You cannot escape haggis if you take a trip to Scotland. It’s everywhere.
On my travels between Edinburgh and Glasgow I found haggis pizza, haggis nachos, haggis burgers, vegetarian haggis, and just plain haggis.If you don’t know what haggis is, chances are you’ll actually like the taste of it. But find out it is likely to include, but not limited too, lamb tongue, liver, kidney, all cooked in a sheep stomach and .. well .. you might give the haggis crisps a pass.
At first I thought haggis was a Scottish tourist gimmick, but when I spotted the Haggis Food Truck at the finish line of the Edinburgh Marathon, I realized the locals go for this the way Montrealers dig their poutine.
Sure, it’s a tourist-y thing to do, to have a piece of haggis, but when it’s everywhere more than just the outsiders are having a scoop.
And I do say scoop, just look how my haggis, neeps, and tatties was served at a restaurant just off the Royal Mile.
Haggis doesn’t look that disgusting – once it’s removed from the sheep’s stomach, that is. It has the consistency of a finely minced olives. It’s a collection of lopes (that’s the polite way to describe the entrails) and oats.
Which brings us to actually eating the stuff. What does haggis taste like?
Spicy oatmeal. That’s the best description I can come up with. The meats are not the main ingredient in haggis, the oats are what binds it together, and it is a heavily spiced dish, so the best I can say is haggis tastes like a spicy oatmeal.
I ate haggis every chance I got when I was in Scotland. I even brought a couple of cans of it home. I don’t think I can convince my wife to try it, but if you can remove your head from the knowledge of what it is you are actually consuming, you’ll agree with Robbie Burns that it is a poetic meal.
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Considering how much I (generally) love offal, I don’t think I’d have any issue with haggis, particularly since it has (mostly) lamb and I love lamb too. My friend who despises lamb and can’t stand offal, on the other hand…
Excellent description of the taste! I always told friend it reminds me of mums turkey sausage stuffing…. But only a few people know that taste. Glad you enjoyed it! I’ve bought it here in Steveston and Mary’s Home British store, in the casing and needing to be cooked the “proper way”. Just as Good!
You have convinced me to consider to try haggis when the first opportunity presents itself. Prior to you sharing your experience it is unlikely I would have done so. It’s tradition is centuries old. Worthy of a taste, I say. There must be a place in Calgary where typical haggis is available. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your successful marathon mission in Scotland.
Alright Barry, you take me for a hike and I’ll take you out for haggis. http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=414737
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As a Scot, I enjoyed reading this. I’m a vegetarian and recently had a go at making a vegetarian version of haggis from scratch for the first time this week. In case you’re interested, there’s a link to the recipe in this post that I did about feeding veggie haggis to my son for the first time: http://dadsthewayilikeit.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/will-our-son-like-haggis/
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I’ll be spending Christmas in London and an definitely thinking of trying haggis. Can’t get my girl to join me in that though ?.