If one were from an area (Minneapolis) were Haggis weren’t immediately available, but would be interested in trying…
Could one get by with buying canned Haggis from Amazon… such as this one:
Or should one consider a trip to Edinburgh for such an adventure?
Or perhaps both? 
I’ve had real haggis and I’ve had canned haggis, and the only thing canned haggis has over real haggis is
you have a reusable can afterwards.
Give it a shot. Just make sure you have neeps and tatties to go with it.
If IRRC authentic haggis is not legal in the US (source Diners Drive Ins & Dives). I’m guessing canned pseudo haggis is not good ETA In the past inability to find haggis kept me from trying it. Now, I’m allergic to red meat. So, I’ll never get a chance.
IIRC, true haggis is not allowed in the US because it contains lung meat (something about Mad Cow Disease, I think). I’m sure they use a somewhat less nauseating substitute for the canned stuff.
The lowdown on haggis and why you can’t get it in the U.S.
The Real Reason Scottish Haggis Is Banned In The US (mashed.com)
Thanks. IMHO it doesn’t sound bad. I tried kishka (cow organs, carrots, potatoes all chopped up, mixed together and baked in a cow intestine) and liked it.
To me, it tastes like spicy liverwurst. I like it, but wouldn’t want to eat it every day.
I spent a week in Scotland 25 years ago, and ate haggis with neeps and tatties at an upscale pub on Princes Street in Edinburgh. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did, and ate it again at another restaurant. I do like organ meats, like liver, head cheese, and steak and kidney pie.
When we found canned haggis we decided to get a can for ourselves to bring home, and another as a gift. The customs officials at JFK apparently hadn’t heard of the haggis ban since they let it in after examining it for a few minutes.
The canned haggis was forgettable, so if you really want to enjoy it, I recommend a trip to Scotland. On the other hand I see that the brand on Amazon is well rated.
Interesting. The ban has been in place longer than we’ve known about Mad Cow disease, it’s made from sheep parts, not cow, and it contains sheep brains, which would be much more likely to contain prions than lungs (sheep don’t have Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis – Mad Cow Disease – but they do get scrapie, another prion disease). So clearly the ban has nothing to do with preventing the spread of prion illnesses. I’m amazed that lungs end up with contamination from the stomach – it must be in how they process the meat.
I have to admit to eating brains and blood sausage and other squidgy stuff (not to mention other random Scottish food), but haggis still creeps me out
It’s not bad exactly. A bit gamey, and loaded with black pepper, but by far not the most organ-meaty thing I’ve ever eaten. And I’m not really a fan of organ meats or gamey tasting stuff either.
In fact, the mashed rutabagas (“neeps”) that they served alongside the haggis and mashed potatoes(“tatties”) were far worse. The neeps were ghastly, and were easily the nastiest thing on the plate.
Part of the problem is that haggis looks gross when it’s served as part of a “Burns Night” type show- basically they bring out the haggis, which is this somewhat homogenous mixture of guts, oatmeal and spices that’s been boiled in a sheep’s stomach. It looks like a stomach, and sags/jiggles accordingly. Then they stab it with a knife and it sort of splits open.
But the actual dish itself doesn’t actually taste all that awful.
If I were in Scotland, I would certainly give it a try. But canned? If you have a taste for ravioli, do you reach for the Chef Boyardee? I would guess that the difference in quality is similar.