Simplified Haggis Recipes

Steps:

• Rinse the stomach thoroughly and soak overnight in cold salted water.
• Rinse the liver, heart, and tongue. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook these parts over medium heat for 2 hours. Remove and mince. Remove any gristle or skin and discard.
• In a large bowl, combine the minced liver, heart, tongue, suet, onions, and toasted oats. Season with salt, pepper, and dried herbs. Moisten with some of the cooking water so the mixture binds. Remove the stomach from the cold salted water and fill 2/3 with the mixture. Sew or tie the stomach closed. Use a turning fork to pierce the stomach several times. This will prevent the haggis from bursting.
• In a large pot of boiling water, gently place the filled stomach, being careful not to splash. Cook over high heat for 3 hours.
• Serve with mashed potatoes, if you serve it at all.

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, add Kitchen Bouquet and Pickapeppa to the beef broth.
• Boil the liver (or other organ meat) in this mixture for five minutes.
• Drain and put aside to cool.
• Cut the scrapple (chilled) into thick slabs.
• Boil scrapple in broth for two minutes.
• Drain and put aside.
• Do not discard the remaining broth mixture.
• Toast (broil) the oatmeal in the oven until it all begins to turn a pale brown.
• Grind the liver or organ meat (I recommend using the same method as for the suet, above).
• Mix all the ingredients (except the 2-oz batch of suet) with the seasonings and spices.
• Using your hands, mix thoroughly.
• The objective is to produce a mixture that is thoroughly moist but not wet.
• If your mixture is just a little too dry, add just enough of the remaining broth until a thoroughly moist consistency is achieved.
• If your mixture is very dry (especially if you used lean meats and lots of oats), add some of the remaining ground suet in addition to some broth until a thoroughly moist consistency is achieved.
• Cut the sausage casing into 12-inch strips.
• Stuff the haggis mixture into each strip of sausage casing.
• It is CRITICAL that you leave 2 1/2 to 3 inches at both ends unfilled.
• This is absolutely necessary to allow the oats room to swell during the cooking process.
• Leave the ends of the casings open- do not tie or otherwise close them.
• Place the haggises in a steamer and cover and steam them for three hours.
• If you do not have sausage casings, thoroughly and heavily grease the top pan of your steamer (preferably with shortening).
• Place the haggis mixture in the pan, but make sure you leave ample space for swelling during cooking.
• I suggest only filling the pan about 2/3 full.
• If your steamer does not have a vented lid, cover the pan with greaseproof paper and a cloth.
• Steam the mixture for three hours.
• Repeat the cooking process with any remaining mixture.
• In Scotland, the traditional way to serve haggis is piping hot (on warm plates) with mashed potatoes and mashed yellow turnips-"tatties and neeps", as they are called in Scotland- and to give the meal a truly Scottish flavour, I recommend serving a glass of single malt whiskey along with it.
• The cooked haggis may be refrigerated or frozen.
• I like to slice cold haggis and heat it through in a DRY frying pan until golden brown on both sides.
• I serve fried haggis with poached eggs for breakfast, and also with chips (chips= French fries) for lunch.

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and saute the onion 5 minutes, until tender. Mix in carrot and mushrooms, and continue cooking 5 minutes. Stir in broth, lentils, kidney beans, peanuts, hazelnuts, soy sauce, and lemon juice. Season with thyme, rosemary, cayenne pepper, and mixed spice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in oats, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 5x9 inch baking pan.
• Stir the egg into the saucepan. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan. Bake 30 minutes, until firm.

Steps:

• Place the beef heart in a 4-quart covered pot and just cover with cold water.
• Simmer, covered, for 70 minutes.
• Add the beef liver and lamb stew meat and cover; simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove the contents of the pot and cool.
• Reserve 1 cup of the liquid.
• Grind everything coarsely.
• In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the beef caps, vinegar, and salt for soaking; mix well and set aside.
• Rinse the beef caps in cold water; turn them inside out and soak them in 2 quarts of cold water with the salt and vinegar for 30 minutes.
• Drain them and rinse very well, inside and out.
• Divide the meat mixture into three parts; fill the beef caps with the meat mixture and tie the ends off with string.
• Two will have to be tied on just one end, but the third piece will be tied on both ends.
• Prick the Haggis all over with corn holders or a sharp fork.
• Place in a steamer and steam for 80 minutes.
• Serve, sliced, with beef or lamb gravy.
• Don't forget the bagpipes!