Haggis... fried?

**TheBrus** · 27th January 12, 12:02 PM

I read a tidbit on BBC World News website that claims more haggis is consumed in England than in Scotland. Possibly. I was quite interested in the photograph of haggis (the inside). I've had haggis only once, and it was okay--the flavor reminded me of a Burger King hamburger. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has tried frying haggis--like a hamburger. How did it turn out?

Here's a link to the article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddr...han-Scots.html

**creagdhubh** · 27th January 12, 12:04 PM

I haven't, and I don't think I ever will. Did Paula Dean invent it?

Cheers,

**madmacs** · 27th January 12, 12:15 PM

I tend to avoid anything with liver in...

Battered and deep fried haggis is common in scottish fish and chip shops... I cant recall sliced haggis being fried though... I dont think it would stick together without the skin...

If yours tasted like hamburger it doesnt sound like it was a traditional haggis recipe...

**TheBrus** · 27th January 12, 12:49 PM

Remember, I'm in Iowa. It might well have been hamburger.
:food-smiley-002:

**Laird_M** · 27th January 12, 01:05 PM

I have, once, had fried haggis and I have to say

Its not something I intend to repeat, EVER!

Aside from being sacrelige to ruin a top class McSweens haggis, I'll have mine the traditional way, although I'd not want to have to cook the latest offering from The Blackface Meat Company, The Chieftan, 3Kgs of haggis - I've heard it'll feed 20 Scots or 40 Englishmen.

http://www.blackface.co.uk/products_detail.asp?prod=34

**Ogden_Piper** · 27th January 12, 01:44 PM

I was in a Pub in Glasgow last Aug and had an order of deep fried Haggis Nuggets with a side of some kind of Peppercorn sauce.. they were AWESOME.. really tasty!! I'd eat them again if i could get some in the states

**Tobus** · 27th January 12, 01:47 PM

I cant recall sliced haggis being fried though... I dont think it would stick together without the skin...

I'm thinking the same thing. I don't see how it would hold together like a hamburger patty unless it had a breading on the outside (and were deep-fried). Or possibly if you mixed an egg into it, it could hold together like a meat-loaf. But plain old haggis would likely not survive as a patty without aid of some sort.

That said, I have pan-fried haggis before. It was leftover from a traditional meal, and I wanted to have it with breakfast. So I pan-fried it with a little oil, tossing it all about and keeping it loose, then added some diced onion, and finally scrambled some eggs with it. The entire concoction went onto a tortilla and became a Scots-inspired breakfast taco.

**Ryan Ross** · 27th January 12, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Tobus

I'm thinking the same thing. I don't see how it would hold together like a hamburger patty unless it had a breading on the outside (and were deep-fried). Or possibly if you mixed an egg into it, it could hold together like a meat-loaf. But plain old haggis would likely not survive as a patty without aid of some sort.

That said, I have pan-fried haggis before. It was leftover from a traditional meal, and I wanted to have it with breakfast. So I pan-fried it with a little oil, tossing it all about and keeping it loose, then added some diced onion, and finally scrambled some eggs with it. The entire concoction went onto a tortilla and became a Scots-inspired breakfast taco.

Bingo. Pan fried with some extras, and either scramble some eggs in with it, or eat it with a couple of fried eggs on the side. Breakfast of champions.

In fact, I imagine that'll be breakrast on Sunday.

I've always wanted to try deep fried haggis, but have never been somewhere that served it, and have not yet gone ahead and made it myself.

**Joshua** · 27th January 12, 02:01 PM

Deep fried haggis seems to be one of the only ways I ever find it at the games here, they literally scoop out some haggis with an ice cream scoop, and deep-fry it...

That being said, "Haggis Balls" - a dish with a rather unfortunate name, involves turning crumbly haggis into a batter with some flour and egg... then deep frying the result.

I've had the Cajun equivalent, Boudin Balls (boudin is a pork liver sausage with rice filler) and it is fantastic.

Then again, I'm a Offal kinda guy. Our Burns supper this year featured minced beef cooked with oatmeal to stand in for the Haggis and I believe my comment was "I think they just punched a baby in face."

**amac27** · 27th January 12, 02:03 PM

Haggis parcels in filou pastry or something similar, often with a creamy sauce on the side, have been popular in high end restaurants in Edinburgh for years. There is also a kind of haggis, neeps and tatties layer cake approach to serving haggis that works very well.
Haggis would also be an interesting ingredient in a frittata. Any kind of sausage - chorizo, salami, black pudding etc works well with eggs for breakfast and I can't see why haggis wouldn't work too. However, I would echo other posters in saying that haggis is a lot more likely to crumble and would therefore need a binding agent such as egg to maintain the structural integrity of a patty/burger. Note that different haggis recipes have very different textures and flavours. Different levels of spice and oatmeal content will result in more or less successful outcomes depending on what you are trying to do with your haggis.