Cooking Around the Calendar

Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o’ the pudding-race!

The last time I visited Scotland, we stayed at an inn in the tiny village of Ardersier, population 1100 souls. The (only) pub in town, The Star Inn, has food so delicious, it was hard not to order one of everything on the menu. The chef even had a lamb liver special one night, just because he heard how much we like it, and can’t find it easily here in the U.S..

And now that I’ve mentioned lamb, and liver, I have to tell you how much I like haggis. I know what you are thinking; sheep parts and innards and who know what else. But, I am here to tell you that it’s basically sausage, with ingredients no stranger than your average hotdog. I’ve even been known to make haggis at home every now and again. A simplified version that I’m going to share with you. Haggis can, and is, served for breakfast lunch and dinner, it is even incorporated into fancy appetizers.

Scotland’s National Bard, Robert Burns, loved haggis so much he wrote an entire poem about it; Address to a Haggis. Every year his birthdate, January 25th 1759, is celebrated with a Burn’s Night Supper, featuring of course Haggis. And Scotch Whiskey. And don’t forget the poetry!

American Haggis

A spicy Scottish sausage made American style.

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Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Scottish

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 medium onion minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 pounds ground lamb
• 1 pound beef liver cleaned and minced fine
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1 teaspoons allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups Scottish stout beer Such as Belhaven Black
• 1 cup steel cut oats

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add the minced onion and butter to a heavy skillet on medium heat. Stirring frequently, cook until the onions are soft and golden in color. Around 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Add the ground lamb, minced liver and spices to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
4. Add the stout beer and oats to the pan. Cover the pan and move to the oven. Cook for 40 minutes.
5. Remove cover from pan and cook an additional 10 minutes.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

The haggis will have a texture similar to that of meatloaf. If you will be serving it at a later time, you can fry slices in a pan with butter. 

 

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