Alistair Bruce, who trades as Bruce of the Broch in Fraserburgh, Scotland, shown with his Scottish Craft Butchers Award-winning haggis cupcakes.Graeme Hart
When Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote Address to a Haggis more than 200 years ago, he meant it as an ode to the cherished food that has become Scotland’s national dish, and an acquired taste for many.
Today the spicy meat is more popular than ever with sales up 36 per cent at Scotland’s biggest haggis maker and exports surging to faraway places such as Canada, the United States, Singapore, Dubai and across Europe. And the meat dish is no longer confined to Robbie Burns Day on Jan. 25, when Scots around the world celebrate the poet’s birth with a recitation of the poem, a shot of whisky and haggis with “neeps and tatties” (turnip and mashed potato). It’s now eaten year round and served in a wide variety of ways from haggis burgers to haggis burritos.
While haggis has been a staple food in Scotland for centuries – traditionally it’s made from sheep lungs, liver and heart mixed with onions, suet and spices and then boiled in the sheep’s stomach – the recipe has evolved and today haggis is also being used as an ingredient in an array of dishes. Along with the burgers and burritos, there are haggis sausages, lasagna, nachos, truffles, bagels, pizzas, pies, doughnuts, bon bons and even a haggis poutine. There are gluten-free versions as well as vegetarian and vegan varieties, which have become so popular at Tesco supermarkets across Scotland, they’ve seen a 120-per-cent jump in sales.
“It all pretty innovative,” said Douglas Scott, chief executive officer of the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders, which represents about 300 haggis makers in Scotland. The association has declared 2019 “The Year of the Haggis” and it recently held a competition for the best haggis products. The winner was a haggis cupcake made with potatoes and turnips.
“The judges were blown away," Mr. Scott said. "There was just so much and it was all different.” He added that while he still prefers the traditional haggis with neeps and tatties, he’s become a fan of innovative creations such as beer-battered haggis finger foods. “If you saw the size of my waistline you’d realize I like haggis,” he said.
The spread of haggis recipes on social media and the greater availability of the meat in grocery stores have also contributed to the surge in interest, said Clair Howison, brand director at Edinburgh-based Simon Howie Foods, which sells around £16-million ($28-million) worth of haggis and other meat products annually. Haggis used to be sold largely in the weeks leading up to Robbie Burns Day but is now sold throughout the year and is carried by more major retailers. Ms. Howison said that Simon Howie’s haggis sales climbed 36 per cent last year and were up 24 per cent the previous year. And Burns Day remains a big draw for the meat. “We sold over one million haggis in the last three weeks – that’s the equivalent of over three million people eating our haggis this month alone,” she said.
James Macsween, managing director of Macsween of Edinburgh, helped reopen the door to haggis in Canada two years ago and Canadian exports now make up a growing part of his company’s £6-million worth of yearly haggis sales. Canada and the United States banned haggis imports in 1971, fearing that because the meat contained sheep lung it could carry tuberculosis. Canada lifted the ban in late 2017, thanks in part to interventions from Mr. Macsween, but officials said only haggis made without sheep lung could be imported. Mr. Macsween came up with a new variety and sold around £25,000 worth of it in Canada last year. Sales have been increasing steadily and he’s in discussions with Loblaw and Costco about getting the product into their stores. He’s also broken into the U.S. market, which still bans traditional haggis, with a vegetarian product that is permitted.
“It’s a pretty humble food that’s quite inexpensive,” said Mr. Macsween, 46, in explaining the popularity of the meat. “I never get tired of eating haggis. It’s just so tasty. It’s a reassuring product and I think that resonates with a lot people.”
When asked how he likes to eat haggis, Mr. Macsween replied: “At home I have it on a bagel with some scrambled egg or I’ll just have it with potato and turnip and a wee bit of ketchup.”