Haggis Neeps & Tatties

[SunshineLollipopsAndRainbows]

I have never tried haggis - what does it taste like? Quite fancy trying the traditional Scottish Burns Night supper, minus the whisky as not really a fan.

Same here. I thought I liked the veggie one until I had a taste of each (both MacSweenies) side by side. Meat one is superior, but both are fine.

I like the tatties properly mashed and the neeps sweetened with carrot, butter, a bit of nutmeg and roughly mashed.

For me it's just an inferior black pudding. Can't stand mash either so a trad Burns Night supper is my idea of food hell. Happy to partake when it comes to the Scotch though.

You would be most welcome! Cocktails at 7:30pm. 🍸 🍸 🍸 🍸 🍸

A few years ago I did a short course about Robbie Burns and his poetry, which was what sparked my interest in celebrating Burns Night.

@Chemenger I'm another one from Aberdeen that doesn't have a clue what Aberdeen sausage is!

Proper haggis is far, far nicer that veggie haggis which is bland and dry in comparison.

Its a bit like black pudding - and if you are ok eating black pudding then you shouldn't have any objection to haggis.

We've just had haggis, neeps and tatties for our tea.

Picked up a haggis scotch egg in M&S today, if you’ve got them down south they are lush, proper runny yolk too. Oh and veggie haggis is a travesty.

I’ll be doing a fry up for Thursday breakfast with Stornaway black pudding, square sausage and FRUIT PUDDING.

To be fair, with a veggie DH I don't have an option. I think the veggie version is perfectly acceptable. It's completely different to actual haggis, but nice enough in its own way.
Going to pig out on cranachan though!

So because I happen to be a vegetarian Scot, I'm not allowed to celebrate Burns night as it would be ridiculous?

I love veggie haggis and normal haggis. The veggie haggis is not a “dupe” of the traditional haggis - it tastes nothing like it but is lovely in its own right.

If having haggis, neeps and tattoos I like having a creamy whisky sauce with it whilst the kids like tomato sauce on the side.

Haggis lasagne, a veggie wellington, use it as stuffing in a chicken breast, instead of stuffing with a roast chicken, for breakfast are some of the ways I use haggis throughout the year.

Exactly my response (after 50 years all over Scotland).

It's meatloaf.
Dusty must be in USA (doesn't recognise freaking tatties, and under the US delusion there's anything squeamish or dangerous in haggis.)

Lol, so nasty!! I think I like you. 😁

Hey, I eat black pudding and that's as much offal as my life needs. I did kinda guess tatties were potatoes ;)

Yep it's like a boiled meatloaf. I've now counted at least 15 people here and in real life, from Aberdeen or at least Scotland who've never heard of this.

I'm guessing when my family emigrated from Ellon to Australia in the 1850's they took this recipe with them, and it's died over there and is barely known of here.

Pfft at calling me an American. That's a 1st!

Chicken stuffed with haggis is called balmoral chicken

That doesn’t even begin to make sense. You’re saying that the entire population of Ellon gave up a “good recipe” but one family in Willywonka, NSW kept it going? 🤔 More like your ggg granny was trying to use up meat and feeling nostalgic and thought “ack baws to this, am making as close to haggis as I can” and her heathen 😉 new family declared “strewth mate! This is the dog’s - write this down will ya Mary?”.

And so the legend of Aberdeen sausage was born.

I usually do it with Orkney clap shot and whisky sauce. We were very fortunate last year as a friend brought his bagpipes to our Burns supper and piped in the haggis. That was pretty special!

Hi Dustyblue. I am intrigued, what is Aberdeen sausage. I am Scottish and I have never heard of this.
I too prefer the vegetarian haggis.

PMSL!

Yes @DressingForRevenge you might not be far wrong there.

Ok here's the story; I wrote this years ago and it is the truth! Somehow the boiled meatloaf survived:

"My family were mixed farmers in Scotland – bit of everything. They were a large family of 9 or so children and their farm couldn’t support them all, so the two oldest brothers, George and John both emigrated to Victoria. John was my direct ancestor.

They arrived in 1851 at the time of the Victorian gold rush. There was a shortage of good farm workers because so many had gone off to look for gold. They did so well that, in 1854 they persuaded the rest of the family to emigrate.

So all the family, mother and siblings (their father wouldn’t come), boarded a brand new ship, the Tayleur in Liverpool. One day out on a three month journey the ship sank in a storm in the Irish sea and everyone was drowned. It was the Titanic of its time.

NOTE FROM GRANDPA- Re the Aberdeen sausage – knead the mixture thoroughly before bagging it so the protein sticks together and bash out any air bubbles once it is in the bag."

Sorry to derail OP!

I'm an omnivore but I prefer the veggie version - preferably with McSween's whisky sauce (don't like whisky but the sauce is lovely.)

@Dustyblue What I can't understand when I'm in Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire is the serving of stovies with beetroot and oatcakes? Is that even an acceptable meal?! And don't get me started on skirlie - almost as bad as grits you get in the southern US states. I do like butteries though.

Yeah Haggis has a black pudding texture . I love haggis I like brown sauce on mine 😋

@Cazziebo I'm the last person to be asking. I only know about Aberdeen Sausage and I've never been to America 😃

For tea tonight I'm making peppers stuffed with (McSween's) haggis with mozzarella on top.

It may not be traditional but what the hell 😁.

Correction MacSween.

@Cazziebo lots of places serve stovies with oatcakes, it's not just Aberdeen, it's pretty traditional. You often see haggis with oatcakes too, if people are just having a wee starter rather than bulking it up with neeps and tatties.

We didn't eat a lot of bread back in the day, iirc. Oats rather than wheat, hence porridge and oatcakes.

I've never seen it with beetroot, though my grandparents (Fifers) put beetroot with everything.

Stovies always came with oatcakes and (pickled) beetroot in school dinners in Aberdeenshire and at home (always with a glass of milk at home). I don't know why other than it's a nice combination. Proper stovies with hunks of beef in them, a nice brown colour, not the insipid, pale goo that they eat in other parts of Scotland made with sausages and goodness knows what. The best stovies I have had in a long time can be found in Celebrations cafe in Turriff. I like skirlie, it is nothing like grits.

I'm in Turra next week, @Chemenger - might call in there!

But nothing will make me like skirlie.... 😖

My mum used to make a steamed meat roll which had a recipe similar to the Aberdeen Sausage one; she was an Aberdonian, but she just called it meat roll.

For what is worth, I love a mealie pudding, and black pudding. Detest meat haggis for the smell.

I will just celebrate with a buttery instead.