# Is haggis really all that bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 31, 2002, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415 "2002-08-31T05:33:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/1 "2002-08-31T05:33:21Z")
Is it true that even Scottish people are frightened of this dish or is it just bad press? What’s the deal? [Here’s a classic haggis recipe.](http://www.gumbopages.com/food/scottish/haggis.html) > [@](#): > > 1 sheep’s lung (illegal in the U.S.; may be omitted if not available) > 1 sheep’s stomach > 1 sheep heart > 1 sheep liver > 1/2 lb fresh suet (kidney leaf fat is preferred) > 3/4 cup oatmeal (the ground type, NOT the Quaker Oats type!) > 3 onions, finely chopped > 1 teaspoon salt > 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper > 1/2 teaspoon cayenne > 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg > 3/4 cup stock > > Wash lungs and stomach well, rub with salt and rinse. Remove membranes and excess fat. Soak in cold salted water for several hours. Turn stomach inside out for stuffing. Cover heart and liver with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Chop heart and coarsely grate liver. Toast oatmeal in a skillet on top of the stove, stirring frequently, until golden. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Loosely pack mixture into stomach, about two-thirds full. Remember, oatmeal expands in cooking. > > Press any air out of stomach and truss securely. Put into boiling water to cover. Simmer for 3 hours, uncovered, adding more water as needed to maintain water level. Prick stomach several times with a sharp needle when it begins to swell; this keeps the bag from bursting. Place on a hot platter, removing trussing strings. Serve with a spoon. Ceremoniously served with “neeps, tatties and nips” – mashed turnips, mashed potatoes, nips of whiskey. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/2 "2002-08-31T08:21:46Z")
My brother was a big fan of Haggis, so I got to have it on quite a few occasions. I found the coarse, grainy, soft, texture very enjoyable. Don’t know how to describe the taste, quite pleasant, but the stuff I had was usually quite salty. Have had it fresh, out of a can, and our local fish & chip shop does it fried. Don’t know how authentic this last was (I live on the south coast). BTW It’s also extremely filling. ---
**Author:** ![Babar714](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Babar714](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babar714)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/3 "2002-08-31T12:48:59Z")
Why is sheep lung illegal in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/4 "2002-08-31T13:32:22Z")
All of the places I’ve had haggis in Scotland omitted the sheep innards and used some generic minced meat; the result was usually a plate of minced meat and oatmeal. It’s one of those novelty dishes that just isn’t that widely popular. It’s quite bland (to my taste) and a lot less tasty or interesting than most other cuisines. I got the impression restaurants sold it purely for the tourise market. Why do you think Scots are afraid of it? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/5 "2002-08-31T14:22:45Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s like all of our cuisine is based on a dare. -Kyle MacLachlan, in the first “All Things Scottish” sketch on _Saturday Night Live_. I’ll try haggis sooner or later. I looked for it at the last Highland Games Festival here in Montreal, but there were more people selling hot dogs and snow cones than Scottish cuisine, so I gave up and watched the caber-tossing instead. ---
**Author:** ![Kiting\_Illini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Kiting\_Illini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiting_Illini)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/6 "2002-08-31T14:44:06Z")
As a dislocated Scot who is slowly discovering his roots, I think that the haggis is more about tradition than cuisine. It is commonly served at Burn’s Night dinners (in honor of Robert Burns the poet). I don’t know that many people who eat it on a regular basis. As a food, it is like anything else, it can be good, it can be offal. Different cooks, different ingredients, different results. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/7 "2002-08-31T15:08:00Z")
I had it a while back in Scotland and it was…ok. Very, VERY peppery though. Frankly, imagine a liver flavored meatloaf crumbled up and mixed with oatmeal. I had a weird varient of Haggis at the Bed and Breakfast that I was staying at, though: our hostess took spoonfuls of haggis and fried 'em into little haggis-cakes (kind of like potato-cakes/latkas in terms of texture). They were actually pretty good that way, but I suspect Robert Burns is known as “Whirligig Rob” to his cemetery companions after that. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/8 "2002-08-31T17:09:50Z")
In all of my [haggis eating experience](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=126901&highlight=haggis), I’ve found it to be… OK. ---
**Author:** ![Fingolfin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@Fingolfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fingolfin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/9 "2002-08-31T18:47:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*Is it true that even Scottish people are frightened of this dish or is it just bad press? What’s the deal? > > [Here’s a classic haggis recipe.](http://www.gumbopages.com/food/scottish/haggis.html) > > \*\* Dude, any dish that has stomach, heart, lungs, and liver in it is frightening!! :eek: I’ll pass thank you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/10 "2002-08-31T19:57:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Babar714 \* > \*\*Why is sheep lung illegal in the US? \*\* Because minorites smoke it, then go on white-woman-raping rampages. ---
**Author:** ![Swede\_Hollow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Swede\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swede_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/11 "2002-09-01T01:47:21Z")
Is haggis really all that bad? Depends. Haggis is to Scots what lutefisk is to Swedes, blood pie to the English… What do we Americans have? White Castle? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/12 "2002-09-01T17:54:15Z")
> [@](#): > > What do we Americans have? White Castle? Brains and eggs…sweetbreads…scrapple…livermush. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/13 "2002-09-01T18:07:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Swede Hollow \* > \*\*Is haggis really all that bad? > > Depends. Haggis is to Scots what lutefisk is to Swedes, blood pie to the English… > > What do we Americans have? White Castle? \*\* I’m English, and I’ve never heard of blood pie. Do you mean our delicious black pudding? ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/14 "2002-09-01T18:19:30Z")
\ **Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/15 "2002-09-01T18:25:02Z") You are all missing one important part of haggis. That is the fact that you probably will have drunk a quater bottle of some fine single malt before you get close to the haggis. And when you are that lit up, haggis isn’t too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/16 "2002-09-01T18:39:48Z")
Personally, what I don’t understand is why the Scots would want to ruin perfectly good organ meat with oatmeal. Liver, heart, kidneys… Yum! But oatmeal? Why bother? If I ever get the chance, though, I will try it. As for the sheep lungs, there’s probably a risk of some sort of spongiform encephalopathy (something similar to Mad Cow disease). ---
**Author:** ![ndorward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c2a13f/32.png) [@ndorward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ndorward)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/17 "2002-09-01T21:29:49Z")
Anthony Bourdain is extremely enthusiastic about haggis in his book _A Cook’s Tour_. Considering that he samples dishes from about two dozen countries all over the world in the book, that must be a considerable vote of confidence. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/18 "2002-09-02T06:42:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Swede Hollow \* > \*\*…what lutefisk is to Swedes…[/SIZE] \*\* Isn’t Lutefisk Norweigan? ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/19 "2002-09-02T09:41:54Z")
Lutefisk is both in Sweden and Norway. The swedes definatly spell it lutefisk, not sure how the norweigens spell it, probably the same. However lutefisk is a very common seasonal disk, it’s eaten at Christmas and doesn’t taste yucky, tastes kinda nothing. I would be more likely to say that Surströmming is the Swedish equivelant of Haggis. It is fermented (rotten) herring in a can. The can eventually gets deformed by the pressure within, can sometimes even burst. It is the most foul smelling thing I have ever smelled, and most landlords have rules that you cannot eat it in their buildings. So the Swedes who eat it do so far from civilisation. I want to try it some day. It has (in common with the haggis I think) one group of rabid supporters, another who scream that it is bizarre and inhuman and they wouldn’t, couldn’t ever eat it. MrsIteki is in the last group 🙂 … wuss… ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415/20 "2002-09-02T10:19:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Agent LeManof Verona \* > **As a food, it is like anything else, it can be good, it can be offal.** TIME OUT! Is this a spelling error, or an intentional pun that no one before me has seen fit to comment on? And if it’s a spelling error, is it bad form to point it out if I do so by saying that it’s a rather nifty little pun, however unintended? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-haggis-really-all-that-bad/126415.md?page=2)