In several episodes of The Simpsons, Groundskeeper Willie talks about his favorite food: Haggis. In one episode, Willie set up a booth at Bart's school fair with a sign over it that said "Haggis 50¢". Nobody bought any.
Just what is Haggis? Haggis is the national dish of Scotland. "Piping in the Haggis" is the highlight of a Scottish wedding or Christmas dinner. Haggis is traditionally served with "tatties" (potatoes) "neeps" (rutabagas) and a large glass of Scotch whiskey (which in Scotland is spelled "whisky.")
Ingredients:
1 sheep stomach
1 sheep liver
1 sheep heart
2 sheep lungs (called "lights" in Scotland)
1 sheep brain
3-1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped suet (cow fat)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (red pepper)
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste
1. Make a small incision in the sheep's stomach. Pull out the undigested food and discard. Leave the the stomach tubes attached.2. Place the sheep's liver, heart, lungs, and brains in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Drain, and reserve the stock. Finely chop the heart, liver, lungs, and brains.
3. Toast the oatmeal in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Place the oatmeal in a bowl with the liver, heart, lungs, brains, and all the other ingredients. Add 2 cups of the stock made from boiling the sheep's brains and other internal organs.
4. Fill the sheep's stomach with this mixture 1/2 full and sew the stomach together with needle and thread. Prick the stomach a few times with a fork.
5. Lower the filled sheep's stomach into boiling water and simmer for 3 hours, pricking the stomach a few times while cooking to prevent the haggis from exploding. (Haggis can explode like a bomb if you don't so this.)
6. To serve, drain the haggis, place it on a serving dish, slit the stomach open, and spoon out the filling.
As Groundskeeper Willie says "It tastes as good as it sounds!"
Winston Churchill said that he believed that the reason that haggis is tradionally served with a large glass of Scotch whiskey is to take your mind off what you are eating.
Note: The U.S. government has declared that sheep lungs are dangerous for human consumption, so tradtional haggis is illegal in the U.S. In addition, many state and local laws ban the sale or consumption of sheep stomachs and/or brains.
There are a number of recipes for "Americanized Haggis" around, haggis that is legal for sale in the U.S. These recipes usually simply substitute lamb shoulder meat for the banned internal sheep organs. To get an good "Americanized Haggis" recipe, go to the Haggis Web Site at Haggis! There you can find out everything you ever wanted to know about haggis.
If you want haggis but don't want to make it yourself, there is a company in the U.S. that carries USDA-approved haggis and will deliver it to you by Fed Ex! Write to: Lamb Etc., 1413 SE Mill St., Roseburg, OR 97470. Telephone: (541) 673-7463, or visit their web site at Lamb etc. Bon apetit!