A Fine Haggis by Chris Cheney

Ingredients
1 lamb's stomach
The “Pluck”, that is: the heart, lungs and liver of a lamb
2 lamb kidneys
5 lbs. finely chopped lamb
2 pounds hulled pin oats
4 medium onions
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. Salt
½ tsp. rosemary
½ tsp. thyme

Directions
Thoroughly clean the stomach, rinse with vinegar, and scald in a pot of boiling water for a minute or so.  Scrape the inside stomach lining completely away and rinse in cold water. Leave the stomach inside out for stuffing it.

Cover the oats with water and let them soak overnight, drain away the oat liquor and save it for making Atholl Brose. Then spread the swollen oats on a sheet iron pan and toast them just a bit in a fairly hot oven.

Boil the kidneys well, changing the water twice. When they cool a bit chop them fine, into ¼ inch bits.

Chop the heart, the meat, and 1/3 liver chop very fine (slice the remaining 2/3s of the liver very thin and fry in butter as a particularly tasty treat to enjoy while you’re preparing the rest of the ingredients)

Boil the lungs as well, taking care to hang the trachea over the side of the kettle, let them cool and also chop fine, taking care to remove the large veins and airways. I find that I usually end up with about half of what I started with.

Mince the garlic fine, and chop the onions well; you can use more or less to suit your taste. The same is true for the salt and pepper; for myself I would prefer a bit more pepper than this, but I am very fond of pepper. The same goes for the rosemary and thyme.

In a very large bowl mix it all together very well, and stuff it in the stomach, leaving about a fourth of the stomach for expansion. Then sew up the stomach, or tie it off like a sack, and carefully set it in a kettle large enough to cover it with water. Boil for 3 hours, checking occasionally to be sure that it is well covered with water. A heavy earthenware dish set on top of the haggis will help keep it under the water. A well fitting lid will help to keep the water from boiling away.

When it is done, carefully drain away the water and lay the kettle on its side and slide/roll the haggis onto a sturdy trencher. As the piper plays an auld Scottish tune, present the haggis to the table that is already burdened with the weight of game of all kinds; fish from the lakes, hunters’ delicacies, and of course tatties (potatoes) and neeps (turnips). Enjoy!