A good Scotch Haggis.—(No. 488*.)
Make the haggis-bag perfectly clean; parboil the draught; boil the liver very well, so as it will grate; dry the meal before the fire; mince the draught and a pretty large piece of beef very small; grate about half of the liver; mince plenty of the suet and some onions small; mix all these materials very well together, with a handful or two of the dried meal; spread them on the table, and season them[306] properly with salt and mixed spices; take any of the scraps of beef that are left from mincing, and some of the water that boiled the draught, and make about a choppin (i. e. a quart) of good stock of it; then put all the haggis meat into the bag, and that broth in it; then sew up the bag; but be sure to put out all the wind before you sew it quite close. If you think the bag is thin, you may put it in a cloth. If it is a large haggis, it will take at least two hours boiling.
N.B. The above we copied verbatim from Mrs. Maciver. a celebrated Caledonian professor of the culinary art, who taught, and published a book of cookery, at Edinburgh, A. D. 1787.
Minced Collops.
“This is a favourite Scotch dish; few families are without it: it keeps well, and is always ready to make an extra dish.
“Take beef, and chop and mince it very small; to which add some salt and pepper. Put this, in its raw state, into small jars, and pour on the top some clarified butter. When intended for use, put the clarified butter into a frying-pan, and slice some onions into the pan, and fry them. Add a little water to it, and then put in the minced meat. Stew it well, and in a few minutes it will be fit to serve up.”—The Hon. John Cochrane’s Seaman’s Guide, 8vo. 1797, page 42.