Haggis is a funny thing. Providing you lie (or at least avoid saying anything) about what it contains, you’ll find that almost everyone who tries it absolutely loves it. However, mention the list of ingredients, and you’ll find most people run away from it, screaming.
I’ve always loved the stuff and, since I started buying it from Borough Market, I’m enjoying it even more. Goon is a recent convert too, so I frequently pick one up on my Friday shopping trips. The only problem is that my eyes have always been bigger than my stomach and I’ll inevitably buy a haggis that is far too large.
This happened to me last week. I picked up a big haggis which we had that evening in the traditional style with creamed potatoes and swede (I couldn’t find any turnips.)
That left about a third of a haggis to use up. It could have been enough for just one for dinner but, since Goon is now a permanent resident of my flat, it made much more sense to combine it with something else to create a meal for two. I thought of haggis stuffed chicken breasts but there was one problem with that. Chicken breasts are usually sold skinned and the skin is my favourite bit.
Luckily I found that Whole Foods in Kensington is one of the few places around that sell supremes of chicken. When I was at school, I always thought that a chicken supreme was a dish of chicken gristle coated in a dodgy ‘white wine and mushroom sauce’ that was more like milk thickened with cornflour. I didn’t find out it was also a cut (the breast plus the wing with skin attached) until I started visiting farmers markets and came across supremes of guinea fowl. I haven’t seen this cut of chicken anywhere except in Whole Foods, which is a real shame.
My supremes came from nice plump corn fed birds and were a good thickness for stuffing. I cut a pocket in each breast and stuffed it with my haggis (and a little black pudding because I like it). Then came the fun bit.
I wanted to wrap my supremes in bacon so that the meat would encase its stuffing tightly. But how could I do this without covering the skin? I decided to use my trick for stuffing the skins of whole birds.
The skin on the supreme could in theory easily be removed by just cutting it off with a sharp knife. Instead, I used my knife to loosen the middle portion of the skin whilst leaving the left and right sections attached to the meat. Then I slipped my finger under the skin to lift the middle bit of the skin away from the meat, then pushed the bacon between the loose skin and the meat. After that, I could carefully wrap the bacon around the supreme so it covered the opening to the stuffing.
The dark bit on the right hand side is the now very crispy chicken skin, still on the supreme, with the bacon wrapping beneath it. I suppose I could have roasted the skin seperately, but that wouldn’t have been so much fun, would it? 
The liquid over and around the supreme is a whisy cream sauce (just single cream and whisky reduced with a touch of worcestershire sauce) . There are also some steamed green beans and a porcini mushroom risotto.
And just in case you didn’t believe me about the haggis and black pudding stuffing, here it is inside the chicken breast.
This meal was rather too much food for two people so we had leftovers from our leftovers meal. :/ But I enjoyed the meat in a sandwich the next day and the risotto will probably be made into arancini. That is, if it lasts that long!
Haggis is a funny thing. Providing you lie (or at least avoid saying anything) about what it contains, you’ll find that almost everyone who tries it absolutely loves it. However, mention the list of ingredients, and you’ll find most people run away from it, screaming.
I’ve always loved the stuff and, since I started buying it from Borough Market, I’m enjoying it even more. Goon is a recent convert too, so I frequently pick one up on my Friday shopping trips. The only problem is that my eyes have always been bigger than my stomach and I’ll inevitably buy a haggis that is far too large.
This happened to me last week. I picked up a big haggis which we had that evening in the traditional style with creamed potatoes and swede (I couldn’t find any turnips.)
That left about a third of a haggis to use up. It could have been enough for just one for dinner but, since Goon is now a permanent resident of my flat, it made much more sense to combine it with something else to create a meal for two. I thought of haggis stuffed chicken breasts but there was one problem with that. Chicken breasts are usually sold skinned and the skin is my favourite bit.
Luckily I found that Whole Foods in Kensington is one of the few places around that sell supremes of chicken. When I was at school, I always thought that a chicken supreme was a dish of chicken gristle coated in a dodgy ‘white wine and mushroom sauce’ that was more like milk thickened with cornflour. I didn’t find out it was also a cut (the breast plus the wing with skin attached) until I started visiting farmers markets and came across supremes of guinea fowl. I haven’t seen this cut of chicken anywhere except in Whole Foods, which is a real shame.
My supremes came from nice plump corn fed birds and were a good thickness for stuffing. I cut a pocket in each breast and stuffed it with my haggis (and a little black pudding because I like it). Then came the fun bit.
I wanted to wrap my supremes in bacon so that the meat would encase its stuffing tightly. But how could I do this without covering the skin? I decided to use my trick for stuffing the skins of whole birds.
The skin on the supreme could in theory easily be removed by just cutting it off with a sharp knife. Instead, I used my knife to loosen the middle portion of the skin whilst leaving the left and right sections attached to the meat. Then I slipped my finger under the skin to lift the middle bit of the skin away from the meat, then pushed the bacon between the loose skin and the meat. After that, I could carefully wrap the bacon around the supreme so it covered the opening to the stuffing.
The dark bit on the right hand side is the now very crispy chicken skin, still on the supreme, with the bacon wrapping beneath it. I suppose I could have roasted the skin seperately, but that wouldn’t have been so much fun, would it? The liquid over and around the supreme is a whisy cream sauce (just single cream and whisky reduced with a touch of worcestershire sauce) . There are also some steamed green beans and a porcini mushroom risotto.
And just in case you didn’t believe me about the haggis and black pudding stuffing, here it is inside the chicken breast.
This meal was rather too much food for two people so we had leftovers from our leftovers meal. :/ But I enjoyed the meat in a sandwich the next day and the risotto will probably be made into arancini. That is, if it lasts that long!
Well that just looks… supreme!
Comment by Schmoofaloof — July 19, 2007 @ 12:46 pm
That looks great - I think haggis and chicken go pretty well together.
Left-over haggis (or just haggis) is also a nice stuffing for mushrooms.
One point, however, is on the turnip/swede thing - what I (an Englishman) call a swede, my wife (a Scotswoman) calls a turnip. So when she talks about “neeps and tatties”, she’s talking swede and potato.
Comment by Richard — July 19, 2007 @ 12:53 pm
That looks just awesome! I’ve only had haggis once, in Scotland of course.. and I adored it. Of course, I am inclined to love anything weird and wonderful =)
I am always so impressed with your innovation in the kitchen!! I would never have thought to use leftover haggis as stuffing! =D Now I am rethinking what to do with the leftover pork pie stuffing I have! =)
Mmm… black pudding… gosh I wish we could get that here!!
Comment by Lea — July 19, 2007 @ 2:20 pm
I am hesitant. I had haggis before and am not sure about it… though I think I’ll take your word on this.
Comment by Garrett — July 19, 2007 @ 6:31 pm
I studied at St. Andrews in Scotland and fell in love with haggis, neeps and tatties there! If only it were more easy to come by here in Chicago!
Comment by Amanda — July 20, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
I’m from the North East originally, not that you’d be able to tell from my Surrey accent now (we moved when I was 7 and they took the piss out of me at school for having a ‘Scottish’ accent, that was infact a Geordie accent.) Anyway I digress. I used to call swede, turnip too. I love cold leftover haggis straight from the fridge and I also like it fried alongside bacon and eggs for breakfast, with runny yolk - it’s really good. Cardiac arrest inducing, but good.
Comment by Amanda (Little Foodies) — July 20, 2007 @ 6:59 pm
Uh….hmmmm…..haggis
I’ll take your word for it that it’s terrific. Only your word, though
Comment by Kate — July 20, 2007 @ 11:40 pm
Wow - that looks terrific Ros! I have only had haggis a couple of times and although I was not repulsed, I can’t way I was gagging for more either. But now black pudding is a whole different story - I adore it! And I love th idea of stuffing chicken with it, not to mention the bacon and the whisky sauce. Aaaarrrgh! Hungry again!
Comment by Jeanne — July 20, 2007 @ 11:51 pm
I’ve always wondered what Haggis would taste like, but I’m not sure I could ever get myself to try it! Maybe someday if we were to visit in your neck of the woods!
Comment by Joe — July 23, 2007 @ 2:38 am
Hey Amanda - I’m an old St Andrews geezer too…
Comment by Richard — July 24, 2007 @ 8:58 am
Thanks, Schmoof. I was rather pleased with it.
I never knew that Richard. I realised that turnips and swede are very similar, which is why I substituted swede, but I didn’t know I was using the traditional item all along. I like the mushroom stuffign idea. I’ll inevitably have left over haggis again at some point, so I’ll try it.
Hi Lea, pork pie stuffed chicken? Now there’s an idea! You know, I’d swap you your lobsters for some black pudding if you wanted!
Hi Amanda, I bet you got some great haggis at St Andrews. I think I pay a little over the odds for it down in London, but its worth it to avoid the crummy supermarket versions.
Hi Amanda. So the turnip-swede confusion goes all the way down to Geordieland, then?
To be honest I don’t think I’veever had a turnip. I wonder if I could even tell the difference. That breakfast sounds fab. I did try frying up haggis once. I hoped it would stay in a little cake. But it didn’t 
Maybe next time I’ll bind it then fry it for breakfast.
Hi Garrett. There is a big difference in quality between different manufacturers of haggis. I was also fairly ambivalent about it until I switched away from the ones we have in supermarkets. It made a massive difference. ANyhow, it can’t hurt to try it again if you get the chance.
Hi Kate. Give it a go! Seriously. It’s good!
Hi Jeanne. Goon actually refuses to eat black pudding. The only way I got him to eat it was in this stuffing, because I didn’t tell him it was there. He seemed to like it but still refuses to eat it now if it is undisguised.
Hi Joe. It’s not so bad, really. It’s only lambs lungs now- nothing more dodgy than that.
Comment by ros — July 28, 2007 @ 7:23 pm
so sorry i have never tried haggis before so you can imajine how i feel about those pictures. the sight repulses me but i am not in denial i would prbably find it most appatising.
Comment by bonnie — November 14, 2007 @ 10:31 pm
Sounds delicious, I’m from Aberdeen in scotland and looking for something to make
with the haggis I have in the fridge. Sounds like a good scottish new year recipe
as I’ve plenty of leftover haggis and plenty of whisky, although I might use drambuie
for the sauce instead to give it a sweeter flavour. Cheers.
Comment by Steve Ritchie — January 2, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
what in God’s blue heaven would one (you) serve for desert after a haggis?
Lucille
Comment by Lucille — January 9, 2009 @ 5:07 am
That’s a good question Lucille, I think I’d go for something relatively light because haggics is so heavy. Perhaps a light baked white chocolate cheesecake with some whisky in the base and a little bit of dark chocolate sauce? or mousse to keep it totally light and palate cleansing.
Comment by ros — January 10, 2009 @ 12:06 pm
Having got here via Google, looking for things to do with left-over haggis (thanks!): one traditional Scottish dessert I’ve had after haggis is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranachan
Comment by Jane — January 26, 2009 @ 8:04 am