A Night with Haggis

Like a kid leading up to their first day of school I was filled with a reserved excitement. Trying something for the first time, and finally deciding to go for it. As I called from location to location attempting to gather my ingredients, even having to research some intensively, coming up empty on every call.

As a new salesman often faces rejection but remains vigilant in their search for their first signed deal I continued to pick up the phone and dial those numbers. Eventually I did get an answer, not ideal, but good enough to move forward on my quest.

This Thursday is Robbie Burns day. A Scottish holiday that does have some shoots in North America but far from the blatant commercial appeal of St. Patricks’ day. An evening that can consist of the arts, professional or amateur, poetry readings, a good drink or two and a food that was good enough for a poem; haggis.

After numerous calls I was able to locate a local shop that produced haggis. At first I set out to actually produce my own however the experience of trying a dish before attempting to tackle it on your own is sound advice, most of the time. So there I was, eyeing the counter with offerings of sliced haggis, small haggis, and large ones as well. After a brief back and forth I decided I would go with the small one, I knew after all this would be only for myself.  So there I was, haggis in hand and the excitement began to settle in.

Then the great night was upon me, I began by setting the pot of water on the stove and awaiting a boil. As I dropped the ball of beef, oats, fat and spices all held by its casing the enthusiasm began to rise. An hour or so later it was ready. I was going to actually try (the closest thing I could find to) authentic haggis.

My first bites were, in a word, disappointing. The bland, odd flavour did not entice me but I continued on. As I dug deeper into what lay in front of me the flavours began to open up. Still not something I would fall in love with however there was a sense that the dish would have some life. As I continued on I began to ask myself what it was that I disliked so much about the dish. Then it hit me, the combination of meat with oats! I had once before attempted a similar mixture with canned corned beef while writing about wartime recipes, and similarly did not care for the combination.

Not enthralled with the dish I was happy to have tried it. Someone like me has to be adventurous at times, willing to try new things and experience new dishes. I would never know what a joy it is to eat lasagna if I was not open to exploring new foods. Will I be open to trying another offering of haggis? Yes, but not from there.

The moral of the story here folks is to try new things. Explore those dishes that interest you. Some will be better than others but the only way to know if you like something is to try it, more than once, from a range of sources. Have you ever followed a recipe only to find that it didn’t work out? There are times when you can get away with saying I do not like that, but why is the bigger question.   As with everything in life we learn as we go. Our likes, dislikes and lifelong passions are all based upon trying something and assessing them from our own observations. If an opportunity arises, I say take it. You may enjoy it, you may not; but it was an experience, and noone can take that away from you. I hope you have enjoyed coming along with me for my first experience with haggis.