Ingredients

1/2 lb. liver1 1/2 C oatmeal2 1/4 C suet3 1 onion 1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/4 t black pepper 1/2 t nutmeg 1/2 t mace 1/4 t salt

Procedure

Boil the liver and parboil the onion. Reserve 5/8 C of the stock. Mince the liver and onion together⁴. Lightly brown the oatmeal and then mix all the ingredients together, along with the reserved stock. Place in a greased bowl. Cover with aluminum foil and place in a steamer. Steam for 1 1/2 hours.

Serves 4-6 Haggis lovers, or 6-8 more dubious diners.

Notes

1. Calf's liver is superior to beef liver. For a more traditional, and somewhat subtler, flavor use lamb's or sheep's liver (if available), or a combination of lamb and veal liver and/or heart.

2. NOT rolled oats. We use a mixture of Scottish pinhead oats and medium Scottish porridge oats. Check your grocer's Health Foods department for Bob's Red Mill Natural Grains. Look for Bob's Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal. and Bob's Red Mill Steel-Cut Oats. Also, look for McCann's Irish Oats, in a large white tin can. These are the same as Scottish pinhead oatmeal.

   If you can't find proper oats, Email me. These kinds of oats are widely available in the Milwaukee area, and I'd be glad to mail you some.

   As a last resort, put some dry, uncooked rolled oats in a blender or a food processor and whirl until they have the texture of a coarse meal.

3. You might want to cut back on the amount of fat in this recipe, but some fat is necessary for the correct consistency. We use imported English vegetable suet. You can probably substitue Crisco.

   If you want to use real suet, get it from the butcher and shred it in a food processor or using one of those old-fashioned kitchen graters.

4. We use one of those old-fashioned, hand-cranked meat grinders. We make two passes through the grinder, one with the coarse blade and one with the fine blade.