Yep, they would have been. In Scotland those are called turnips or neeps, and in some other parts of the UK swedes.
I suspect you’d been had. I’ve never heard of mixing scotch into haggis, but it’s traditional to have scotch with it.
I had it once in a dirty chippy in Glasgow. Tasted peppery with a consistency and flavor halfway between a meatball and meatloaf.
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!”
Battered and deep-fried I’m guessing? A haggis supper is pretty good at soaking up booze.
And here I thought Alberto Malich the only person in the multiverse who eats fried porridge.
Now, why is that, I wonder? Is there something dangerous about eating sheep’s lungs?
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!”
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.
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.
Dowsing haggis with whisky sauce can be helpful. One needn’t use the good stuff for the sauce.
Love going to St. Andrewsin NYC. Besides an insane Scotch list(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.
When I first glanced at the thread/user, I thought the question was “Anyone tried wild haggis?”
I would not be surprised if some douchebag comes up with that.
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).
It really isn’t.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.