Building the Perfect Meal With Sheep Lungs and a Suitcase

A newcomer to the world of international haggis smuggling might be forgiven for wondering why anyone would consider breaking the law to obtain an animal lung. For some Burns Night devotees, however, the historical roots of haggis exert a strong emotional pull: Before Burns helped popularize it in his poem “Address to a Haggis,” the dish was typically consumed by peasants who had to use every part of the sheep to make the most of scarce resources.

“I wanted to do everything as authentic as possible,” said Blair Watkins, a teacher in Virginia who holds an annual Burns Night celebration for his friends. This month, after a butcher refused to sell him sheep lungs, Mr. Watkins went to a nearby farm and slaughtered a lamb himself.

“We should utilize everything that we can,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Other purists insist that no substitute can adequately replace the texture or taste of lung.

“It’s a bit dirty-tasting,” said Ben Reade, a Scottish chef who once smuggled a suitcase full of sheep innards into Denmark. “It probably tastes a little bit like a sheep’s breath smells.”

Haggis smugglers often complain of a single American “import ban.” Really, though, haggis is subject to two prohibitions.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/business/haggis-smuggling.html?emc=rss&partner=rss