# Anyone tried haggis? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030 "2015-02-18T19:16:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/21 "2015-02-18T21:11:33Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I think they were actually mashed rutabagas, since they were orange. Yep, they would have been. In Scotland those are called turnips or neeps, and in some other parts of the UK swedes. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/22 "2015-02-18T21:16:06Z")
> [@Mooch](#): > > I also tried it mixed with Scotch when I was told that it was the traditional way to eat it. That was just awful. A waste of Scotch and it ruined a perfectly mediocre haggis. I suspect you’d been had. I’ve never heard of mixing scotch into haggis, but it’s traditional to have scotch with it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/23 "2015-02-18T21:18:59Z")
[All Things Scottish:](http://snltranscripts.jt.org/90/90ascottish.phtml) > [@](#): > > Angus: Dad, we’ve been in America for ten years! Everything’s so bloody Scottish! We should sell something American! > > Stuart Rankin: Oh aye? Like what? > > Angus: Pizza. > > Stuart Rankin: Pizza? That’s Italian! > > Angus: It’s what Americans eat, not blood sausage or suet pie, ya tube! … It’s like all of Scottish cuisine’s based on a dare! ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/24 "2015-02-18T21:20:01Z")
I had it once in a dirty chippy in Glasgow. Tasted peppery with a consistency and flavor halfway between a meatball and meatloaf. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/25 "2015-02-18T21:22:11Z")
I recall an old Gahan Wilson cartoon: A tourist and his Scottish guide are crouched down on a hillock on the moors, peering at a line of running bipedal peanut-shaped things with antlers. Caption: “Och, ye’re a lucky man, Mr. Turner! 'Tis a rare stranger who gets to view the wild haggis romp!” ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/26 "2015-02-18T21:27:23Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I had it once in a dirty chippy in Glasgow. Tasted peppery with a consistency and flavor halfway between a meatball and meatloaf. Battered and deep-fried I’m guessing? A haggis supper is pretty good at soaking up booze. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/27 "2015-02-18T21:30:41Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I haven’t tried it myself, although I’ve eaten various icky things and organ meats. The closest I’ve come in Scottish dining is eating **Skirlie** : > > [Skirlie - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skirlie) And here I thought Alberto Malich the only person in the multiverse who eats fried porridge. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/28 "2015-02-18T21:33:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Apparently you can’t sell “real” haggis in the US. : > > [The offal truth about American haggis - BBC News](http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21128089) > > This has lead, I’m told, to a black market in authentic lung-bearing haggis in the us, apparently among the die-hard Scotchophiles and the insane. Now, why is that, I wonder? Is there something dangerous about eating sheep’s lungs? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/29 "2015-02-18T21:58:56Z")
Alas, I come from a very Irish family, and have tasted every horrid pudding and/or sausage (including assorted blood puddings) ever made. There’s a reason NOBODY in the history of the world has ever said, “I’m starving- let’s go set some Irish/Scottish food!” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/30 "2015-02-18T22:03:45Z")
I would try it, but it’s never been there for me. I’d be a little hesitant to just try anything labeled haggis, I’d prefer a True Scotsman would point me to something worth trying. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/31 "2015-02-18T22:09:36Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Now, why is that, I wonder? Is there something dangerous about eating sheep’s lungs? I don’t think there is specifically. There’s an old “mad cow” type thing in sheep called scrapie, but that’s brain and nerve tissue, and doesn’t seem to transmit to humans anyway. The only references - after an exhaustive one minute search - I can find to the 1971 US ruling is some concern about contamination during the slaughtering and butchering process. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/32 "2015-02-18T22:36:19Z")
Dowsing haggis with whisky sauce can be helpful. One needn’t use the good stuff for the sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/33 "2015-02-18T22:57:59Z")
Love going to [St. Andrews](http://www.standrewsnyc.com/)in NYC. Besides an insane [Scotch list](http://www.standrewsnyc.com/menu-scotchlist.html)(and regular tastings), their food is fantastic. Have had the haggis a few times and really enjoyed it. I don’t know how ‘authentic’ it is, but they sure know their stuff otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/34 "2015-02-19T00:28:02Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Many Scots are skilled at gently pulling tourist legs with the “haggis is a real animal” thing. For instance, haggis are unusual in that the legs on left side of the body are longer than the those on the right, as they only traverse hillsides in a clockwise direction. 😉 When I first glanced at the thread/user, I thought the question was “Anyone tried wild haggis?” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/35 "2015-02-19T00:42:11Z")
> [@Unpronounceable](#): > > But has anyone tried the haggis ice cream? I would not be surprised if some douchebag comes up with that. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/36 "2015-02-19T09:23:31Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > Dowsing haggis with whisky sauce can be helpful. One needn’t use the good stuff for the sauce. This has increasingly been something horrible done when selling it in England… Haggis, traditionally, should be boiled. Some have it in a sheeps stomach, or a plastic cover. I don’t think it really affects the taste, and is more about tradition… It should NOT be covered by gravy or sauce, that tends to be done especially by people microwaving it, which will remove a bunch of the moisture. It having sheeps lung and other offal… I guess it has traditionally, but in reality, it’s minced lamb, barley and spices. So why someone can’t make something close to what it should be. I always reckon it had offal back in the day mainly because that was cheap. We can afford to mince whatever you want to put into it… When you’ve had it deep fried in batter in chip shops, that salty thing isn’t really traditional, its a regional variation of chip shops. Chip shops have regional variations, where the chips are soft, crispy, slightly battered, accompanied by mushy peas, covered in gravy, all if different parts of the country. Scotland has a perchance for pakora, a deep fried vegetables in indian batter, that’s the main take away food in scotland, weirdly. The fact that it sells what is in effect a haggis sausage in batter, is just another thing which scotland sells. Most people are justifiably horrified that they’ll just as likely deep fry a pizza… But saying you’ve had it, deep fried, or covered in sauce, means that you’ve had a bad serving of haggis and judgement shouldn’t really be passed… (Weirdly the biggest producer of Haggis is in England). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/37 "2015-02-19T11:20:56Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Scotland has a perchance for pakora, a deep fried vegetables in indian batter, that’s the main take away food in scotland, weirdly. It really isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/38 "2015-02-19T12:14:18Z")
I’m always slightly amazed at the reaction to haggis - it was just another meal when I was growing up, and it still is an everyday kind of dinner. I once had a visitor from Manchester who was surprised when I ordered haggis, neeps and tatties for a pub lunch - he thought it was a “strictly for tourists” or “only for Burns night” kind of deal. Haggis is now served in a variety of ways. 1. The straightforward, traditional main course (entree) of haggis, neeps and tatties. This really is an ordinary meal, found on family dinner tables, staff restaurants, and pub lunch menus. And, to be pedantic, the neeps are not “really rutabagas”, they are “what Americans call rutabagas”. We have different names for the same things. It’s meant to be very much eaten together - a forkful of neeps only isn’t great, but together with the tatties and haggis is another story. 2. A small, fancy portion served as a starter (appetiser). Something like a “haggis disk on a bed of clapshot in a whisky creme sauce”. Quite popular in upmarket Scottish restaurants. 3. From a chippy, where an individual haggis will be deep fried in batter and served with chips. Sticky, salty, fatty. In Edinburgh this will be further served with salt’n’sauce. Pretty much late night food for soaking up alcohol. 4. All sorts of 21st century imaginative variations. I’ve seen haggis pakora on sale at a music festival, it’s quite popular as a baked potato topping. You can really do anything you like with it. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/39 "2015-02-19T14:17:21Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > It really isn’t. Really? Maybe it has changed. It was supposed to be the main takeway food in scotland a few years ago. So what is? ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030/40 "2015-02-19T14:31:30Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Really? Maybe it has changed. It was supposed to be the main takeway food in scotland a few years ago. > > So what is? I wouldn’t say Pakora have ever been the main takeaway food. A lot of places like kebab shops offer them, but they’re very much an after thought or side dish. The main takeaway would still be the chippy. I won’t say “fish and chips”, because the bewildering array of deep fried offerings in Scotland is very different to the English chippy. Sausage supper, fish supper, pie supper, haggis supper, chicken supper will all compete. Then there are the abominations of the chip steak, king rib, or hamburger supper. (Note: “supper” means “and chips”). Close in popularity to the chippy will be the doner kebab or the pizza. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-tried-haggis/713030.md?page=3)