For Auld Lang Syne

The Haggis is eaten and a toast to all is said. Though my Scots blood is as thin as a teetotallers dram I have eaten haggis on almost every burns night since I was a child, though it remains a hearty treat throughout the year.

This "great chieftain o' the puddin-race" is hearty fare during the winter months being a spicy alternative to a pie or stew. Many haggis now have an artificial case rather than the traditional sheep's stomach and will consist of varying amounts of oats, suet, pluck (heart, liver and lungs), salt, pepper and spices. I prefer to boil rather than roast my haggis and eat it with mashed swedes, potatoes and a whiskey laden onion gravy.

So, think of the haggis as a spicy meatloaf or oversized sausage, take your sacrificial dirk in hand and strike, allowing "gushing entrails bricht" to fall upon your plate.