Haggis: a traditional Scottish delicacy.

DR. JOE LIPPINCOTT ROCKY COMFORT FARM 810 TOWER RD. ALBURTIS, PA 18011 Here's a recipe from the don't-knock-it-if-you-haven't-tried-it department. Haggis is traditionally made in rural Scotland when a lamb is butchered. It is essentially a type of sausage made from the organ meats of the lamb using the stomach (paunch) as the casing. It can also readily be made from young goats, hogs or deer.

The Scots have a reputation for being frugal, and this dish supports that reputation. Here in Pennsylvania Dutch country, when we butcher a hog, we make scrapple and headcheese or souse, utilizing "everything but the oink." Haggis is a similar concept.

I've enjoyed Haggis in the Shetland Islands (where it's a special dinner treat) and have made it at home in many various forms. Feel free to improvise. It's easy to prepare and it is virtually cost free. The famous Scottish poet Robert Burns referred to it as "the great chieftan o' the pudding race."

Basic recipe:

One lamb stomach
Lamb's tongue, liver, heart, kidneys, and lungs (lights)
2 large onions
1/2 pound oat bran or non-instant meal
Herbs, salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound ground suet (or ground meat)

Wash paunch well and soak overnight in salted water. Wash the organ
meats and boil for 2 or more hours in salted water. Reserve water, cool
and dice the meats, and add chopped suet and onions. Toast the oats in
a dry skillet for a few minutes, and add spices. Mix ingredients well,
moistening with Water from initial cooking. Stuff stomach 2/3 full (to
allow for expansion), sew or tie shut, and boil for three hours. Cool
and slice.