Scottish cuisine is based upon a dare: "I bet ya won't eat that!" " "Oh but I bet Ah Wiell!"
2
There was a ban because of Mad Cow in 1989? Is that date correct? I thought Mad Cow became an issue later in the '90s.
2
People in the USA will eat the tan glop served at the many iterations of fast food places, but won't try "real" food.
I never had real haggis, but would try it if possible.
I enjoy ALL the great foods....limburger cheese, sardines, snails and frog legs ( which are really just a vehicle for garlic butter!!!!!). .. aged steak seared and bloody....and wild leeks!!! Yum!!
I live in ruralia and like to hike in the nearby National Forest....If I got lost, I would have no problem surviving on insects or earthworms. You do what you gotta do.
No "Tan food" for me!!!!!
3
I don't quite grasp what the problem is with a bit of fluid from the gut. Once it's cleaned and cooked, where's the problem? After all, lots of folks eat the straight item itself, e.g. "chittlins." Lamb gut is where true hot dogs get their "snap." I myself once sat next to Andrew Zimmern while filming an episode for Bizarre Foods America at Peter Chang's place near Richmond Va., and Peter whipped up a dish, just for the occasion, that included what can be politely described as "pork bung." The pieces of "bung" were circular in shape, and I'll say no more. It was good, by the way, but that's true of everything Chang cooks.
4
Several trips to Scotland and hosts offering haggis and, I have concluded that haggis is not one of the greatest contributions to the world by the Scots.
10
I worked for a gent who belonged to a Chicago Burns' Society, and their Haggis was confiscated by customs, who informed them it was "Unfit for Human Consumption". He said "Well, we already knew that!".
I've had it in the Highlands, but don't seek it out. I do recommend using the whisky sauce liberally.
10
Seems like the dept. of AG is focusing on the wrong things. Animal parts, properly butchered and cooked, have much less potential to cause harm than the processed foods available in every store (and many restaurants). I understand shipping from other countries as there is no control whatsoever as to handling, but seems it should be legal to obtain in the US. Isn't it a good idea to use the whole animal where possible? And, it is bizarre to worry about the lungs being contaminated by GI fluids - if a butcher cannot accomplish that, how can they guarantee that any meat isn't contaminated with GI fluids. And don't we use intestines to make sausages? Some government policies make no sense whatsoever; what a surprise!
7
Interesting that lung is forbidden for human consumption in the USA, yet dried lamb lung made in the US is one of the most popular dog treats. How does that work? We don’t care as much about our dogs, or the ban makes no sense?
5
Many US import restrictions are nonsensical. If a haggis is boiled, there is zero risk from any microbe or parasite - but the regulations are blind to actual risk. I returned from Germany with some dry sausage - supermarket stuff, sealed in plastic - and had it confiscated for no reason, even as other European cured meats hang from the ceilings of NYC food markets.
8
Any lung from any mammal will suffice. As a hunter, I use lungs from rowdeer or any deer, hare, rabbit, from fox even, to make my haggis.
In that way I don't have to import and it taste as good as haggis made with sheeps lung.
And believe me, even i Scotland, haggis can be made with lungs from other mammals than sheep, even from pigs, it is just not widely known, but it has been so from the oldest times, though lungs from sheep is the most common nowadays.
Happy Burns night !!, this evening I'll have haggis with rowdeer lungs, liver from hare and hearts from wood pigeons (lots of them). And a glass of scotch !!
9
Any lung from any mammal will suffice. As a hunter, I use lungs from rowdeer or any deer, hare, rabbit, from fox even, to make my haggis.
In that way I don't have to import and it taste as good as haggis made with sheeps lung.
And believe me, even i Scotland, haggis can be made with lungs from other mammals than sheep, even from pigs, it is just not widely known, but it has been so from the oldest times, though lungs from sheep is the most common nowadays.
Happy Burns night !!, this evening I'll have haggis with rowdeer lungs, liver from hare and hearts from wood pigeons (lots of them). And a glass of scotch !!
In principle, I really admire the use of the whole animal. If we are to slaughter, we really should find a way to employ every molecule of the creature.
But no haggis for this guy. It is, without a doubt, a recipe for gout!
6
What purpose does the US law serve other than to frustrate Scottish Americans. Good thing the Revolution restored freedom to the US, wouldn’t want to be in Britain where haggis is allowed.
2
I had haggis once at a Burns Night dinner in, of all places, Freetown, Sierra Leone. It wasn't bad.
3
There was a group which made Haggis from scratch at my 1st church in the early 2000s. It smelled awful, never tasted it (the Burns Dinner was elsewhere). One set of my great grandparents emigrated from Glasgow, but I'll take a pass on that tradition thanks.
1
@Anne-Marie Hislop Sort of like lutefisk, basically gelatinized cod preserved with a lye-like solution, served here in Norwegian country. How many church basement kitchens smelled to high heaven with preparing that!
And some old time Scandinavians would plan their holiday schedule around which church was hosting a lutefisk feed to accommodate their needs.
Tradition and development of early tastes is a strong motivator for our brains.
3
I've never had haggis, but in the Middle East people don't waste any part of the animal. Innards, including lungs and intestines, can be a treat. I used to know Greek-Canadians who would buy entire lambs in order to make their Easter soup, of lamb's innards, herbs and lemon, circumventing the ban on intestines.
1
I ate lungs once and it wasn’t nice
3
@Gordon Milcham
I had mutton lungs in Singapore. They were deep fried as crispy tasty chips.
1
I used to smuggle haggis whenever I returned from visiting the UK. I was never caught but had a very narrow escape when I was going through customs and saw a small dog sniffing everyone's luggage. Happily it was a drug detecting dog with no interest in offal.
3
@plevee It's often said smugglers will go to great lengths to circumvent the sensitive pooches' noses, with sealing their contraband in sealed tin cans, triple vacuum packed weed, and so on.
I'm amazed at how they can detect, instantly, a whiff of odor so small as to be a giveaway, when one would think burying it inside a prepared haggis would do the trick nicely.
2
@plevee I got caught with apples. Dogs have many specialties.
3
In Canada and most of Europe people have to right to eat soft cheeses made of unpasteurized milk Very, very few people get sick from this. Cheeses are sold in containers that breathe. Here cheese is a dead product, suffocated in plastic. No wonder American tourists seem so clueless when traveling. Freest country in the world. Hahahaha
25
No mention of suitable whisky drams to accompany the celebratory meal? I think I’ll have a Springbank, minus the banned offal.
3
The crumbling texture comes not from the lights (minced liver, heart and lungs) but from the pin head oatmeal that binds the meat and the onions. The stomach is but a casing. Sausage casings have, for millennia, been made from intestinal tubes, including the stomach.
And the Scots, of course, are famous for their thrift
17
@Alison Cartwright Thanks for the clarification on Scottish vs. Scotch eggs. I'm never sure if I'm part Scots, Scottish, or a Scot, either!
Anyway, I was taught as a youngster on the farm that traditionally lights refer to lungs, since they were 'light' enough to float on the water they were tossed into during butchering. Liver and heart were more dense and I don't know if a butcher is on this discussion, but I thought they were referring to organ meats in general, but lights were exclusively lung with their floating tendency.
1
Skip the haggis and have an extra Scottish Egg and some wonderful cockaleeky soup.
2
@reid
have all three and a glass of Illeach. And it's a Scotch Egg, not a Scottish egg, although the former would taste best made with the latter.
5
I may not be the best commentator on this since I haven’t eaten meat in 35 years but...Sheep innards wrapped in a sheep’s stomach? That’s not food. That’s a farm accident. Yuk.
12
We live in a country where socialism is considered evil while the government controls every aspect of our lives.
10
@Tim Phillips
Definitely not true. We have many freedoms, too many to list. We also expect our government to protect us from things that will make us sick.
Of course, you can get your Republican Senator or President(!) to save us from these protections.
But I say, if you want to chance getting mad cow disease, go for it.
3
My mother was Scots, I have eaten a lot of haggis, I have no idea why anyone in this country bothers with it other than pretention and faux nostalgia. It is a foul and almost tasteless assembly of what the FDA rightly labels as items unfit for human consumption. I wouldn't eat another forkfull of haggis if you offered me a thousand dollars. Just have a glass of whisky and a scone, maybe some mashy neeps and tatties with some lamb if you must, but a haggis is fit for nothing other than soccer practice.
13
I got terrible food poisoning once in the Highlands and laid low for a couple of days in a simple inn. When I finally emerged, the inn owner inquired where I had been. Then he asked what I had been eating. I said I had eaten haggis several times before I got ill in different pubs. He said, “Nae, lad, haggis is stout stuff!” in that lovely accent. “It was something else.” I told him I had had stuffed pheasant in a bar the night I got ill. His laughing reply: “Sounds to me like you were the pheasant who got stuffed!”
11
Emily, chef at The Haven in my neighborhood, makes a great haggis. I'm not sure what she uses instead of sheep lungs, but it tastes as authentic as any I've had in Edinburgh. It comes with neeps and tatties, and she has an appetizer size for those who are trying it for the first time. Come for Burns Night!
4
Right, I was conceived in Scotland, my parents emigrated here and as I child I and my sister were exposed to many traditional foods. I love black pudding( really blood) , meat pies, mince and “ta ties”, shortbread, and many other treats. But no way haggis, or for that matter, tribe, ; my older sister and brother ate tribe, but not haggis, the closest thing my dad made was a gelatin meat dish called potted hough: haggis was peasant food, apology’s to lovely Robbie Burns🏴
2
Only in America do we tolerate e-coli in lettuce, but we ban foie gras and lamb lungs. People in other countries make good use of EVERY part of an animal. Anything less is a waste. In authentic asian markets you'll see organs you didn't even know existed, let alone thought you could eat. I've never had haggis but I'd love to try it. After sampling, and loving, French andouette, I'll try anything.
26
I've only visited Scotland once and I had haggis at The Whiski Rooms in Edinburgh. I like to experience local food and I'm glad I tried this dish, but . . . never again. I woke up several times that night with an intense need to haggis in the bathroom. For those of you who've never had it, it's a bit like a gritty Thanksgiving stuffing with a ton of herbs. Post-haggis is not fun.
12
@mcmillion1492 My experience was quite different. When my wife and I visited Scotland we had Haggis everywhere -- pubs, fine restaurants, the coffee shop at the train station, even on pizza. We couldn't get enough of it. Black pudding too.
11
@AP18 Same here. I loved haggis.
6
@AP18..I spent a semester in Edinburg and regret I waited til my last day to try haggis...from a street vendor, wrapped in newpaper, it was GREAT!
4
The "coratella", together with the Pajata (rigatoni dressed with a sauce based on calf small intestine containing chyme) is one of the best and most famous dishes of the "poor" Roman dishes. It is made with lungs liver and hearth of a truly young lamb. Highly recommended!!
PS: rather then prohibit meat cuts that could contain parasites or other it should be much better to control and make sure that only disease free meat can see the market.
I see in the market chicken livers with the note: previously frozen (sic!) and a selling date of ten days, yes!! ten days after having been frozen! Absolutely a no-no in any common sense books.
3
For several years we had our annual Burn`s Night at the ranch complete with piper, Burn`s recitations & most importantly, haggis. We have a good friend, now in his 80`s who grew up in the Scottish Highlands & later emigrated to Alberta. Jim owned the local abattoir so had easy access to the key haggis ingredients. He has since passed along the recipe to his son Hamish. Some first time guests to our Burn`s Evening were reluctant to even try the haggis but all were encouraged. Many were surprised that they actually liked it, a few sampled it under extreme duress!
Many wonderful Burn`s Dinners here........may be time to resurrect the annual event!
14
Yes (to those that replied) we purchased about 6 pounds (US) of the tasty haggis. We do an open house on Burns Week-End so if say 200 from the village stop by at some point, well, Bob's your uncle, and it will be pretty much gone. Any left we can freeze.
As a side we also serve 'Squirly Murly'. Here is the recipe. It is a right proper dish and we eat it several times each year.
Squirly Murly
Boil 6 hearty turnips and 6 medium to large white onions. Do not boil down so it is like porrage but a bit thicker. Add a half cube of butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
We are Clan Cameron in NW Scotland in the Highlands but we have been in Canada for seven generations and proud of it.
Happy eating.
24
@On a Small Island Are you saying you boil the turnips and onions until they break down completely? Or just until tender, then mash them up?
2
@Yohama Mackey
Tender and mash up together with the butter.
3
@On a Small Island Even Google hasn't heard of "Squirly Murly". It must be good!
2
Had Haggis a few times 40+ years ago. Delicious!! At the time I thought it tasted very much like scrapple. (sp?) Sliced and then fried in pan until brown and crispy on outside then served with dark maple syrup or Lyle's cane syrup. Fantastic!!
It was not imported but made from a freshly slaughtered lamb. Where? South Carolina. Eat outside the box my fellow Americans.
11
The only time I have ever tasted haggis was at an authentic Scottish dinner in 1983 while in Edinburgh. Others in my party elected not to taste this dish, but I wanted to sample every part of this land of my ancestors, & tried it. To me, it tasted like loose sausage, but with more texture. It was highly seasoned, but not firey with pepper. Even with everyone around me gagging at the thought of eating what this dish was made of, I still thought it was surprisingly tasty.
17
It took me many years to acquire a taste and love for oatmeal and now I prefer steel cut oats. The idea of mixing that with sheep lungs is just a road I cannot travel.
13
This sounds exactly like the sort of health regulation Trump would declare invalid by Presidential decree. It deserves serious discussion along with walls and the like.
The most important factor as it occurs to me would be the possibility of forcing one to eat it is they didn't want to. I would love to try it . . . at least once. And more if I liked it.
2
I used to smuggle haggis, well frozen and triple plastic sealed, from Northern England for years until a trip to Inverness where the innkeeper just told me to buy Grants haggis from the grocery store. Couldn't taste much difference from the fresh and have purchased it for over 15 years now. Most people who finally try it don't find it as offensive as they imagine. You don't have to go overseas to but it either, it's readily available on Amazon and it contains the required 48% Lamb Lobes
13
@sgfood I just ordered 2 cans for less than 20 bucks, Thanks for the great tip.
4
I have had haggis twice, and it was delicious.
Food choices and phobias are fascinating, driven by culture, religion and circumstance. Witness the locust, which is acting as a plague now in some parts of Africa (see today's Times). For most of us, eating locusts is a cringeworthy concept, but for some societies, they are a prime source of protein -- and they are kosher (Lev 11:22).
For much of humanity, the offals are never to be wasted, and haggis is but one example of use of all the animal. In a sense, consuming all organs properly gives a sort of honor to the animal that was sacrificed, because there is less waste. The one organ that should be avoided is brain, because of prion disease risk.
14
@Jeff And, amazingly, scrambled eggs with calf brains were a great breakfast item with me and my dad, when I was young. At that time, calf brains were readily available at the local grocer/market, and dad loved them, and introduced me to them. I haven't seen calf brains anywhere for many years. Don't know if they have been banned, but wouldn't be surprised. They are delicious.
Never tried haggis -- but it is on my bucket list.
1
We encountered haggis on a trip to the Hebrides in 2018. Loved it, to our utter surprise. The Scots don't seem to have any abnormal rate of illness due to Haggis. In this case, the US should wake up to reality and alliw us real-deal haggis. I am willing to bet that it is prejudice, not evidence, that provokes the current stance.
7
For years the U.S. restricted the import of prosciutto ham from Italy. The reason given was that it was potentially dangerous because the pork was cured rather than cooked. Of course, we all know that's nonsense. It was because the U.S. never could, and never will be able to produce this (unbelievably good) product so the authorities tried to protect "domestic" prosciutto (which is, simply put, inferior). Let me just say, as an American expat living in Italy, the American culinary IQ is incredibly low. Here in Italy, people eat everything: stomach, lamb heart, spleen, intestines, lamb heads, snails, etc. Everything is on the menu and there haven't been any problems with people eating these things. Why sheep lungs? Can the feds even find one case of "sheep lung disease?" Sometimes I wonder how it's possible that Americans can enjoy anything.
28
@mrfreeze6
Don't be too quick to bad mouth US ham. You need to try some from Col. Newsom in Kentucky or the now famous ham from Alan Benton in Tenn. Both give prosciutto a run for its money, and both can be obtained on line. There are others as well. In short, the US can indeed produce real ham that's real good, if you will. Now that Spanish pata negra stuff, that's another story.
@mrfreeze6 There actually is at least one good brand of properly cured prosciutto in the US these days. They even do some with acorn-fed pigs, although you have to shell out $1500 for the whole leg.
For the most part though, you're right. You have to really look to find quality food here in the states.
2
@mrfreeze6
Yes, but Italians are doing the cooking.
1
Haggis is the reason for the growth of Scotch whisky consumption. No other way to eat it without a wee dram, or three.
28
@Young Geezer clever, but simply not true. Haggis is routinely served with breakfast in Scotland, Think scrapple with better texture and flavor.
7
@Eric Hatch There is a Rudy Maza travelog in Scotland where he has haggis for breakfast with a haggis aficionado. They both agreed that the flavor was much improved with a glass. Same goes for scrapple. I've had it in Pennsylvania Dutch country, as well as being fed "SOS" too many times as a kid. I still vote for the Scotch ;-)
7
It's a worse travesty that the importation of Reblochon is banned by the same logic, or lack thereof.
5
Is there a vegan version?
4
@Linda Lou For years I've enjoyed Macsween's Vegetarian Haggis, which is suitable for vegans. Don't know if you can get it in the US, but their website shows it is available in Canada. https://www.macsween.co.uk/products/delicious-every-day-vegetarian/
1
@Linda Lou Yes. It's called oatmeal mush.
2
Or you could read aloud Tam o' Shanter or some other Burns classic to your group.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1279/1279-h/1279-h.htm#link2H_4_0316
video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP_aFSuLeT0
see also:
https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=how+the+scots+invented+the+modern+world+arthur+herman&crid=2EH7PCF75AE8E&sprefix=Scots+modern+world+%2Caps%2C139&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_19
2
I normally hate organ meats, but haggis is delicious.
1
Thanks for ruining my appetite for lunch. I'd almost rather hear a boring vegan preaching, than be reminded of haggis.
8
"Mr. Bradshaw no longer sells haggis, but he plans to send sheep innards in boxes labeled “clothing” or “gifts” to relatives in Florida."
Great plan. They'll never know it was you.
10
Perhaps this is the original "boil in a bag" dinner.
6
So, Mr. Carr is equating sheep innards with hard drugs (“How much cocaine and fentanyl is smuggled into the country every day?”)? Is haggis that addictive?
1
Maybe driving under the influence of haggis is equaly dangerous?
6
Maybe trump should make this a freedom issue instead of toilets.
5
People are ridiculous. The US Food Safety Laws should be obeserved and respected. Bovine encephalitis, and E. Coli from a slaughtered carcass are nothing to dismiss or ignore. Haggis should be made with a substitute product just like butter is substituted for the use of suet in the plum puddings.
3
@Louis
Actually, right here in USA, I use suet in my mincemeat. But, then again I eat fried chitterlings, liver, kidney and stomach (maw). Not on regular basis but 1-2x a year.
6
@Louis smuggling in meat products from other countries is a dangerous activity and rightly prohibited. it is not just the personal harm, but the potential to affect the entire country’s livestock. There are a multitude of parasites and infections endemic in other countries (foot and mouth, BSE, anthrax, for example). The US and Canada have an enormous industry which exports food products around the world, if diseases are found in our animals we can lose our export markets. Please don’t smuggle food across borders.
3
“Mr. Bradshaw no longer sells haggis, but he plans to send sheep innards in boxes labeled “clothing” or “gifts” to relatives in Florida.””
Okay, so, “beware of .....Scots bearing gifts”???
5
I finally made it through this article, retching at only a few certain points. I don't care how good people say haggis may taste, it sounds absolutely disgusting. And it tastes like the smell of sheep breath? Retch.
6
I’ll pass.
2
“How much cocaine and fentanyl is smuggled into the country every day?”
I smuggle my cocaine inside my haggis.
30
I recently was invited to a Chinese restaurant on Mott Street by two Chinatown friends.
One of the dishes we shared was beef lung, not as an ingredient, but as a main dish. It was,,,meh.
But why can Chinese eat beef lung in New York but a Scot like myself cannot eat sheep lung?
Sounds a bit racist.
3
What offal timing, New York Times, to see a story like this one. With the deadly coronavirus seemingly raging out of control in China -- and, according to Mayor de Blasio, on an unstoppable march before it engulfs New York City -- we are reading about haggis, Scotland's own Jewish kishka, a recipe consisting of sheep's innards, oatmeal and seasonings, that are boiled in a bag made from the animal's stomach. As they say in Edinburgh, Oy vey!
20
Let me get this straight...
Wool is ok
Lamb chops are ok
Sheepskin rugs are ok
Mutton is ok
Sheep lungs - that’s where we draw the moral line.
Huh?
14
@Kelly Wool is ok. We're agreed on that one.
3
[Intro]
Lung, lung, lung
Lung, lung, lung
Lung, lung, lung
[Verse 1]
The haggis Scots eat, it's gotta have some lung
The Yankees say no, it might have some dung
Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
[Chorus]
All you need is lung
All you need is lung
All you need is lung, lung
Lung is all you need
(To be sung in the style of a popular 20th century tune by an obscure group of four Liverpudlians)
16
@SR
Dear Sir/Madam,
You are brilliant!
1
My wife is in love with (almost) all things Scottish,
having gone to college there. However, she has nothing
to do with sheep's innards.
2
I still have the business card from Geo. Cockburn & Son ("Scotland's 1st Champion Haggis Maker") in Dingwall, when we and our friends bought a fresh haggis from the store in 1993. It was delicious!
3
I am well satisfied with Scotch eggs. Sheep's lungs belong in the category of very unappetizing animal organs, along with other parts of sheep used in Middle Eastern cuisine.
3
The first time I was confronted with haggis, I didn't much fancy eating it. But I tried it, and liked it - served with mashed potatoes, mashed turnips and green beans. Lovely meal - I'm looking forward to eating it again the next time I hop across the channel.
1
Years ago I obtained (I don't remember how) a book that contained a recipe for haggis. I found the thin so repulsive just reading the thing, that I vowed never to taste it. Nothing in this column has changed my mind.
On the other hand, for some time (years, T think), I have been trying to parody Burns with a poem titled "the Movin ov the Bowels" with little or no success. Brilliant concept, but I'm no Burns.
2
In Scotland you can get many haggis flavored things, as well. Treats like haggis flavored crisps, because there's just not enough haggis for everyone.
3
Our family loves haggis. Vancouver Island is chock a block full of Scots of all ages and there are several places to purchase it. Many grocery stores carry it here as well. We purchased three packages, about 250 kg. each, to last us for three days as this is Burns week-end.
We have also made a double batch of Tipsy Laird as we will have many neighbours over from our village.
7
@On a Small Island 3 x 250kg? in three days..
1
@On a Small Island
A kg is 2.2 pounds, so you bought nearly a ton . . .
8
I’m confused as to why domestic sheep lungs can’t be consumed when you find just about every other animal part at the butcher’s. I didn’t see the reason made clear in the story.
6
@Jennifer W.
“ Since 1971, the Department of Agriculture has banned the production and importation of animal lungs because of the risk that gastrointestinal fluid might leak into them during the slaughtering process, raising the likelihood of food-borne illness.”
1
@Sgt Schulz
Yeah, you'd think lung would be on the low end of threats. I mean, hamburger kills people every year, and the DofA doesn't ban that. (30 people died in 2019, and hundreds were made ill by hamburger, and they're worried about the possibility of lungs getting infected? Won't people cook it? And has heat lost its power ?_
6
Not just haggis sufferers. I remember my yia yia being upset when she cold no longer make Mayiritsa (Traditional Greek Easter Soup) because of the lamb lung ban. I was not as upset.
12
@phillip I can understand why 8)
When in Rome....
I had oatmeal, haggis, salmon and crannachan every day I was in Scotland. Plus a lot of whisky! (I wasn't driving.)
Haggis with sheep lung is available in the US -IF- you know where to look. (wink wink).
2
Whiskey, every haggis needs a splash of whiskey, neeps, (rutabaga), the skirl of the pipes, and the "Immortal Memory" makes every Burns Night perfect. We used to get out haggis from Kearney NJ.
4
@Carol-Ann
I’m from Kearny, NJ. The Kearney - with the extra e - is in Nebraska.
Kearny once had 3 Scottish butchers each with their own version of haggis (and blood pudding).
1
@Carol-Ann My mother was raised in Kearny - her parents immigrated from Scotland. I recently found my grandmother's spiral notebook of recipes. Shortbread, yes!! Unfortunately, no haggis (which I do love)...
1
@Carol-Ann Scottish whisky. No 'e'.
2
As you proceed north in Scotland, you can get haggis as a side dish with your takeout fish and chips or with a pizza. And it is still very prevalent for breakfast. And that is 365 days a year. I have yet to hear of anyone in Scotland or in Canada falling ill from haggis with sheep's lung. And it tastes good with a cup of tea, let alone with a dram.
13
When in Scotland I eat a lot of haggis. Many of the restaurants there have it on the menu. We have been eating haggis here in Oregon for all of the 18 years we have held a Burns Night Celebration. And I can say with confidence that sheeps lung is NOT a critical ingredient for a good haggis. Our Oregon-produced haggis is every bit as good as the haggis I have eaten in Scotland.
3
@Robert MacBear got a recipe to share? Here in SF Bay Area our regional supplier of many years, Alex of the Scottish Meat Pie Company, has sadly passed away, and left us haggis fans scouring the internet for a new source. We are seriously considering making our own next year.
@Robert MacBear got a recipe to share? Here in SF Bay Area our regional supplier of many years, Alex of the Scottish Meat Pie Company, has sadly passed away, and left us haggis fans scouring the internet for a new source. We are seriously considering making our own next year.
And to those who feel squeamish about the ingredients: what exactly goes into ballpark hotdogs?
6
While the thought of eating such odd cuts of meat grosses me out, when I read the recipes for Haggis, I must admit that I am intrigued. I think the US response is a bit overkill, especially since Scottish people eat it and are not suffering Mad Cow disease.
2
My personal experience while living in Scotland was that an obligatory healthy dose of Talisker with haggis will most likely kill anything sinister therein.
39
What is the justification for banning the sale of sheep lungs?
Do some people think some body parts are more precious than others?
2
@Mike Murray MD
Read the article. There's an explanation given. It has to do with the potential for stomach fluids containing disease to contaminate the lungs in the butchering process.
4
I’ve never eaten haggis, but I have eaten beef/chicken liver in its many forms. And it is quite delicious if prepared properly,
In New York City, you can visit any of the famed kosher-style delicatessens for a taste of savory chopped liver.
And I wholeheartedly agree that if you slaughter an animal, you should consume all of it. Isn’t anyone repulsed by the idea of killing animals and throwing away many parts of it?
But I question Mr. Bradshaw’s determination to flout the law. It sounds too Trumpian to me.
7
@David G
Don't break the law -but- eat some legal haggis. It's good.
lol this writer is having fun:
“For decades, however, a small but impassioned contingent has resorted to illicit methods to bring authentic haggis onto American soil, motivated by a commitment to tradition and a fondness for the taste and texture of boiled lung.”
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Canadians eat it and aren't dropping dead. (They also welcome immigrants - unless you're retired.) Have tried the American ersatz Haggis and it just doesn't taste right. At least they stopped confiscating our wee dried heather bouquets. Going back to stay after Independence. FREE SCOTLAND!
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@Dee What does being retired have any discrimination? I pay my way, all the way. I buy locally and support local businesses. The man whom I call my gardener, but actually he just mows our lawn would be that much poorer if he did not work for us. So would the housekeeper who comes once a week. Not to mention the kennel owners who take care of our 2 dogs for about 10 days every December and again in July. December for visiting my inlaws and July just for play. My doctor, the grocery store, the pharmacy, the roofer, the gardening store, the local charities, the car dealership, the local bakery, 2 different butcher shops a 5 or 6 restaurants, the movie theater, and many more including the government would be that much poorer if I hadn't moved to France when I was retired. Anyway, it is good to know that Canada doesn't want any retirees. I will be telling my inlaws that this year. They have loved touring in Canada every summer for the last few years. We were going to join the gang. Oh! Canadians probably like French retirees, just not American. Well, ok I won't come. I will go to Belgium this year. Maybe even hit up Norway. They both seem to welcome me and my retiree money. Ta-Ta Canada!
3
Why do you think whiskey was invented?
Love haggis!
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Yikes. God bless the USDA inspectors for keeping sheep lungs off our dinner table.
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@MH
You don't need the USDA to keep sheep lungs off your dinner table. Just don't serve them.
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@MH But bleached chickens aare A OK right?
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Hmmm. Scottish peasant food being eaten by rich Americans who break the law to get the ingredients. There is something strangely hubristic going on.
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I've been to many, and hosted several Burns Nights, and always with haggis. My first one was in Glasgow and was amazing. There was a bottle of whisky for every four people at long tables filled with happy Scots, and a pub selling pints of good Scottish ale. Music, poetry, the full ceremony of the meal with a piper, an emcee slashing the haggis with a sgian dhu while reciting the Ode To A Haggis from memory, and a toast to the lasses, as well as toasting the lads, then finished with a full-on ceilidh until the wee hours.
At times it's been harder to find a piper than to assemble a haggis, but always worth the effort. (People who say they hate bagpipes are lying.)
I have always said that the whisky prepares you for eating the haggis, and the haggis then soaks up the whisky.
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I grew up in Romania, where there is a dish similar to haggis called drob, made from spring lamb.
https://www.romania-insider.com/romanian-easter-recipe-drob-de-miel-lamb-haggis/
It is part of the traditional Easter dinner. My father bought half a spring lamb from the farmers' market, and usually convinced the fellow who bought the other half to give us all the innards, which few appreciated.
In the States, I had a chance to spend a Robert Burns day with Scottish origin friends, with a lot of poetry but unfortunately without haggis. Now I understand why.
I learned, and loved Burns' "My heart's in the Highlands" in school.
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@WPN
Yum, and I mean it! A Kosher restaurant, now gone, on the Lower East Side, used to serve lungen....It was good.
As a Scot in NYC, I do miss real haggis. It wasn't something that I ate every day but once or twice a year. Very tasty, very filling, quite rich. I just don't think about how it's made...The US haggis is okay, denser texture and not quite the same but it'll do for Burn's Night.
5
Great holiday!
My first haggis was at the Islay Inn and Pub in Glasgow. I loved it. But the Celtic music, the reading of Robert Burns, and the drink may have played a role in the whole event!
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I remember one Robbie Burns day in the late 70s when we were young and my father, trying to instil culture into three kids from Vancouver Island, forced us to try haggis. I remember gagging, crying and sitting at the table until we finally choked it down. Thirty years after that horrific moment from my childhood I tried it again in Glasgow... and I liked it. Now I find myself forcing my nieces and nephew to try things... for culture, for shared memories and also to pass on the “pain” of trying things that are a bit weird and a bit out of the ordinary!
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I can see enterprising farmers or butchers holding Scottish Heritage nights, with maybe a Burns poetry reading, and a full buffet of Scottish dishes-- including haggis-- just happening to be laid out, entirely complimentary, not a part of the Scottish Heritage Night, and therefore nothing has been sold, of course.
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I love haggis--I went to university in Scotland and would eat haggis regularly (the cheap, sealed in a plastic boiling bag stuff--not the expensive, purist, sealed in the traditional sheep's paunch because I couldn't afford that as a student). Back in the states, I made haggis once from sheep tongue, liver and heart I got from one of my professors here who happened to raise sheep... but sadly no lung. The problem with using a lot of liver is that it a) yes, isn't quite that nice, crumbly texture and b) tastes too livery! Wouldn't I love to buy or make real haggis here in the States!
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Even though I love meat, the thought of haggis always repulsed me. But traveling in Scotland last year I felt I had to try it. Oh man, it's delicious! I ate it often there, including a great haggis pizza. I also grew to love both black and white pudding slices for breakfast.
But I think it's best if you don't know which animal parts are in any of these foods when you eat them. As the old saying goes, you don't want to see how either sausage or laws are made. Same goes for haggis and blood puddings.
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I came to haggis a bit late and wish I had known about it earlier: it is so good, especially with the scotch dram that was recommended by another reader.
I have tasted both in Scotland and in the US, the vegetarian version (...) and the almost as good as Scotland version from the Scottish Gourmet website. It's a must!!
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I've had authentic haggis in the Scottish Highlands and loved it. It reminded me a bit of kishka.
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This is a case of excessive government intrusiveness, and fuels the anti-government crazies, as well as ordinary people's resentment.
What is the hazard? Any meat can be contaminated with gastrointestinal material. Cook it thoroughly, and there will be no problem. BSE does not occur in sheep (the related disease scrapie does, but does not cause human illness). BSE has been eliminated from the British cattle industry---this concern is long outdated (do we tell people going to Britain not to eat beef there?).
Unnecessary and intrusive regulations should be withdrawn. Aside from loss of perfectly good foods, they undermine confidence in government. That applies to almost all restrictions on food imports, with the sole exception of unpasteurized dairy products.
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@Jonathan Katz The reason is that lungs have so many micro-holes in them that it's easy for dangerous bacteria to hide, regardless of cooking.
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@Katharine
Pressure cooker@ If a pressure cooker can safely prepare food inside a glass jar with a metal lid -- it can get inside those lungs sealed in a sheep stomach.
Guaranteed!
I think its fascinating there is a black market for haggis ingredients. Was just recently in Scotland and had haggis at a few difference restaurants. You have to try it at least once. Its a very filling dish and you may be surprised how it tastes.
If it helps, have a dew drams of Scotch before the meal and you'll love it even more.
PS: Scotland Highlands is some of the most beautiful places to visit.
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I spent a semester in Scotland and fell in love with haggis and mushy peas for dinner. I also miss being able to get black pudding to eat with eggs for breakfast and really good Scotch eggs. I also love reading Burns. Poetry begets culinary?
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@Suzanne It is a divine way to start the day at breakfast!!
3
Is there such a thing as a really good Scotch egg?
But mushy peas--now you're talkin'.
Like scrapple and rooster fries, haggis is a dish consumed in inversion proportion to diners' familiarity with its ingredients.
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You can but vegan haggis in a tin, as we do every year for our Burns' Night celebration, from Myers of Keswick in New York City. It's good, and for those who don't care for haggis but need to partake, I recommend slathering it in mustard dill sauce. Kills the taste.
10
“Kills the taste” - then...why?
4
Seriously?
My guess is if this stuff was readily available it would not have a market.
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@Fred
Haggis will always, always, have a market wherever there are Scots and/or those who love Scotland!
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@Fred Have you tried it? I know it sounds gross to the modern American raised on cellophane-wrapped meat (including me), but it's absolutely delicious! Once I tried it the first time in Edinburgh, I had it every time I saw it on a menu.
I say if the stuff was readily available the market would grow!
5
Isn't it funny how processed food and "chicken nuggets" full of additives are OK in the USA for kids to eat, but natural offal meat is banned? The same issue applies to Irish black pudding meat which has blood in it. Can't understand how we can safely eat all of these traditional foods for centuries in Europe but they are banned in USA.
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@gf It's absolutely insane. We pack high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners, preservatives and coloring agents into everything and the FDA doesn't put their foot down on that.
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@gf Here in Ukraine they eat raw pork on a regular basis and no one gets sick and no one dies. It's quite delicious. The problem with the US is that big business writes the laws that favor them and are meant to put the small, natural food producer out of business.
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@gf Organ meats are packed with nutrients and satiate ones appetite.
I think it's technically possible (Depending on the state, if state law would allow it) to legally procure sheep lung as long as it is completely locally produced, processed, sold and consumed within that state and stays within that state, thus avoiding the jurisdiction of the Federal USDA. I'm not totally sure though. Could still be risky, especially if the rancher/butcher relies on exporting their products out of the state. IF it is possible at all, it'd still be hard to find willing parties to play along with the 'scheme'.
1
My hat's off to a people determined to celebrate a poet every year.
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@Raiche58
I think you meant, "My hat's offal . . . ."
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What the world needs now... Impossible Haggis
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