Recipe: Homemade Haggis

Feeding the Family

Recipes

Published on Tuesday, 24 January 2023 11:42

Last Updated on 23 January 2023

Monica Costa

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To celebrate Burns this 25th January, here’s the recipe for homemade Haggis courtesy of Pipers Farm.

In 1801, on the 5th anniversary of the death of Robert Burns, his friends got together to celebrate his life. Burns immortalised haggis in his most famous poem, so it was the obvious food to serve. This celebration has continued every year on Burns’ birthday, 25 January, ever since. Events are held across the world, where people recite his poetry, sing, drink the finest whisky and – of course – eat haggis.

When it comes to Haggis the biggest myth of all, in a way, is that haggis belongs to Scotland alone. Haggis is actually a very ancient, global dish. Dating back thousands of years, when hunters returned with their kill they would cook-up the parts of the animal that needed to be eaten first. The fresh offal would be chopped and mixed with cereal and herbs and cooked over the fire in the ready-made saucepan (the stomach). The dish originates from the days of the old Scottish cattle drovers. 

When the men left the Highlands to drive their cattle to market in Edinburgh, the women would prepare rations for them to eat during the long journey. They used the ingredients available in their homes and packaged them in a sheep’s stomach allowing for easy transportation during the journey.

Ingredients

300g Lamb’s Liver

300g Saddleback Pig’s Liver

150g Lamb’s Heart

150g Saddleback Pig’s Heart

400g Diced Lamb

400g Beef Suet

300g British Organic Rolled Oats

25g Pure Sea Salt

12g Black Pepper

10g Ground Coriander Seed

10g Dried Garden Herbs (sage and rosemary)

10g Mace

1 Ox Bung

 

Method

Wash the bung and soak it in a bowl of cold water for 24 hours.

 

Dice the offal and mix with the diced meat, salt, herbs, and spices.

 

Put the mixture through a mincer and using a course blade mince through just once.

 

Give the meat a quick knead to ensure it is thoroughly mixed.

 

Cut the ox bung in half. Take one end and tie a tight knot in it.

 

Carefully spoon the mix into the ox bung, don’t pack it too tightly or there’s a risk of it bursting when cooking. You will end up with a slightly soft, oval-shaped ball.

 

Tie the haggis off the other end as tight as you can, leaving an inch of skin at either end.

 

Repeat for the second haggis.

 

To cook, place the haggis into a pan of gently simmering water (not boiling) and leave to cook for 2 hours. You may have to top the water up during this time.

 

To serve the haggis, slice through the skin and spoon out the meat, serve with mashed swede and parsnip, gravy, and buttered greens.