I used to have a bumper sticker that read “REAL MEN EAT HAGGIS.” It exemplified Scottish nationalism, swagger, and sarcastic humor. Scots have a unique celebration that features haggis and their national bard, Robert Burns, known affectionately as “Robbie.” Robbie Burns is accepted as their greatest poet and hero of the Scots. He wrote poems, ballads and songs in Scots and English. He popularized an old folk song now sung around the world, Auld Lang Syne. His poetry is presented at a formal dinner featuring haggis.
I am quite sure Robert Burns did not intend for his fame to be permanently attached to a platter of food. The Scots claim haggis as unique to their heritage. It is eaten with a certain amount of bravado, much like we Coloradans serve “Rocky Mountain oysters.” No matter how you spell it, haggis is offal (or awful). Ingredients include sheep’s liver, lungs, heart, onions, beef suet, oatmeal, salt, pepper, stock/gravy, with 195 percent of your daily intake of cholesterol and saturated fats. Think of haggis as an extremely rich meatloaf made with sheep’s innards and oatmeal, then boiled for hours in a sheep’s stomach. It is the main course at the annual Robbie Burns Supper anywhere in the world. It can be celebrated anytime, but usually on Robbie’s birthday, Jan. 25 (1759).
This event was first celebrated in 1801, and continues to be a highlight of Scottish culture. It is an evening of feasting, poetry, songs, humorous toasts and bagpipes. If you are lucky, the bagpipes will be in tune. On the other hand, how could you tell if a bagpipe was tuned? Attendees wear formal kilts, jackets, ties, dirks and an occasional sword. Claymores are checked at the door. The Bill O’ Fair always includes Cock-a-leekie soup; “haggis wi bashit neeps an’ champit tatties” (haggis with mashed turnips, mashed potatoes); “Clootie Dumplin”; and a final course of “bannocks and chees” (Scottish oatcakes and cheese); Coffee and tea are served along with multiple toasts “wi a wee dram.” Before serving the main course, one of the main speakers gives “The Address to the Haggis.” This speech is a Robert Burns poem with lines like: “An’ cut you up wi ready slight”; “Trenching its gushing entrails”; and “Gie her a Haggis.” Robbie was such a romantic guy!
Informally, in Scottish homes, haggis can made in a slow cooker without the sheep stomach. I personally like it served with a side of mashed sweet potatoes. Eat the sweet potatoes, skip the haggis. If time is of concern, you can buy Gary Maclean’s Haggis Burgers to go, or buy canned haggis at the grocery. Funny how McDonalds franchises haven’t picked up the “MacHaggis” on their menu yet. If you still can’t “stomach” all this heavy food, Allreceipes.com has a recipe for vegetarian haggis made with kidney beans, peanuts and hazelnuts. “Bon appetit,” as Julia Child often repeated.
By ED PECK – Special to the Herald times
