To Haggis or not to Haggis

Well over the memorial day weekend we attended the local Highland Games and Festival at the county fair grounds.  It's been call Scots Fest for sometime now.

We have an annual tradition to attend and always have a good time.
This year as I took too long to get back from the Clan tent my step-mother (a very southern lady) decided to buy some Haggis while watching a band called "Ploughboy".
We'd heard that Haggis is basically just a bunch of oatmeal and chitlets (innards) cooked in a sheep's stomach.  She had something similar as a child so she took the plunge this year.

I'll say I was not overly impressed when I tried it.  Little bit of a nutty flavor, though not down right bad.  I enjoyed the Bangers and Onions and the Fish and Chips much better.  No one tried the meat pies or sausage rolls this year.

I'm including a copy of a recipe I found out there in cyber space so people can know what is included in Haggis

• 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.

http://www.gumbopages.com/food/scottish/haggis.html

or just buy a can here to save all the effort

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We Took in the band "Bad Haggis" while having lunch.  We've enjoyed them in the past, and at one point they even had a Brazilian doing some of their vocals and percussion.
Who can go wrong with a little rock, and bagpipes on overdrive?



I also finally picked up a copy of the CD "Sons of Somerled" by Steve McDonald.  Since my Clan (MacDougall) comes from the senior surviving line of Somerled (Via his second wife) I felt I needed to get a copy of the disc.  On top of that our fairy princess won a signed copy of another disc by the same musician. His music is worth checking out!


We even got to check out a small Norse encampment setup.  Nice people even showed us some weaving.  They could have done a lot more with it though.  That's what you get when use volunteers.




Buaidh - NO - Bas

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