Mains · By James
Haggis Towers — Scottish Gourmet for the Allan Clan
A 2014 New York trip was the beginning of a Robbie Burns tradition in our family (it happened after Cam and Joc were no longer at home, so they haven't been a part of it). Always intrigued with ethnic fare, I ordered a haggis tower for an appetizer in a Scottish pub close to Times Square. It was amazing, covered in Scotch whisky gravy! Sharon didn't try the haggis that first time, feeling the same antipathy for the idea of haggis that most non-Scottish people seem to harbor. Undaunted, I continued my quest for the best haggis/tatties (potatoes)/neeps (turnips) when we went to Scotland in 2016. I was not disappointed, with every restaurant/pub doing their own version of the wonderfully-spiced haggis and richly flavored Scottish potatoes and turnips. Traditionally, this tasty triumvirate is served in three separate mounds, covered in whisky gravy, although in two places they had developed their own haggis "towers," where the three are put into a mold in separate layers. This striking presentation was the modern gourmet version, only found in fancier places. Mom tried the haggis several times, warming to it, finding the haggis milder in flavor than she had expected, essentially a rich sausage. Fast forward to the first Robbie Burns Day after returning from Scotland, when we wanted to honor that Scottish poet-laureate who was such a proponent of humanistic liberalism in the 18th century Enlightenment. The menu could be nothing else but haggis/tatties/neeps, with Burns' poem "Address to a Haggis" leading into the meal. That first Robbie Burns celebration, with some good bagpipe music and our own version of haggis towers, became a yearly festivity. It's been enjoyed by many friends over the years, and we have fun honoring the Alan/Allan/McAllan heritage of Mom's family. Those who can, wear tartan to the gathering. We were able to source our haggis from a Medicine Hat butcher (Mike Steiner of Mike's Meats), who had for many years prided himself on being the main supplier of homemade haggis to all of southern Alberta, with even the Suffield military base and a Calgary Scottish cultural club sourcing his haggis for their Robbie Burns celebrations. It is excellent, with the perfect traditional combination of spices (lots of thyme), onion and oatmeal, ground beef/lamb, and ground lamb kidneys, heart and liver, all stuffed into natural cow intestine. It may sound strong with the intestinal meats, but everyone really enjoys it, a testament to thrifty Scottish ingenuity in creating a tasty sausage that used most parts of the animal, adding oats to extend the meat!
Ingredients
Haggis
- 2 haggis in cow intestine or sheep stomach — medium size, about 750 g (Mike's Meats)
Potatoes (mashed)
- 8 medium-sized potatoes, boiled and mashed with butter, cream/milk, salt, and lots of slivered green onion added at the end. Make them fairly stiff or they will be too squishy to work with when building the towers. Prep ahead so they are completely cooled — chilling in fridge a bit is recommended, so they are quite firm.
Turnips (mashed) — called rutabaga in the US
- 3 large rutabaga (peeled and sliced into about 8–10 strips per rutabaga)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp milk (don't want mix too thin, or it will sag in the assembled towers)
- 3 tbsp yogurt
- 4 tbsp butter
Scotch-Whisky Gravy
- 5 tbsp butter
- 5 tbsp flour
- Fresh ground pepper — lots (3–4 tsp)
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ purple onion — very finely diced
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- ½ cup Scotch whisky
- 3 cups beef broth (chicken can work)
- 2 tsp seaweed salt (can use equivalent sea salt)
- 2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp carrot juice
Haggis
- 1
Submerge the haggis in boiling water (reduce heat right away, and put lid part way on), and adjust heat to allow for a gentle simmer (usually just above low). Cook for roughly 60 minutes or until internal temp is 150°F — this will depend on the size of your haggis (use insta-read thermometer).
- 2
Remove from water and cool haggis in the sink for a bit. Then cut open and scrape inside sausage into a glass bowl, ready to assemble into towers. Allow to cool.
Turnips
- 1
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- 2
Peel the rutabaga, cut it in half, then cut each piece in half again and continue cutting lengthwise so you end up with thick wedges.
- 3
Combine the maple syrup, oil, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir thoroughly.
- 4
Place the rutabaga pieces in a large bowl, pour over the maple mixture and stir until evenly coated.
- 5
Arrange pieces on baking sheet and spread evenly — roast for 40 minutes (or until golden and fully cooked), turning once halfway through cooking.
- 6
Remove from oven, combine with rest of ingredients and puree in food processor until smooth (do while hot — easier). Mash must then be chilled before assembling towers.
Scotch-Whisky Gravy
- 1
Melt butter in non-stick pan, sprinkle flour into butter, and mix together thoroughly with whisk. On medium-low heat, begin simmering mixture.
- 2
While simmering, add pepper, garlic, diced onion, dried thyme, and stir fry the mixture for about 10 minutes, until flour begins to brown and becomes golden.
- 3
Add whisky and stir around to combine with flour mixture, and allow to cook for a few minutes to burn off the alcohol (gets rid of bitterness and leaves behind the rich, smoky scotch flavor).
- 4
Add broth, salt, red-wine vinegar and carrot juice, and bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer until desired consistency (coats a spoon).
- 5
Check for flavor — add more seaweed salt if needed.
Assembling the Towers
- 1
Assemble towers using a sleeve — a cut open tin can, using the tin lid as a plunger. Choose a 680 ml sized can (any bigger, and the towers become too big/wide, tending to sag). Open the can with the kind of opener that cuts out the lid only — save this lid (careful, it's sharp). Then use the other kind of opener, the kind that cuts around the outside, to cut off both ends. You now have a cylinder with clean openings top and bottom. Clean and dry the can and the saved lid.
- 2
For each tower, oil the inside of the can (dip a paper towel into olive oil and rub around the inside, and on one side of the lid).
- 3
Put down a square of parchment paper (about 20 × 20 cm) as the base on which you will assemble each tower. Oil this parchment before each tower is assembled on it (wipe it clean after each tower and re-oil).
- 4
Measure out ¾ cup of the cooked haggis, stuff into the can and pack down in the bottom using the lid (once packed, get the lid out with the sharp tip of a knife, prying it up along the outside edge).
- 5
Do the same for the chilled mashed turnips, and then the same for the chilled mashed potatoes. Pack all 3 layers solidly and evenly — helpful for smoothly pushing the tower out of the can at the end.
- 6
Once all 3 layers are packed in, use the lid to push out the tower very carefully — slowly lift the can up with one hand as you push the lid down into the can to release the tower.
- 7
Rinse the can and lid, dry them, re-oil thoroughly and repeat. There should be enough ingredients to make 12 towers, with a little leftover of each ingredient.
- 8
Transfer each tower from the oiled parchment to a parchment-lined baking sheet using a fairly thin server (keep in mind the spacing needed to fit 12 towers — a 16 × 22 inch pan is great, but you can get by with 13 × 18).
- 9
Once all 12 towers are placed, use the tines of a fork to gently "tuft" up the top of the potato on each tower. This creates little peaks and ridges that will brown and look very striking.
- 10
If a tower comes out a little off-center, or the turnip layer squishes out a bit, it's easily cleaned up with a table knife or thin spatula — scrape around the tower and straighten it if need be.
- 11
Bake for 15 minutes at 400°F (convection) — if desired, broil for a couple of minutes at the end to brown the potato on top.
- 12
Serve with a generous topping of whisky gravy that drizzles down the sides and onto the plate.
A note from James
Prep the potatoes and turnips ahead of time so they are completely cooled and chilled quite stiff — this is necessary for successfully assembling the towers. Drink/wine pairing: you can sip on Scotch with this one — goes beautifully, but you may not easily get up from the table when done. A lovely wine pairing is an oaky red of any description; we usually have a Beronia Reserva Rioja, whose noticeable oakiness pairs with the Scotch gravy.
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