HAGGIS #3

      Title: HAGGIS #3
  Categories: Scottish, Lamb
       Yield: 6 Servings
  
       1    Sheep's stomach, thoroughly
            -cleaned
            The liver, heart, and lights
            -(lungs) of the sheep
       1 lb Beef suet
       2 lg Onions
       2 tb Salt
       1 ts Freshly ground black pepper
     1/2 ts Cayenne or red pepper
     1/2 ts Allspice
       2 lb Dry oatmeal (the
            -old-fashioned, slow-cooking
            -kind)
       2    Or 3 cups broth (in which
            -the liver, heart and lights
            -were
            Cooked)
            Utensils
       4 qt Pot with lid
  
   What you need: Canning kettle or a large spaghetti pot, 16- to 20
   quart size with a lid to fit it Meat grinder Cheesecloth What to do:
   If the butcher has not already cut apart and trimmed the heart, liver
   and lungs, do that first.  It involves cutting the lungs off the
   windpipe, cutting the heart off the large bloodvessels and cutting it
   open to rinse it, so that it can cook more quickly. The liver, too,
   has to be freed from the rest. Put them in a 4-quart pot with 2 to 3
   cups water, bring to a boil, and simmer for about an hour and a half.
   Let it all cool, and keep the broth. Run the liver and heart through
   the meat grinder. Take the lungs and cut out as much of the gristly
   part as you easily can, then run them through the grinder, too. Next,
   put the raw beef suet through the grinder. As you finish grinding
   each thing, put it in the big kettle. Peel, slice and chop the
   onions, then add them to the meat in the kettle. Add the salt and
   spices and mix. The oatmeal comes next, and while it is customary to
   toast it or brown it very lightly in the oven or in a heavy bottomed
   pan on top of the stove, this is not absolutely necessary. When the
   oatmeal has been thoroughly mixed with the rest of it, add the 2 cups
   of the broth left from boiling the meat. See if when you take a
   handful, it sticks together. If it does, do not add the third cup of
   broth. If it is still crumbly and will not hold together very well,
   add the rest of the broth and mix thoroughly. Have the stomach smooth
   side out and stuff it with the mixture, about three-quarters full.
   Sew up the openings. Wrap it in cheesecloth,so that when it is cooked
   you can handle it. Now, wash out the kettle and bring about 2 gallons
   of water to a boil in it. Put in the haggis and prick it all over
   with a skewer so that it does not burst. You will want to do this a
   couple of times early in the cooking span. Boil the haggis gently for
   about 4 or 5 hours. If you did not have any cheesecloth for wrapping
   the haggis, you can use a large clean dishtowel. Work it under with
   kitchen spoons to make a sling with which you can lift out the haggis
   in one piece. You will probably want to wear lined rubber gloves to
   protect your hands from the hot water while you lift it out with the
   wet cloth. (You put the dish cloth in the pot only after the haggis
   is done; you do not cook the towel with the haggis as you would the
   cheesecloth.) Note: Even if the butcher has cleaned the stomach, you
   will probably want to go over it again. Turn the stomach shaggy side
   out and rinse. Rub it in a sinkful of cold water. Change the water
   and repeat as many times as necessary, until the water stays pretty
   clear and handling it does not produce much sediment as the water
   drains out of the sink.
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