Haggis

What’s the deal with haggis? I know one thing for sure, it’s the butt of many jokes directed at the Scots. Haggis is often portrayed to tourists as a mythical, small, furry animal, about the size of a hedgehog, that roams the Highlands. It’s the Scottish equivalent of a jackolope.

Many years ago on my first trip to Scotland, I made the rounds of shops with merchandise designed to open tourist pocketbooks. Tea towels with printed images of all things Scottish were the rage. Come to think of it, they probably still are. One of the towels was emblazoned with the recipe for haggis. I distinctly remember beginning to read the first line, “Stuff a sheep’s stomach .......”. That’s as far as I got. Some things are better left to the imagination.

I have since learned that a casing, traditionally a sheep’s stomach, is stuffed with bits and pieces of sheep’s internal organs (typically heart, liver and lungs), mixed with oats and suet. Basically, it’s a type of Scottish sausage. If you can get past this imagery, and get the haggis past your lips, it’s not bad at all. You will find it as an appetizer in restaurants offering traditional Scottish fare.

It can also be the main course in traditional Scottish meals, such as a Burn’s supper, along with neeps and tatties, (aka turnips and potatoes). Of course a Burn’s supper would nae be complete without whisky and shortbread following the main meal.

We’ll see who among us is up to consuming the wild haggis.

-ODL