Piping of the Haggis at a Burns Supper Trim off any excess fat and sinew from
the sheep's intestine and, if
present, discard the windpipe.
Place in a large pan, cover
with water and bring to the
boil. Reduce the heat and simmer
for an hour or possibly longer
to ensure that they are all
tender. Drain and cool.
Some chefs toast the oatmeal
in an oven until it is thoroughly
dried out (but not browned or
burnt!)
Finely chop the meat and combine
in a large bowl with the suet,
oatmeal, finely chopped onions,
beef stock, salt, pepper, nutmeg
and mace. Make sure the ingredients
are mixed well. Stuff the meat
and spices mixture into the
beef bung which should be over
half full. Then press out the
air and tie the open ends tightly
with string. Make sure that
you leave room for the mixture
to expand or else it may burst
while cooking. If it looks as
though it may do that, prick
with a sharp needle to reduce
the pressure.
Place in a pot and cover with
water. Bring to the boil and
immediately reduce the heat
and simmer, covered, for three
hours. Avoid boiling vigorously
to avoid bursting the skin.
Serve hot with "champit
tatties and bashit neeps"
(mashed/creamed potato and turnip/swede).
For added flavour, you can add
some nutmeg to the potatoes
and allspice to the turnip/swede.
Some people like to pour a little
whisky over their haggis - Drambuie
is even better! Don't go overboard
on this or you'll make the hggis
cold. At Burns Suppers, the
haggis is traditionally piped
in and Burns' "Address
to the Haggis" recited
over it.
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