Robert Burns - Burns Supper
"Scotland's national poet"
"There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing." - Robert Burns
Robert Burns was an ordinary boy who, like everyone else, grew up in a Scottish farming family. Growing up, Burns developed a keen interest in literature and at the age of 15 he started writing poetry himself. It wasn't long before his first poem was published and it was received with great enthusiasm. This was the start of an amazing literary journey that he embarked on before passing away at the age of 37. His funeral was attended by over 10,000 people and on the same day his youngest son Maxwell was born.
His writing often dealt with the problems of the poorer classes and how social equality was a necessary need in society.
Burns went on to share many of his masterpieces, which today are among the most well-known poems in Scotland.
But how did Burns Supper come about?
Burns Supper came about when a group of Burns' close friends decided to mark the fifth anniversary of his death. This event took place at Burns Cottage in Alloway and included performances of his life's work, a speech in his honor and, of course, the traditional Scottish dish, Haggis. The memorial had been so successful that the friends decided to keep it going, but this time it was in honor of Burns' birthday (January 25) and not the day of his death.
Today, the Burns Supper is still held on January 25th as part of Scottish tradition. The tradition remains the same, gathering with friends, eating Haggis, giving speeches and singing songs in honor of Burns.
Haggis is a dish consisting of either sheep or calf entrails cooked in the animal's stomach. It is considered to be the national dish of Scotland. If you find Haggis interesting, the recipe can be found below.
Haggis Opskrift
Opskrift for 4 people
Ingredients
- Sheep's heart, liver and fluff
- 1 sheep's stomach
- 2 Medium-sized finely chopped onions
- 1 tsp. salt
- 0.5 tsp. Pepper, ground
- 1 tsp. Nutmeg
- 0,5 tsp. Mace
- 2.5 Medium-fine oat flour
- 7,5 dl. finely chopped kidney fat
- 2,5 dl. Beef stock
Method
Remove tendons and fat from the intestines and place them in a large pot of cold water. Bring the water to the boil and reduce the heat. Let the pot simmer for an hour on a low heat. Remove the intestines, drain and cool.
Finely chop the giblets and mix well with pepper, salt, nutmeg, mace, kidney fat, stock, flour and onion. Stuff the stuffing into the sheep's stomach - squeeze all the air out of the stuffing and the sheep's stomach. Then divide the sheep's stomach in half and tie the ends with string. Make sure there is room for the stuffing to expand during cooking so that the stomachs don't burst.Place the stomachs in a pot of cold water and slowly bring it to the boil. Then reduce the heat so that the water is only simmering. Do not let it boil vigorously as the stomachs may burst. Simmer for 3 hours. Remove the sheep's stomach and serve the stuffing with a glass of Scotch whisky(Robert Burns Single Malt) or pour over the finished dish. Alternatively, you could enjoy a Belhaven Robert Burns beer.
Tip: Poke small holes in the sheep's stomach to prevent it from bursting during cooking.
