Wild Haggis and Scotch Eggs

Wild Haggis are creatures comically said to be native to the Scottish Highlands. It is generally held that the Haggis is a three-legged bird with vestigial wings like an ostrich or an emu, with fierce fangs. Each leg is supposed to be different length, a short leg and two long legs - although the Great Highland Haggis supposedly has one long and two short - allowing it to run rapidly around the mountains and hillsides which make up its natural habitat. However, according to some folktales, once the wild Haggis reaches the top of a hill, it supposedly loses its balance and tumbles into the valley below. It is also believed that male Haggis run only clockwise and female Haggis run only in a counterclockwise direction. However, this only occurs when it is disturbed from its normal routine of sleeping on the heather which covers the hills and mountains of Scotland.

Folklore tells us that during Haggis Season, wild Haggis are hunted, and their meat served up as a local delicacy, the well-known Scottish food, haggis. Scotch eggs are this creature's eggs. Folklore also holds that wild Haggis can sense vibrations in the ground produced by other animals, including humans, and this, along with its nocturnal habits, explain why living specimens of the Haggis are so rarely seen. However a Haggis can easily be caught by running around the hill in the opposite direction. A group of Haggis is sometimes known as a heap.

Fictionally, there are two species of Haggis, one with longer left legs and the other with longer right legs. The two species coexist peacefully but are unable to interbreed because in order for the male of one species to mate with a female of the other, he must turn to face in the same direction as his intended mate, causing him to lose his balance before he can mount her. As a result of this difficulty, differences in leg length among the Haggis population are accentuated.

Wild Haggis and picture of Scotch Eggs, Courtesy of Wikipedia

Recipe for Scotch Eggs

 6 hard-boiled eggs
 2 tbsp flour
 1 pound bulk pork sausage meat
 1½ tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
 1 egg, , lightly beaten
 3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
 ¼ cup salad oil
 Sauce of choice

1. Peel the hard boiled eggs and dust with flour. You can season the flour if you like.
2. Mix sausage meat with Worcestershire sauce and divide into 6 portions.
3. Flatten each portion into a thin, oval patty and mold each patty around one egg, covering it completely. Make sure there are no cracks in the meat.
4. Dip each molded egg into the beaten egg and gently roll in the bread crumbs. Pat the crumbs into the meat.
5. Heat oil in a large skillet, and sauté the eggs until sausage is done, about 7-10 minutes.
6. Drain eggs on paper towels.
7. Serve hot or cold, with or without your favorite sauce or dressing.