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Haggis for the holidays
Scottish government officials have officially laid out the case for lifting the ban on exporting red meat from the UK to the United States.
What they haven’t done is explain why on Earth anyone would want to actually eat haggis, imported or otherwise.
Of course, the U.K.’s Chief Veterinary Officer, who forwarded an application to lift the ban to USDA, noted that the producers want to export Scottish beef, lamb and venison. That’s the reason for the petition (allegedly). But Scotland’s signature meat product is front and center as the focal point of the argument in favor of allowing Scottish meat imports into the United States.
“Exports to the USA are of key importance to our food and drink sector,” Richard Lochhead, Rural Affairs Secretary, told the British Press Association. “This [petition] is a positive step forward in reintroducing red meat back into the crucial American market. We remain proactive in encouraging the USDA to lift the long-standing ban on importation of red meat products from Scotland and the rest of the European Union.”
A ban on exporting red meat from the U.K. into the United States has been in place since the BSE outbreak in the late 1980s. USDA has also banned the sale of any food products containing either domestic or imported livestock lungs since the 1970s, which directly affects Scottish haggis manufacturers.
Okay, isn’t that enough right there to forestall any further discussion about imported haggis? Livestock lungs? Really?
Yes, really.
As ‘savoury’ as it gets
For those who’ve never had the pleasure, haggis is a mixture of sheep’s pluck—that is, the heart, liver and lungs—chopped up and mixed with oatmeal, beef fat and spices (lots of spices, I’m guessing). That delightful mixture is then cooked inside a sheep’s stomach as a kind of casing. Traditionally, haggis is eaten with boiled turnips and Scotch whiskey. Lots of whiskey, I would imagine.
No doubt, the origins of haggis date back to antiquity as a way of cooking an animal’s internal organs after it had been hunted. The stomach, lungs and intestines don’t lend themselves to roasting over and open fire, and preserving them was impossible. Thus, the creation of a “savoury pudding,” as it’s been described, to make use of the internal organs as an additional source of food.
Haven’t we progressed beyond that?
Apparently not.
Jo Macsween, director of Macsween, one of Scotland’s best-known haggis makers, told the Press Association that, “I am delighted to hear progress is being made, and we look forward to sharing Macsween haggis with American consumers in the near future.”
The export ban may not be lifted anytime soon, but Americans can still dig into a plateful of haggis over the holidays by making their own concoction. Alton Brown, the celebrity chef noted for his devotion to authentic meat dishes, has developed a do-it-yourself haggis recipe that only takes two days of prep time and about six hours in the kitchen.
It shouldn’t be a problem to squeeze that in between holiday shopping and parties, right?
Brown’s recipe calls for soaking a sheep’s stomach overnight in cold salted water, then cooking sheep’s liver, heart and tongue for about two hours, followed by removing any gristle or skin and then chopping it all up. Then add a half a pound of beef lard, dry oatmeal (which has been toasted in the oven), onions and salt, pepper and ground herbs to taste.
Just get someone else to do the tasting.
From there, simply combine the chopped liver, heart, tongue, fat, onions and toasted oats, stuff it all into the previously treated stomach, sew the stomach shut, pierce it with a fork and cook over high heat in a large stovetop kettle for three to four hours.
What could be easier? Or more delicious?
Just remember to serve it with liberal portions of Scotch, and your guests will rave about it.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dan Murphy, a veteran food-industry journalist and commentator.
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