Haggis anyone! - Recipe and Instructions Added

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

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Last Saturday I hosted the 38th Annual Burns Supper for the Saint Andrew's Society of Tidewater. The fellow who normally makes the haggis was in Ireland, so I make it as well as the neeps-n-tatties. He makes one presentation haggis for the address, and the rest is done in a big pot that is roasted in the oven. It gets a bit dry that way. I made all the haggis as stuffed sausages. I used my Gourmet Haggis recipe, which is more savory and moister. I'll post the recipe later when I am at home, but thought you chaps might like to see the process of stuffing and cooking ten haggis.

I boiled the hearts and livers for 1.5 hours, ground all the other meats and ingredients in the Buffalo chopper, stuffed the 10 haggis, boiled for 1.5 more hours, and then smoked them at 225F for 1.5 hours. The result was wonderful - as the poem goes - "Warm-reekin', rich!"
 

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Address to a Haggis - Broad Scots

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye worthy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o need,
While thro your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive:
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
'Bethankit' hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi perfect scunner,
Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll make it whissle;
An legs an arms, an heads will sned,
Like taps o thrissle.

Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies:
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis



Address to a Haggis Translation to English


Fair and full is your honest, jolly face,
Great chieftain of the sausage race!
Above them all you take your place,
Stomach, tripe, or intestines:
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm.

The groaning trencher there you fill,
Your buttocks like a distant hill,
Your pin would help to mend a mill
In time of need,
While through your pores the dews distill
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour wipe,
And cut you up with ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like any ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm steaming, rich!

Then spoon for spoon, the stretch and strive:
Devil take the hindmost, on they drive,
Till all their well swollen bellies by-and-by
Are bent like drums;
Then old head of the table, most like to burst,
'The grace!' hums.

Is there that over his French ragout,
Or olio that would sicken a sow,
Or fricassee would make her vomit
With perfect disgust,
Looks down with sneering, scornful view
On such a dinner?

Poor devil! see him over his trash,
As feeble as a withered rush,
His thin legs a good whip-lash,
His fist a nut;
Through bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit.

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his ample fist a blade,
He'll make it whistle;
And legs, and arms, and heads will cut off
Like the heads of thistles.

You powers, who make mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill of fare,
Old Scotland wants no watery stuff,
That splashes in small wooden dishes;
But if you wish her grateful prayer,
Give her [Scotland] a Haggis!

Read about the life of a haggis.



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That is way cool, and that had to be good eats. I am most jealous that you have a Buffalo chopper. We do a bit of sausage round here as well.
 
Gourmet Haggis Recipe

This haggis recipe makes a moister and more savory sausage. It can be cooked several different ways. One interesting way is to pack in 21mm sausage size casings like link sausages, and make individual 3” long haggis for each plate at a dinner. This recipe makes 30 portions … more or less … depending on the crowd’s appetite for haggis.

INGREDIENTS:
1# Steel cut oats
MEATS
1 whole beef heart – (about 2-2.5#)
1.5# Beef liver (or calf’s liver)
1# ground lamb
1# pork sausage (mild or hot)
VEGGIES, HERBS, SPICES
2 medium or 3 large onions
1 hand ginger sliced thin (or a tube of prepared minced ginger)
1 bunch fresh sage (or dry equivalent)
1 bunch fresh thyme (or dry equivalent)
About a Tsp. each of: red pepper, mace, basil, cardamom
About a Tbs. each of: black pepper, allspice, coriander, dill, marjoram,
About 2Tbs. each: salt, cumin
2 heads of garlic (or half a jar of minced garlic, or half a tube of prepared minced garlic)
Other herbs to your liking – rosemary, truffle oil, chili powder, more salt, etc.
OTHER INGREDIENTS
1 cup Islay Scotch Whiskey (McClelland’s single malt Islay is cheap and works well)
1 bottle Guinness
1 cup commercial beef broth (one can beef consume, etc.)

COOKING GEAR

Large roaster or deep pan to boil haggis in. A Nesco roaster is great for this.
Cookie sheet or shallow baking pan to toast oats.
2.5” collagen/fibrous casings for sausage (available at Dick’s in Chesapeake)
Food processor or large food chopper grinder (a commercial Buffalo chopper is perfect).

COOKING DIRECTIONS
Toast oats on middle shelf in a 350° oven for 20-30 minutes - until they are browned. Stir often. Cool and set aside.

Dice liver and hearts into ¾” cubes and boil for 1.5 hours. Stir often. Cool (you can reserve one cup of the broth for moistening the haggis as you process it). Once cooked, you can dice the meats into smaller pieces if your processor doesn’t take large chunks well.
Blend all spices, herbs, garlic, ginger, etc. in a food processor, blending well as you chop them. Add one cup of broth to the mix to make it a liquid. Place spice blend in a small bowl or zip lock bag.
These steps are best done the night before and chilled in the refrigerator overnight.

Process the toasted oats, onion, spice/herb/broth mix, hearts and liver, lamb, and pork in a large food processor or grinder. Chop to the consistency of pork sausage. Moisten with equal amounts of the beer and Scotch, as you process. It should be slightly sticky and a bit “wet” when done. Add more broth as needed to get a smooth and moist mix. Make sure it is well mixed in a large pan to assure blending of all ingredients.
COOKING
Fill the sausage casings about 2/3 full of the mixture and fold the open end under, setting sausage down on the end – don’t tie it off, as the mixture needs room to expand and steam needs to escape. You should get five to eight 8-10” long haggis when done. Prick with a sharp meat fork or skewer in a few places to allow venting during cooking.
Simmer/boil in 2" of water in a large pan. You can do this on the stove top, or in the oven. It is a good idea to stick the open ends of the casings up over the pan edge to allow venting.



(Optional cooking method instead of stuffing in casings
–
Put haggis in a well-greased bread pans or aluminum disposable pans and steam in a covered roaster or Nesco. The pan should be sitting in 1” of water. Add water as needed during steaming to keep from burning the bottom of the haggis. Leave the bread/disposable pan containing the haggis uncovered while steaming.
Cover roaster or Nesco with its lid and steam the haggis for 1.5 hours. Check water occasionally and add as needed.)


When haggis is done steaming or boiling, take the haggis out of the water, and place in a smoker grill to smoke for 1.5 to 2 more hours at 225-250°F. (If no smoker is available, continue to boil for 1 to 1.5 more hours.)
When done cooking, you can twist the extra casing and tie a knot in the end, or tie off with butcher’s twine and cut off the extra casing. Wrap tightly in foil if not being consumed within an hour. Keep warm in a 190-200°F oven until consumed if dinner will be within 3-4 hours. Cool and refrigerate if not being consumed for longer than 4 hours.

Haggis can be frozen after fully cooking, or as un-cooked sausages to be steamed later on.
 
Och Stacy dinna need tae translate for me mon. Good deal. And the whiskeys mon?
 
For cooking, I use plain ( and cheap) McClelland's Single Malt Islay. The wee drams for the haggis parade members and Quaich for the piper were Balvennie 21.
 
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