Stokes Sauces: Burns Night - the poetic Haggis


Try Stokes Mustard & Dill Sauce in the soured cream - yum!

Burns Night Suppers

Whether grand or small, Burns Night Suppers celebrate the birth of Robert Burns who was born on 25 January 1759.

Not long after his death on 21 July 1796, Burns enthusiasts around the world began and have continued to celebrate his life and his genius with an evening steeped as much in history as it is in single malt.

More formal evenings get under way with the Selkirk Grace, which is often attributed to Burns but was apparently in use before he was born.

Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae sae the Lord be thankit.

To the Haggis - slangevar

Cullen Skink

Cullen is a fishing town on the Moray Firth, an inlet popular with haddock. Most recipes simply call for smoked haddock, with some adding 'preferably undyed'. Nick Nairn specifies Arbroath smokies - headless, gutted haddock, hot smoked over wood in the traditional fashion. There are theories, but nobody knows for certain where the word 'skink' comes from.

You'll need:

1 onion, diced
2 or 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
300 ml of milk
3 or 4 cloves
1 bay leaf
250 g of smoked haddock
1 tbsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/traditional-condiments

Here's how:

Gently fry the onion in butter for 8 to 10 minutes. We don't want to colour it, just soften it, then stir the mustard into the onions.

Boil the potatoes until they too are soft, drain and set aside.

Put the milk into a pan with the cloves and bay leaf. Bring it up to a gentle simmer and add the smoked haddock for about 5 minutes.

Cool the pan then remove the haddock, keeping the milk but throwing the cloves and bay leaf away. When cool enough to handle, break up the fish, removing the skin and bones.

Add the milk, fish and potatoes to the onions, season and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

The supper continues with a piper playing a stirring lament as he leads the haggis into the dining room to be paraded ceremoniously through the assembled guests as they applaud its arrival with a "slow handclap". Then the chosen member begins the address 'To a Haggis':

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/ketchup-and-sauces

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
   Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
   Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye worthy o' a grace
   As lang's my arm.

...and on until the verse:

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
   An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
   Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
   Warm-reekin, rich!

...the haggis is cut open and the feasting begins.

OR - you could enjoy a nice supper of Haggis, Neeps (swede / turnip) and Mash with...:

'Scottish' Sauce

Try this amazing sauce:

2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
30 ml (or more) of good whisky
150 ml of double cream
2 tsp Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup
1 tsp Stokes Chilli Jam

Soften the onion and stir for 5 minutes then the tomato for a further 2 minutes. Add the whisky, then ignite the alcohol. When the flames subside, stir in the cream, the Chilli Jam and Bloody Mary Ketchup. Reduce the heat, season to taste and simmer for 1 minute to slightly thickened (you might add a nob of butter here to help too).

Here's a Haggis variation one of our Stokes' Friends introduced:

Haggis Bon Bons
with Whisky Marmalade

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/jams-and-marmalade

You'll need:

600g of haggis
2 eggs
150g flour
150g Panko breadcrumbs
350ml vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
150g Stokes Seville Orange Marmalade
35ml good whisky

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/product/jams-and-marmalades/seville-orange-marmalade

Here's how:

Mix together the marmalade and whisky in a pan and heat through to merge the two. Cool and refrigerate until needed. Roll the haggis into 25g balls (or bons bons).

In three separate bowls, place the flour (seasoned), beaten eggs and breadcrumbs Roll the haggis balls in one bowl at a time - flour, egg, panko.

Heat the oil in a pan large enough so that it comes no further than half way up the side. You'll know it's hot enough when you sprinkle a few breadcrumbs in and they begin to sizzle). When the oil is hot, pop the bon bons in for around 2 minutes or until golden brown.