Meaty Girl (December 12, 2008)
"Blood, or "black" pudding -- that crusty, congealed animal blood dish so popular in England -- used to be on the menu at the George & Dragon, the Valley's celebrated British pub. The term 'blood sausage' is British, referring to a sausage made by cooking blood with a filler (usually meat, fat, bread, or potatoes) until the blood becomes thick and coagulates as it cools. It's a typical part of a traditional breakfast in the U.K. and the basis for a variety of sausages throughout Europe.
"But alas, the...."
My mouth waters, just reading about blood pudding and blood sausage: but then, my ancestors developed - and willingly ate - haggis.
Speaking of Haggis -
If you life in America, you may find it difficult to find haggis. For some reason, there's little demand for the delectable combination of sheep's lung and other organs, suet, oatmeal, and other ingredients: all stuffed into a sheep's stomach and simmered.On top of that, the USDA doesn't allow haggis to be imported. They think it's unfit for human consumption. It's probably because of the lungs. Since 1971, lungs have been banned in America. Someone found "stomach contents, lesions and bacteria" in lungs, it seems. (USA Today (January 28, 2008))
Following that logic, pork, beef, chicken, lettuce, and practically everything else human beings eat should be banned, too: but that's a whole different topic.
So, for those people out there who might consider eating something besides McBurgers or tofu, here's a page with a little bit about haggis, and two recipes:
One of the recipes is for real haggis.
The other is a pale imitation, quite legal to make here in America, and which may give a person some vague glimmer of what haggis actually tastes like.
As a law-abiding American citizen, I certainly do not advocate violating this country's regulations. So, if you live in America: be a nice citizen, and eat what the USDA tells you to.
Or, if you're blessed to live in, or visit, Scotland, have some real haggis.
1 comment:
Lung is banned by the USDA?? Man, and here I was hoping to make some real honest to goodness haggis. I had some when I went to Scotland for a bit and it was really good. A little too much pepper for my taste, but good.
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