bakery. If you're wearing good clothes it's best to have the pie in a roll (the infamous 'pie roll') to stop the grease from dribbling down yer arm.......my lord we Scots know how to live!!!!

In all my Scottish heritage, I can't remember haggis being passed down.

'Nonnie

Err... for the uninitiated what is a pie roll?

Err ... a pie ... in a roll.

Pie: Noun, refers to a meat pie (best not to ask which meat) which normally contains more grease than meat. Perfect with chips.
Roll: Bap or Bun, if you feel that way inclined.

Please note, a sausage roll is not a link sausage (or indeed a sliced sausage) in a roll. That would be a roll and sausage. A sausage roll is sausage meat wrapped in pastry and popular at cocktail parties. A roll and sausage is popular the morning after a party (cocktail or otherwise).

There is of course the literal defintion (thanks Munchkin - glad to see there are others as cultured as myself out there)but in answer to the question 'What is a pie roll' so many things spring to my lard-fed mind.....gorgeously tasty, conceptually perfect, and absolutely essential if you are to keep the aforementioned ale in your gut where it belongs and not make a pavement pizza out of it....( I think the saturated fat must congeal making a hermetic seal over the sea of beer preventing it's escape upwards - this at least works as long as you're the right way up - always refuse firemen if they want to give you one of their marvellous lift thingies after such a session- the dry-cleaning bills can soon mount up).....

But oh woe is me, I live in England, and WHERE are the all-night bakeries? WHERE are the fresh mutton pies? And WHERE are the pubs that stay open long enough to get me drunk enough to eat one??

I am still not that sure I entirely understand what a pie roll contains but I think I get the idea
a) it is best not to ask too much
b) it is best after several pints of 80/-
c) the real thing is to be found late at night in Scotland

I am going to Edinburgh soon and will hunt down this delicacy. Seeujimmy!

Oh Stringy, how can you possibly still be confused?? A mutton pie, in a roll. What could be simpler??

Get plastered enough and I'm sure you'll come across one in Auld Reekie - failing that you'll just have to go with the haggis supper option - just as delicious and possibly easier for you to grasp (but that's the point - that's why the roll is there!! To make it easier to hold!!)

Enjoy....

Oh, I have to leave this discussion thread right now - I'm drowning in a sea of ! I haven't had a haggis supper for at least 15 years and I miss them.

Haggis is yummy, especially with clapshot (that's an Orkney thing, don't know about the rest of Scotland - mashed up neeps, tatties & loads of black pepper to make it spicy again!)

Deb

Some of you sound well-versed about haggis. Perhaps you could enlighten me on this recipe's particulars.

A recipe for ten hungry Scots.

[ 1. Trim heart, liver, and lung and place in a large pot with 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to boil then simmer for one-and-a-half hours then leave to cool for about 20 minutes.]

How many pounds of internals can be boiled in 1 cup of water. Is this measurement correct?

[ 2. Cut out any grisly part of the lung and put this with the liver, heart and raw beef suet through a meat grinder.]

It isn't made clear whether the grisly, non-grisly, or both grisly and non-grisly parts are put through the grinder. Does the grisly part get thrown away?

[ 3. Mix up all the ground meat in a big pot, throw in the chopped up onion and season to taste.]

What kind of seasonings might be added. It seems as if this would be an important addition.

[ 4. Toast oatmeal lightly in heavy bottomed pan and add this to your mixture.]

How do you know when the oatmeal is done? Color? Scent? Smoke?

[ 5. You should now have a thick gooey mess. Stuff this into the sheep's stomach until about 3/4 full and then seal.

How do you seel a stomach? How many openings are there, 2? Are they tied off, sewn, stapled?

[ 6. Prick stomach.

This sounds as if it is meant to prevent explosions. Is this the reason? How much pricking? Is it important to the cooking, or just safety?

[ 7. Fill pot with 1 gallon of water and bring to the boil. When boiling add the haggis and boil gently for 4 - 5 hours.

Boiling gently sounds more active than simply simmering. Is it the same thing, or not?

[ 8. Leave to cool.]

Would twenty years be too long? (just kidding)

[ 9. Address the haggis (see below) and serve with neeps and tatties.]

Perhaps a definition of 'Address the haggis' is in order. I'm not sure what that would entail.

[ 10. Eat and then belch loudly or throw up.]

Yes, I suppose I would.

Thanks for any further information that is offered!

Actually preparing your own haggis from the base ingredients is tantamount to severe masochism. Surely actually knowing what you're eating will ruin the experience of eating something which (deny as you might)you know is made of the bits that normally get thrown away (or made into Mcburgers). Get ye to a butchers shop, or failing that go on the internet and find a company that will post the mighty haggis to you. A Haggis supper should always be served with Tomato Sauce.

I think the basics are; a) Leave out the gristle. b) Season to taste means how you like it. Each haggis can vary wildly in taste depending on how you season it and this tends to be the second most important part, after the meat. c) The sheeps stomach gets sew up (as far as I know) and then pricked simply to avoid it exploding and producing haggis porridge. d) Gentle boiling is, to my mind, simmering. If you are too vigorous it will burst. e) It is sooo much easier to get the butcher to do it for you.

Aha

Someone else spending their friday afternoon reading about Haggii (or is Haggis's). We must spread the word across the world - haggis is almost good for you.