Burns Night - Haggis!

touch · 25 Jan 2022 at 10:24

Unfortunately didn't get anything in my haggis traps this year

Got a Simon Howie haggis from the supermarket instead to have with neeps + tatties.
Can't have any whisky this year - anybody got any good suggestions for an alcohol-free sauce? I'm thinking of just making my normal whisky sauce without the whisky - something like cream, mustard, peppercorns, lemon juice.

Feek · 25 Jan 2022 at 10:26

touch said:
Got a Simon Howie haggis from the supermarket instead to have with neeps + tatties.

Good luck with that one, I think they're awful, worse than Halls.

inogen · 25 Jan 2022 at 11:06

I’ll be having a veggie macsweens. There’s only two of us and the other one is vegetarian. I’ve tried eating a whole one before and it’s too much

For anyone struggling… Waitrose sell macsweens. And they do freeze okay.

jpaul · 25 Jan 2022 at 11:13

ttaskmaster said:
I won't get too snobbish about microwaving your haggises (haggi?), although I personally don't enjoy the results as much. I find them quite dry compared to the boiled versions.

yes - not convinced with the ubiquitous use of microwaves - haggis has suet and you want that gently melted/melded not overheated and cooked again - so steaming or oven.
- we only had a MacSween from Waitrose, too.

Alice In Wonderland · 25 Jan 2022 at 11:53

FTM said:
I usually have to make do with what I can get

macsweens is usually available and quite tasty

I personally think MacSweens are the best.

Growing up in Edinburgh it was what we always had every Burns night.

Scam · 25 Jan 2022 at 13:33

inogen said:
For anyone struggling… Waitrose sell macsweens. And they do freeze okay.

I'll be off to Waitrose later. Just rushed out to the butchers in our lunch break (45min walk round trip) and they flipping closed at 12:30! :mad:

What was the point in them advertising all their Burns night stuff and neglecting to mention that! Rage.. :mad:

I wonder if my local Waitrose will have any left by the time we finish work and can get out again ..

BUDFORCE · 25 Jan 2022 at 20:09

I think macsweens are the best that are easily able to be had, short of going to more specialist places.

Even that one I got from that market wasn't significantly better than a macsweens although it was bloody good and about twice the size.

The ones they sell in Tesco are not great unfortunately.

azazl187 · 25 Jan 2022 at 20:12

This makes me wish I had haggis and not chilli for dinner tonight.... What's happening in Mexico today?

jpaul · 25 Jan 2022 at 21:37

following the christmas oriented pizza discussion - some thinly sliced haggis as a pizza topping ?

robfosters · 25 Jan 2022 at 21:40

azazl187 said:
This makes me wish I had haggis and not chilli for dinner tonight.... What's happening in Mexico today?

Lots of cocaine trafficking and murders

Feek · 25 Jan 2022 at 21:41

jpaul said:
some thinly sliced haggis as a pizza topping ?

I've had haggis on pizza at home, it works well. Not sliced though, just broken up and placed over the pizza.

This was how I was served haggis pizza in Glasgow once.

Tonights haggis from the place in Dumfries was really good, I'll be buying that again.

Bluecube · 25 Jan 2022 at 22:18

jpaul said:
following the christmas oriented pizza discussion - some thinly sliced haggis as a pizza topping ?

Crumble the haggis over the pizza before cooking it. It’s a great pizza topping. Nice and spicy.

Alice In Wonderland · 25 Jan 2022 at 22:39

jpaul said:
following the christmas oriented pizza discussion - some thinly sliced haggis as a pizza topping ?

Definitely!!

Scam · 25 Jan 2022 at 22:52

Managed to get a Macsweens at Waitrose. Swede and carrot, proper mash and had some beefy onion gravy left over from Sundays roast.

Aperitif was Glenfarclas 15, Ardbeg Ugge with the meal. Bloody lovely.

azazl187 · 25 Jan 2022 at 23:16

robfosters said:
Lots of cocaine trafficking and murders

I missed it completely then. Didn't even manage to achieve either tonight

jpaul · 26 Jan 2022 at 08:57

Feek said:
I've had haggis on pizza at home, it works well. Not sliced though, just broken up and placed over the pizza.

Bluecube said:
Crumble the haggis over the pizza before cooking it

problem I have with crumbling is getting the heat into the crumbs -
after buying whole fuet sausages over christmas and cutting 2mm slices for pizza, I found they don't meld/cook as well as thinner < 1mm slices,
ok - a haggis is less dense

Alice In Wonderland · 26 Jan 2022 at 09:22

jpaul said:
problem I have with crumbling is getting the heat into the crumbs -
after buying whole fuet sausages over christmas and cutting 2mm slices for pizza, I found they don't meld/cook as well as thinner < 1mm slices,
ok - a haggis is less dense

I'd go with crumbling it up and then sprinkling it over.

There used to be a brand of pizza called Cosmos (not lived in Edinburgh for a long time) and they did fresh Haggis pizza.

They would crumble and then sprinkle it over.

touch · 26 Jan 2022 at 14:36

Feek said:
Good luck with that one, I think they're awful, worse than Halls.

It wasn't the greatest haggis I've ever had, not terrible though. I'll need to be more organised next year and get a decent butcher's haggis.

jpaul said:
following the christmas oriented pizza discussion - some thinly sliced haggis as a pizza topping ?

They have haggis pizza in Tesco here - maybe just a Scottish thing though?
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/262048341

Feek · 26 Jan 2022 at 14:41

touch said:
They have haggis pizza in Tesco here - maybe just a Scottish thing though?

Simon Howie haggis on it, urk.

Robzere31 · 27 Jan 2022 at 11:31

Ours was a bog standard one from Tescos this year, whist not as authentic as Im sure it should be it was still lovely.
Took the opportunity to open one of my Christmas presents in the shape of a nice 12 year old malt, which went down rather well