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Haggis - deep fried

Jake

By Jake
in Ontario: Dining

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Jake

Jake

Posted
Posted

We had the pleasure of dining at High Street Fish & Chips last night for the first time based on a friends reccomendation. Although out of the way for us, worth it for the star of the evening:

Deep fried haggis

Oh was this good, an excellent specimen, peppery, full of flavour with just the barest crust of batter :wub::wub::wub:

Also had halibut & chips, excellent, real old fashioned genuine fish & chips and very good homemade coleslaw. The condiments on the table are real malt vinegar and brown sauce. Heaven on a plate, if not for the arteries.

High Street is run by Frank & June McNie, who used to own McNie's Fish & Chips in Etobicoke until they sold it a few years ago to take a break and run a B&B in Niagara. All I can say is thank God they came back! We had a lovely chat with them after the meal and will definitely be back. (June's shortbreads are not to be missed and I understand her steak and chicken pies are fabulous too)

High Street is located on Underhill Dr., north of Lawrence, east of the DVP in a small strip plaza. Maybe not convenient, but worth it. Other than around Robbie Burns day I haven't seen haggis or black pudding and such on a menu in Toronto in awhile.

Barbara Laidlaw aka "Jake"

Good friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies.

WolfChef

WolfChef

Posted
Posted

I'm curious as to how they did this. Did they cool it and then slice it and deep fry it, or slice it and bread it, or batter it? Or I suppose you could deep fry it warm by using a ice cream scoop to portion it right into the deep fryer.

A island in a lake, on a island in a lake, is where my house would be if I won the lottery.

KevV

KevV

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm not a haggis-ophile (0% Scot) and so don't know how normal this is, but recently I noticed canned haggis on sale at St L Market. Yuck! I'm not opposed to the dish in principle - it's just that the thought of having it canned didn't seem too appealing. I wondered who would buy it.

Edited by KevV (log)
Jake

Jake

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)

Wolfchef - It was still in it's casing, lightly battered (similar to fish batter) and deep fried as one piece. Ended up looking like a fat sausage, they are individually portioned. Sorry, I didn't expect to be there and didn't have a camera.

SB - no stick, luv, sorry!

KevV - good haggis is imho a thing of beauty. Bad haggis, well you can only imagine, trust me. As for canned, I think I'll pass, but do let us know if you try it and live to tell about it! :wink:

edit to correct fact that "it" was in it's casing, not "I"!

Edited by Jake (log)

Barbara Laidlaw aka "Jake"

Good friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies.

Wayne

Wayne

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the review of High Street. I've been meaning to drop in for

lunch one day when I'm in the area.

Rumor has it they make an excellent

toffee pudding :smile:

I know it's stew. What KIND of stew?

srhcb

srhcb

Posted
Posted
SB - no stick, luv, sorry!

I was thinking of corn dog style? I'll bet it would be a real hit at .... well, never mind. (maybe a Scottish County Fair?)

SB :hmmm:

Jake

Jake

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
If it is anything like the Scottish version, it most likely looks a little like this.

gallery_1643_1586_60262.jpg

Almost an exact replica, Adam....my thanks! Of course, now I'm hungry... :raz:

The owners are ex-pat Scots and have taken great pains to keep things authentic to satisfy the ex-pat clientele. Frank apparently makes his own Ayrshire bacon for sandwiches as well.

Barbara Laidlaw aka "Jake"

Good friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies.

KevV

KevV

Posted
Posted
KevV - good haggis is imho a thing of beauty. Bad haggis, well you can only imagine, trust me. As for canned, I think I'll pass, but do let us know if you try it and live to tell about it!
I'm not overly likely to try it, if I even need to say so! It's the can-factor of course. Fresh and good quality would be no problem.

... Would be interesting to set up a spy-cam just to see who comes along and buys it, if at all. (Scottish students sick of Kraft Dinner, pizza and baked beans? I dunno.)

Haggis - Isn't it stomach, a bit of organ, oats and seasoning? Logically, I guess that haggis should only really scare off vegetarians or people who normally aren't aware of what is in their food anyway.

srhcb

srhcb

Posted
Posted
Nothing about haggis appeals to me whatsoever...definetly one of the very few on my 'will not try's' list.

What's the problem? You mean you don't like lights? (aka, lungs)

SB :cool:

Nondoctor

Nondoctor

Posted
Posted

I am 100% Scot...

As my name ( Jamie Drummond ) attests to...

... and I bloody love good haggis.

It's one of those things that you just HAVE to try.

I have had several haggis seized at customs upon numerous occasion... so I am probably viewed as being an international meat smuggler by Interpol.

My mother mailed me canned haggis once.

It was vile.

Even after a few drinks.

Not recommended by any means.

"nil illigitimum carborundum"

Nondoctor

Nondoctor

Posted
Posted

And to answer your questions...

... I think it's made with all the bits that they cannot legally put into anything else...

In Scotland we say it's made from "Bawz, pawz and clawz"...

...in translation: testicles, paws and claws (just in case you didn't catch that).

"nil illigitimum carborundum"

SuzySushi

SuzySushi

Posted
Posted

Jumping in here from Hawaii...

One of the more interesting sidelights on our trip to Scotland a few years ago (in Glasgow for a convention) was stopping in at a fashionable pub (whose name escapes me... it's buried somewhere im my copious trip-notes) and ordering haggis pakoras! The haggis was formed into small meatball-size bites, coated with batter, and deep fried. If I recall correctly, they were served with a chile dip, but I ate them straight!

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

Jake

Jake

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
I am 100% Scot...

As my name ( Jamie Drummond ) attests to...

... and I bloody love good haggis.

It's one of those things that you just HAVE to try.

I have had several haggis seized at customs upon numerous occasion... so I am probably viewed as being an international meat smuggler by Interpol.

My mother mailed me canned haggis once.

It was vile.

Even after a few drinks.

Not recommended by any means.

Aye, Jamie. Everyone should try it once (go for it Sadistick, you might be pleasantly surprised - do you eat tripe, sweetbreads etc?)

Funny thing about customs, they really do seem to get pissy about meat smugglers! :raz::raz:

Where are your favourite places on this side of the pond for haggis, bacon and the like?

Barbara Laidlaw aka "Jake"

Good friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies.

KevV

KevV

Posted
Posted
Aye, Jamie. Everyone should try it once (go for it Sadistick, you might be pleasantly surprised - do you eat tripe, sweetbreads etc?)
Yeah, c'mon Sadstick. You never know what's in those sausages you probably eat anyway. Think of the gelatin in your pate. Etc.
sadistick

sadistick

Posted
Posted

Hahaha...oh the peer pressure...I WILL NOT GIVE IN! :P

I do NOT nor will I ever eat tripe, just the look of it gives me the willies!

I do love sweet breads...and i dont often eat sausages as I know what goes in to them!

Regardless, Haggis is just on my list of wont eat's along with tripe, chicken feet, and monkey brains.

Endy'

Endy'

Posted
Posted
Regardless, Haggis is just on my list of wont eat's along with tripe, chicken feet, and monkey brains.

??? I can understand tripe, I'm not a big fan myself -- but as a just-won't-eat? And chicken feet? They're maybe a little troublesome if you don't have nimble teeth, but again hardly a just-won't-eat...

back on topic -- Jake, is High Street open for lunch and are they typically crowded? I just started a job nearby (up near the 401 & 404) and have been looking for good places to go...hopefully without taking too long :) Oh and to rederail the thread...any other suggestions in the area would be appreciated (my contribution -- Congee Wong, Leslie and Finch) :)

KevV

KevV

Posted
Posted

Sorry, I don't know the 400&404 area.

I'm curious about the haggis phenomenon. (See thread title.) Meat?..Tripe?.. That's musle and intestine. I don't mean to sound gross, but it's all animal. I understand that appetite isn't logical, but in this case that's how I think. To me a haggis is the same as a steak. Have a go, Sadstick!

KevV

KevV

Posted
Posted
Funny thing about customs, they really do seem to get pissy about meat smugglers!
Too bad you couldn't get a special medical case, stuff in some haggis-es, type up some documents, and impersonate an organ donor courier, or something!
jayt90

jayt90

Posted
Posted
Regardless, Haggis is just on my list of wont eat's along with tripe, chicken feet, and monkey brains.

??? I can understand tripe, I'm not a big fan myself -- but as a just-won't-eat? And chicken feet? They're maybe a little troublesome if you don't have nimble teeth, but again hardly a just-won't-eat...

Funny, I don't have a problem with tripe, especially long-simmered a la mode de Caen.

But chicken feet, calve's foot, and pig's feet, will have to be removed from the dish before I get it. I grew up on a farm and know where those feet scampered...

I ordered palm of duck in a Chinese restaurant, and got ducks' feet. Couldn't eat them, but they sure were ducky!

Endy'

Endy'

Posted
Posted
Funny, I don't have a problem with tripe, especially long-simmered a la mode de Caen.

But chicken feet, calve's foot, and pig's feet, will have to be removed from the dish before I get it.  I grew up on a farm and know where those feet scampered...

I ordered palm of duck in a Chinese restaurant, and got ducks' feet.  Couldn't eat them, but they sure were ducky!

"scampered"...ever had intestine (sausage, perhaps?)? You know what "scampers" through those while the animal is still alive? :rolleyes: Not that tripe is so far off...

and I wonder how well-circulated the water is in fish farms...I don't think those fish respect litterboxes :)

anyhow I do agree appetite doesn't really follow reason...plus I'm no paragon of eating-everything :)

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