Haggis Guide: Buying & Cooking Haggis for Burns Day Supper

by Sudha Krishna | January 22, 2010 at 02:48 pm

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Haggis, aye Haggis. buying and cooking Haggis is delightful for some, dreadful for others, Haggis is the main dish served during a Robert Burns Day Supper.

Here now all you need to know about buying and cooking your Haggis for a Burns Day Supper.

Haggis: What is it?

Haggis is an old Scottish dish that was created in a time when every part of an animal was used. Haggis is a round cleaned out sheep's stomach stuffed with oats, spices, and cooked sheeps "pluck" which is liver,kidney, or lungs. Oats, spice and minced organ meats are cooked inside the a sheep's stomach or casing for an hour or so. The Haggis is cut open and the stuffing inside is eaten. The Haggis meat should be moist and tender with a nice peppery spice.

Buying and Eating Haggis

Look to specialty butcher shops, specialty Scottish and British Food shops, and meat markets in your community for your Haggis. Mckean brand Haggis is very good.

Once you have purchased the Haggis you will need to prepare it. Since the Haggis is already pre-cooked you don't have to do too much. Wrap the Haggis in foil and boil it for 45 minutes. If baking, also wrap the Haggis in foil put it into a baking dish and cook for an hour. Cut open the Haggis (mind the heat) and serve it with "neeps and tatties" (mashed turnips and potatoes). But before eating don't forget to say the Address To The Haggis

You can buy Haggis in a can, try it if you like but I did not find it tasty at all. There is also a vegetarian Haggis which likely gives the Haggis purists indigestion.

Cooking Haggis from Scratch: Cooking Haggis is not hard it just takes some time and a comfort level with organ meats. If you want to cook your Haggis from scratch check out the videos.