Review

 

 

Robert Burns, the 25th January, and the Haggis

Born on this day in 1759, Scotland's national bard was the eldest of 7 sons. Considering that he spent the greater part of his life working on his father's farm, and that he died of heart disease at the age of 37, his poetical output was prodigious - poems such as Tam O'Shanter, A Red, Red, Rose and, of course, Auld Lang Syne made him popular in his life time (10,000 people attended his funeral), and have seen him elevated to the level of a national hero since his death. His touch was golden - if Rabbie Burns turned his pen to something, it thereby became hallowed in the eyes of the Scottish. The haggis, an unromantic highland staple with its origins shrouded in the mists of time, became a choice delicacy and national symbol the day that Burns penned his Address to a Haggis:


Robert 'Rabbie' Burns

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
Aboon them a' yet tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o'a grace
As lang's my arm.

Sonsie (pleasant, jolly); Wordie (worthy); Aboon (above)

The first Burns Dinner was held at the Cleikum Club, a Borders dining club founded by Sir Walter Scott, in 1826; since then such feasts have become popular not only throughout the British Isles, but also across vast swathes of the USA. Since haggis was a favourite of the bard, it is an obvious choice to accompany the whiskey on such occasions. But its popularity at all times of the year, and in all parts of the world, has been growing rapidly recently, and that even before it was served at Madonna's wedding reception. A glance at the ingredients (see inset) might leave one wondering why - although the skin of sheep's stomach is rarely eaten, the filling is no less gruesome. Tellingly, however, vegetarian haggis is beginning to make up a considerable proportion of sales. And those who avoid the carnivorous version need not feel that they are missing out on the true experience; connoisseurs admit that the potency of the haggis spices makes it difficult to tell exactly what is in the filling.

The Haggis: A Traditional Recipe

Clean a sheep's pluck thoroughly. Make incisions in the heart and liver to allow the blood to flow out, and parboil them, letting the windpipe lie over the side of the pot to permit the phlegm and blood to disgorge from the lungs; change the water after a few minutes boiling for fresh water. Another half hour's boiling will be sufficient; but throw back the half of the liver to boil until it will grate easily. Take the heart, the half of the liver and the lungs, trimming away all skins and black-looking parts, and mince them together along with a pound of good beef suet. Grate the other half of the liver. Have eight onions peeled and scalded in two waters, which chop and mix with this mince. Toast some oatmeal before the fire till it is of a light brown colour and perfectly dry. Less than two teaspoonfuls of meal will do for this quantity of meat. Spread the mince on a board and strew the meal lightly over it, with a high seasoning of pepper, salt, a little cayenne and marjoram, well mixed. Have a sheep's stomach perfectly clean, and see that there is no thin part in it in case of its bursting. Put in the meat with a half-pint of good beef gravy, or as much strong broth and the juice of a lemon or a little good vinegar as will make a thick stew. Be careful not to fill the bag too full so as to allow the meat room to swell. Press out the air and sew up the bag; prick it with a large needle when it first swells in the pot, to prevent bursting; let it boil slowly for three hours if large.

Robert H. Christie (1911)

Matthew Rogers 24/01/01