Hunting the elusive haggis
So far, so good. I cooked the sheep heart and sheep liver for 30 minutes. It made a rich, good-smelling broth. The dog and cats are perking up from all the smells. Zach said he thought it smelled good, too.
I then minced the heart and liver and a pound of suet and added ground turkey, steel-cut oats, (lots of) onions, and some spices. Without a binder like eggs, the loaf I formed didn't hold together, the way meatloaf would. I guess that's why it needs to boil, so the suet will dissolve and work its way through the haggis. In any case, I remember the fresh-cooked haggis I had last time in Scotland was pretty loose (barely holding together); the cold haggis we fried up on my first trip also semi-disintegrated in the skillet. So this is looking pretty normal.
I wound up with a metric boatload of uncooked haggis. I put it into two large ziploc bags, forming two loaves. I figure 24 single servings when it's sliced, so I'll need to make 15 or 20 of this recipe for the Winter Rendezvous. I have that many sheep hearts leftover from the case I had to buy.
The bags went into a roasting pan with water, and that pan is now simmering on the stovetop. After three hours, it should be done. Since I'm using plastic rather than a sheep's stomach for the casing, I guess you could call this baggis instead of haggis -- but I wouldn't advise it.
Anyway, I'm making some neeps and tatties to go with it (turnips, swede [rutabagas], & potatoes), and I will finish the haggis itself with a whisky cream sauce. Deanne is out visiting people today, so this is supper I'm making for us. And breakfast. And Thanksgiving leftovers.
I then minced the heart and liver and a pound of suet and added ground turkey, steel-cut oats, (lots of) onions, and some spices. Without a binder like eggs, the loaf I formed didn't hold together, the way meatloaf would. I guess that's why it needs to boil, so the suet will dissolve and work its way through the haggis. In any case, I remember the fresh-cooked haggis I had last time in Scotland was pretty loose (barely holding together); the cold haggis we fried up on my first trip also semi-disintegrated in the skillet. So this is looking pretty normal.
I wound up with a metric boatload of uncooked haggis. I put it into two large ziploc bags, forming two loaves. I figure 24 single servings when it's sliced, so I'll need to make 15 or 20 of this recipe for the Winter Rendezvous. I have that many sheep hearts leftover from the case I had to buy.
The bags went into a roasting pan with water, and that pan is now simmering on the stovetop. After three hours, it should be done. Since I'm using plastic rather than a sheep's stomach for the casing, I guess you could call this baggis instead of haggis -- but I wouldn't advise it.
Anyway, I'm making some neeps and tatties to go with it (turnips, swede [rutabagas], & potatoes), and I will finish the haggis itself with a whisky cream sauce. Deanne is out visiting people today, so this is supper I'm making for us. And breakfast. And Thanksgiving leftovers.