Monday 16 January 2017

Haggis.



Thanks to both kindly visitors, and online shopping, I am now hardly ever without a can or two of Haggis in the house.

People often wince when they hear the word 'Haggis', but let me assure you that it really is delicious. Think soft Lamb burger with a peppery edge.

These 392 gm cans of Grant's are probably the best introduction to this Scottish delicacy. I open both ends of the cans, then push the contents out before slicing it into 1 cm rounds. Fried for a few minutes in Olive oil until slightly crunchy on both top and bottom, it becomes a gourmet's delight.


In the past I've incorporated Haggis into stuffing for Chicken and Turkey, or layered it into the middle of a Pork terrine. Its uses are endless.

Above was my yesterday's breakfast. Need I say more?


57 comments:

  1. We don't have it here, i think i could use it for my son's breakfasts when he is here.

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  2. It is years since I had haggis and didn't realise you could get it in cans but on googling it I see it is available down here - a bit on the pricey side.

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    1. That's its only down-side; too expensive.

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    2. I just looked at it again and see it contains gluten so that is ruled out.

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  3. It must soon be Burn's night. Coincidence or was this in your mind? The national dish of Scotland. I have never eaten it. It could almost be French in terms of use of ingredients could it not!

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    Replies
    1. You should try some Rachel, you might be surprised.

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    2. Waitrose sell a lot here. I even stopped and looked at one on Saturday. Maybe next week..

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    3. I like to try the food of the country when we travel ( within my limitations ) so I have eaten it on three occasions. It's not something most Aussies will even try but I liked it though each one was a bit different to the next. One was " spicier" and not as nice. I like it the way the Scott's do it with mashed turnips and potatoes.

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  4. I think I remember eating a blood sausage as a child and it was really good. Mum would fry it in a pan and the skin would crisp up. We didn't eat the skin but the inside was so tender.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. That's a very different thing. Haggis is made from Sheep's 'pluck' (heart liver lungs etc, I think). It is quite peppery and very good.

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  5. Och! Tha's nay a haggis!!
    It's haggis innards in a tin... still, it is the same really... ya danae eat the wrapper.
    Much easier way of cookin, too! Might get some to make haggis burgers... SuperU and Intermarché both sell real muffins, made in Scotland!
    We are fortunate in having a couple of friends a few kilometres down the valley, who have family in Edinburgh...... they bring our haggis back with them, purchased from a prize winning butcher....taste just like any other! The nuances are probably only distinct if you have forty plus side by side.... rather like a prize winning baguette !!
    There is however an abomination on the market... made by Mackies themselves no less.... the vegetarian haggis!
    VEGETARIAN??! It is a nut roast in a paper wrapper... that thing has never run round a Scottish mountain clockwise or anti clockwise!

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    1. There seems little point making veggie Haggis; a bit like making veggie steak or veggie sausages. Give me the real thing, even if it does come out a tin.

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    2. It is for the politically incorrect!!

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  6. A tinned haggis. That's a canny idea.

    In my unhealthy eating days I had battered haggis from a chip shop in Glasgow. It was fried in lard.

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    Replies
    1. Isn't Glasgow the home of the deep fried battered Mars bar?

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    2. Yes it is Cro. And good they are too. Well one bite is. Two bites and you have a heart attack.

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  7. I have never seen a tin of it here, but our local deli always has fresh and also vegetarian haggis for sale.

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    1. I think it's sold in Waitrose, otherwise.....

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    2. The Waitrose haggis is not in a tin - it is on the deli counter.

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    3. Lady M bought the one above at a Waitrose in London.

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  8. Tinned haggis, um, not sure about that. But then you were right about the tins of pate from Leclerc.

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  9. My indtroduction to haggis was at an RAF Burns night many years ago now. It was marched in with bagpipes and a sword! I was much surprised at how savory it was and how much it reminded me of stuffing! So I liked the haggis well enough, but the 'meeps' that went with it I did not take to at all!!!

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    Replies
    1. Better to eat it by itself, just with good bread.

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    2. Neeps = turnips and, with mashed potato, are a must for a proper Burns Supper.

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  10. I love Haggis ..... I think some people are just put off by the ingredients but that doesn't bother me. It's a shame that whiskey doesn't like me, otherwise I'd go for the whole experience !!! Slightly different , I remember having gizzards in a little restaurant in St Michel ..... delicious. XXXX

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    1. I always go for taste, rather than looks or ingredients. Haggis wins on taste.

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  11. We have been invited to a Burns Night 'do' next week, and will be playing music for our supper, the food all home cooked except for the haggis. I don't like the grainy texture of haggis, so I normally slide it off my plate and on to Lester's plate! I only said I would go to the 'do' because they asked us to play Scottish music for the evening!

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    1. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm an addict.

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  12. We're popping over to our local pub, The Flying Childers, for a Burns Night supper, with all the ceremony and trimmings. The haggis will be addressed and so too the lassies. Should be fun.

    Jean

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  13. I used to like it and ate it when we visited family in Scotland.

    I dont really see the difference between haggis and sausages. Unless you make them yourself who knows what is in a sausage. they are made with mechanically reclaimed meat. Where as haggis is exactly what it says on the tin and being offal has a higher nutritional value.

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  14. It's wonderful with scallops, and makes a great starter for a dinner party. (Of course if you can afford loads of scallops, a main course is even better_

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    1. I love scallops. I recently bought a dozen for Lady Magnon's birthday; I needed a mortgage!

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    2. Scallops and Stornoway Black Pudding (no other will do) go well very together. I'm not sure that I'd go for haggis with scallops though.

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  15. Very Scottish of you Cro. Though most think of it as a Burns night thing, it's most commonly eaten in Scotland in "morning rolls" with - horrors - ketchup or HP sauce. Try it with a fried egg...

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    1. I usually eat it like one would eat black pudding in a greasy spoon kaff; with egg, bacon, and even a fried tomato.

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  16. My husband loves haggis, have to look for some of this for him.

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  17. I'll be keeping an eye out for this around NYC. I am betting that certain markets might carry it. You've reminded me of an old friend's telling me about Burns Night celebrations. Nice memory.

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    1. I quite expect (as it's canned) it's sold the world over. I'll be interested to hear.

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  18. I sense various scottie bloggers will be sending you a package very soon!

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    Replies
    1. Maybe Grants will send me an industrial pack, in thanks for all the advertising I do for them.

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  19. Yum! I have had it while in the UK, but am hard pressed to find any here in California.

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    Replies
    1. Move back to the UK at once. A life without Haggis (even in Ca) is hardly worth living!

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  20. Haggis is served with every Turkey I cook and as a stretcher for my beef casserole.

    My son when he left the nest carried on the tradition and his lady now enjoys it as well.

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    1. I have used it mixed with 'Sage-n-Onion' for my Turkey stuffing; it was excellent.

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    2. I'd never thought of that. Thanks Cro. I use about half a dozen different stuffings regularly so I can now make that half a dozen plus one.

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  21. Never had tinned haggis.
    Guess it's similar to buying haggis slices to fry n put in floury rolls and butter with brown sauce.
    Prefer butchers haggis in a sheeps stomach, looks like a rugby ball, boiled in a pot served with tat ties n needs.xx

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  22. Replies
    1. The tins are so convenient. A pukka Haggis probably wouldn't survive the journey, so Grants is the next best thing. If I was back in the UK, I'd always buy a round one.

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  23. Do like Grants, admit have bought their tinned mince and peas, best on a fluffy floury roll when no one else is around!😀.Guilty pleasure.

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  24. Mrs Britain hails from north of the border and does an excellent haggis with tatties and neeps. I've never tried it tinned - but I did have it fried in batter, once. It is best served with whisky, of course.

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