Haggis

Makes three, each fit for 4–6 people. 11 steps

1 ox bung	soak overnight, then rinse well, turn inside out, rinse well, turn inside out again.					Spoon filling into bung. Make sure there is space for expansion—otherwise the haggis will split as the oats absorb liquid and the bung contracts. Expel any extra air, pinch shut, and tie it with kitchen string super tight. Make another tie about 2cm further up, and cut in between the two strings. (If you cut too close to the knot, the knot might slip off.) Continue stuffing the next two haggises.	Pierce the haggis a few times with a sharp needle. Place in a pan of cold water, and slowly bring to the boil. Simmer for 1.5–2 hours, depending on the thickness of the haggis, piercing it further during the cooking if it looks like air pressure is building up. When you are ready to eat, insert a thermometer into the centre and check it reads at least 74°C.
cold water		Place pluck in a stock pot and cover with cold water. The lungs float, so either fill the pot completely and cover it with a lid, or weigh the lungs down with something heavy. Bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 2 hours, skimming the surface regularly.	Strain liquid through a fine sieve. Return to stove and reduce down to 1 litre of liquid. Leave to cool.		Mix together
1 lamb's pluck (heart, lungs, liver) ≈1.4kg	rinse well in cold water; trim off any large pieces of fat; discard windpipe		Remove the meat, rinse in cold water to remove any scum, then set aside to cool	Grind pluck, trimmings and suet in a meat grinder
500g beef or lamb trimmings, or stewing meat
200g suet
500g coarse oatmeal i.e. pinhead oats				Mix together
2 tablespoons ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground mace
4 teaspoons ground coriander
4 teaspoons salt

If the haggis skin does split during cooking, very quickly remove from the whole haggis from the pan, wrap tightly in foil, and simmer the parcel in an inch or two of water to continue cooking.

If lungs are illegal, use tongue. If lamb pluck is unavailable, use sheep or pig or cow. If you don't want to use trimmings, you can replace them with 250g suet.

To test seasoning before stuffing, fry some of the mixture for 2–3 minutes in a little oil. The oats will be crunchy, but they'll soften during boiling.