The national dish of Scotland is haggis. It is a type of savory pudding. Haggis is a tasty dish, made using sheep pluck (the lungs, hearts, and liver). The cooked minced offal is mixed with suet, oatmeal, and seasonings and encased in the sheep stomach. Once stitched up, the stuffed stomach is boiled for up to three hours. If the thought of cooking the animal parts is off-putting, there is commercial haggis available. You can buy it ready to eat. The best known (including a vegetarian version) from Charles MacSween & Son in Edinburgh. If you are making your own, be sure to follow the top tips for buying, preparing, and cooking haggis.
Is It Illegal in the United States?
In the 1970s the United States banned the import of food containing sheep lung. As most traditional haggis recipes are made with lung, it's nearly impossible to find imported commercial haggis. Most haggis found in the United States is made in the country.
Serving
Once it has been steamed and cooked through, there are many popular ways to serve haggis. Try it with a full Scottish breakfast or withhearty tatties and neeps (tatties are Scottish for potatoes and neeps are turnips) for an authentic experience. These are the more traditional ways to eat haggis.
Drink Pairings
For pairing purposes, you may want to stick with a Scottish theme and select only beverages from Scotland. This might include a nice Scotch whiskey for a thematically appropriatespirit. If you are not a fan of having hard liquor at meals, you could always go with an acidic red wineor a strong, dark beer.
Robert Burns
The Haggis was immortalized by the poet Robert Burns in his poem "Address to the Haggis" written in the 18th century. Robert Burns is celebrated in Scotland and throughout the world on Burns Night, January 25th, in memory of the Scottish poet. Common celebration food includes haggis. It is eaten with tatties and neeps alongside other Scottish favorites like co*ck-a-leekie (chicken vegetable) soup and cranachan, a dessert made from raspberry, toasted oatmeal, and cream.
"Address to a Haggis" by Robert Burns
Here is the famous poem that is celebrated throughout Scotland:
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye worthy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o need,
While thro your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive:
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
'Bethankit' hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi perfect scunner,
Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As f*ckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll make it whissle;
An legs an arms, an heads will sned,
Like taps o thrissle.
Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies:
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!
FAQs
haggis, the national dish of Scotland, a type of pudding composed of the liver, heart, and lungs of a sheep (or other animal), minced and mixed with beef or mutton suet and oatmeal and seasoned with onion, cayenne pepper, and other spices. The mixture is packed into a sheep's stomach and boiled.
What is proper haggis made of? ›
Haggis (Scottish Gaelic: taigeis) is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with chopped onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the animal's stomach though now an artificial casing is often used instead.
Why did the US ban haggis? ›
Haggis is specifically banned for import into the United States by the USDA due to one of its ingredients: sheep lung, which is an ingredient in traditional Scottish haggis. In 1971, the USDA banned the preservation of livestock lung for human consumption, due to health concerns.
What is haggis made of now? ›
Traditionally, Haggis comprises of sheep's offal, mixed with oats, suet, onion, spices and is cooked inside a sheep's stomach. Today, the haggis that is widely available in supermarkets and served commonly in restaurants is made from either lamb, beef, pork, or sometimes venison.
How does haggis taste? ›
What does haggis taste like? Haggis is like a crumbly sausage, with a coarse oaty texture and a warming peppery flavour. It's most commonly served with neeps (mashed turnip) and tatties (mashed potato) and washed down with a wee dram of your favourite whisky.
Why is sheep lung illegal in the US? ›
American regulations forbid the eating of lungs from any livestock. This stricture stems from side effects caused by the slaughtering of these animals. Namely, that fluids from other parts of the body, like stomach acids, end up trapped in the lungs, due to an acid-reflux-like reaction.
What is special about haggis? ›
haggis, the national dish of Scotland, a type of pudding composed of the liver, heart, and lungs of a sheep (or other animal), minced and mixed with beef or mutton suet and oatmeal and seasoned with onion, cayenne pepper, and other spices. The mixture is packed into a sheep's stomach and boiled.
Why is haggis banned in Canada? ›
Haggis, the national dish of Scotland, typically consists of oatmeal, spices and various animal byproducts wrapped in a lamb's stomach. Under a Canadian law reportedly first passed in 1971, however, traditional haggis is not legally considered food because it has been “adulterated” by animal lungs.
What's a full Scottish breakfast? ›
So, what is a full Scottish breakfast? Usually made up of bacon, link sausages, Lorne sausage (also known as square sausage or slice), black pudding, haggis, baked beans, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, toast, tattie scones and fried eggs, the full Scottish breakfast is a sight to behold.
Why is black pudding banned in the US? ›
Like haggis, Stornoway Black Pudding is a U.K. favorite that contains sheep's lungs. This ingredient makes it illegal to import into the United States, despite it being a regular menu item across the pond.
Haggis tends to be more peppery and has texture. Black pudding doesn't have as much texture and the taste is different. The similarities lay in the type of food. They're both old recipes made with similar byproducts available at the time.
What is black pudding in Scotland? ›
Black pudding is another traditional Scottish dish that is very similar to haggis as they are both made with the same ingredients: onions, pork fat, oatmeal and spices. Contrary to haggis, black pudding is made from pigs' blood, which holds all the ingredients together.
What is the national dish of Scotland? ›
Haggis. Haggis is our national dish, and the first recipe dates back to the 15th century (in recorded history).
Does haggis smell when cooking? ›
I don't remember it smelling bad. It's been a long time since I had haggis. It was a bit funky when boiled, then it's cut open. The ghastly, fascinating thing about haggis is the description: Offal cooked in a sheep's stomach.
Can Americans eat haggis? ›
Haggis imports into the United States were prohibited in 1971 as part of a ban on the consumption of all livestock lungs. Authentic versions of old school haggis remain culinary contraband in the US, as hard to lay your hands on as Cuban cigars.
Is haggis worth trying? ›
Although it doesn't necessarily look like the most appetising of all dishes, haggis is a delicious Scottish delicacy that definitely deserves to be tried! Some people attribute the Haggis to 'The Wild Haggis', a fictional beast believed to roam around Scotland…
What is the organ meat in haggis? ›
Traditional haggis recipes call for a sheep's stomach and a sheep's pluck (heart, lungs, windpipe and liver). Unfortunately it is impossible to buy a sheep's stomach or lungs.
Is haggis cooked in a sheeps stomach? ›
To be a little more precise, a haggis is normally made up of the following ingredients: a sheep's 'pluck' (its heart, liver and lungs), minced with onions, oatmeal, suet, salt and spices, all mixed with a stock and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for around an hour.
