Home › The Principles of Cookery › Haggis, Scotch

Haggis, Scotch

Take the stomach of a sheep, wash it well, and let it soak for several hours in cold salt and water, then turn it inside out, put it into boiling water to scald, scrape it quickly with a knife, and let it remain in water until wanted. Clean a sheep's pluck thoroughly. Pierce the heart and the liver in several places to let the blood run out, and boil the liver and lights for an hour and a half. When they have boiled a quarter of an hour, put them into fresh water, and, during the last half hour, let the rest of the pluck be boiled with them. Trim away the skins, and any discoloured parts there may be, grate half of the liver, and mince all the rest very finely; add a pound of finely-shredded suet, two chopped onions, half a pint of oatmeal, or, if preferred, half a pound of oat-cakes, toasted and crumbled, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, and one of pepper, half a nutmeg, grated, and a grain of cayenne. Moisten with half a pint of good gravy and the juice of a small lemon, and put the mixture into the bag already prepared for it. Be careful to leave room for swelling, sew it securely, and plunge it into boiling water. It will require three hours' gentle boiling. Prick it with a needle every now and then, especially during the first half hour, to let the air out. A haggis should be sent to table as hot as possible, and neither sauce nor gravy should be served with it. The above is sufficient for eight or ten persons.