Romanian Lamb Haggis Recipes

ROMANIAN LAMB HAGGIS

Steps:

• Grind the innards with the finely chopped raw or slightly fried onion, lard and crustless slice of bread (previously soaked and squeezed dry).
• Add salt, pepper, chopped parsley and dill, chopped green onions, beaten eggs and mix everything well. In a well greased pan, set the washed lamb stomach so as to cover the bottom and sides of the pan with room to spare.
• Arrange the ground meat mixture, cover with the sides of the stomach and bake.
• When ready, turn onto a plate and serve with green lettuce.

NORTH AMERICAN HAGGIS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan.
• In food processor with chopping blade, process together half of the lamb, the liver, water, onion, egg, salt, pepper, sugar, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg until well combined.
• Add the remaining half of the lamb and the oats, process until well combined.
• Spoon lamb mixture into greased pan, pat surface to level.
• Bake 45 to55 minutes or until centre feels firm when gently pressed.
• Cool 5 minutes in pan, unmold onto platter, slice and serve.

HAGGIS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, add Kitchen Bouquet and Pickapeppa to the beef broth.
• Boil the liver (or other organ meat) in this mixture for five minutes.
• Drain and put aside to cool.
• Cut the scrapple (chilled) into thick slabs.
• Boil scrapple in broth for two minutes.
• Drain and put aside.
• Do not discard the remaining broth mixture.
• Toast (broil) the oatmeal in the oven until it all begins to turn a pale brown.
• Grind the liver or organ meat (I recommend using the same method as for the suet, above).
• Mix all the ingredients (except the 2-oz batch of suet) with the seasonings and spices.
• Using your hands, mix thoroughly.
• The objective is to produce a mixture that is thoroughly moist but not wet.
• If your mixture is just a little too dry, add just enough of the remaining broth until a thoroughly moist consistency is achieved.
• If your mixture is very dry (especially if you used lean meats and lots of oats), add some of the remaining ground suet in addition to some broth until a thoroughly moist consistency is achieved.
• Cut the sausage casing into 12-inch strips.
• Stuff the haggis mixture into each strip of sausage casing.
• It is CRITICAL that you leave 2 1/2 to 3 inches at both ends unfilled.
• This is absolutely necessary to allow the oats room to swell during the cooking process.
• Leave the ends of the casings open- do not tie or otherwise close them.
• Place the haggises in a steamer and cover and steam them for three hours.
• If you do not have sausage casings, thoroughly and heavily grease the top pan of your steamer (preferably with shortening).
• Place the haggis mixture in the pan, but make sure you leave ample space for swelling during cooking.
• I suggest only filling the pan about 2/3 full.
• If your steamer does not have a vented lid, cover the pan with greaseproof paper and a cloth.
• Steam the mixture for three hours.
• Repeat the cooking process with any remaining mixture.
• In Scotland, the traditional way to serve haggis is piping hot (on warm plates) with mashed potatoes and mashed yellow turnips-"tatties and neeps", as they are called in Scotland- and to give the meal a truly Scottish flavour, I recommend serving a glass of single malt whiskey along with it.
• The cooked haggis may be refrigerated or frozen.
• I like to slice cold haggis and heat it through in a DRY frying pan until golden brown on both sides.
• I serve fried haggis with poached eggs for breakfast, and also with chips (chips= French fries) for lunch.

MOCK HAGGIS

Steps:

• Boil the liver in water for 5 minutes.
• Toast the oatmeal in a frying pan until it turns a light golden colour.
• Peel and chop the onions and mince the liver.
• Mix ingredients together and add some of the water in which the liver has been boiled.
• Add seasonings.
• Mixture should be thoroughly moist but not wet.
• Place ingredients into top of a large double boiler, and place over boiling water.
• Cover and steam for 3 hours.
• Mock haggis is good cold, then sliced and heated up by frying. Serve with mashed potatoes or as the Scots say 'tatties and neeps' (turnips and potatoes).