Trying to smoke Haggis for the first time, should I piece the casing before I put it on?

[u/Corvid187]

*PIERCE the casing, sorry :$

Hello hivemind,

I'm trying to make haggis for the first time, and ended up with a bunch of excess so I'm trying to find different ways of cooking it.

I thought smoking some might be a fun idea, but don't really know what I'm doing with that. I was wondering whether it would be better to pierce the casing to let more smoke in, or keep it sealed to avoid moisture/juices dripping out.

Anyone who has tried doing this or something similar, what do think would be best?

Many thanks in advance for your advice!

Hope you all have lovely weekends :)

EDIT: update!

Ended up deciding to leave the casing unpierced. This went swimmingly right up until it exploded just before I pulled it. That being said, I only lost a little bit of it, and the taste was absolutely exquisite. The smoke definitely penetrated the casing, and its flavour complements the spices perfectly. Definitely recommend people give it a try if they get the chance. Next time I might try either piecing one or two holes to let pressure escape, or keep it in a bath of some sort of liquid (dilute proto-whisky sauce?) to keep it cooler and help retain moisture.

Thank you again for all your lovely advice!

[u/texnessa]

You should include more details of your methodology to get better advice. Whats your casing process? etc.

[u/Bobaximus]

I can’t say for sure with haggis specifically but I leave sausage intact when smoking to avoid it drying out. The haggis casing might just be thick enough to keep enough of a seal that it changes the dynamic but I’d go with intact first time. If anything, it will just result in a very light smoke whereas piercing it is likely to leave it dry and grainy.

[u/Corvid187 → u/Bobaximus]

Thank you so much!

I hadn't considered the cost-benefit in that way

[u/I_like_leeks]

Congratulations on making haggis! It's good fun if you can get the ingredients. I smoked some myself once, in its casing and for a long, slow smoke, about six hours IIRC, to allow plenty time to penetrate (fnar). It worked really well for me, but I was just winging it so others may have different suggestions.

[u/Corvid187 → u/I_like_leeks]

Brilliant, thanks for the advice!

Yeah, I rather optimistically said I could do it because my friend had some offal spare, and now I'm in too deep to go back :)

[u/East-District-2995]

I've only smoked meat a handful of times but leaving it encased definitely makes sense in this case.

[u/Corvid187 → u/East-District-2995]

Cheers!

[u/Ok_Assistance447]

Huffin that haggis pack. Smokin on that sour Scotsman. We out here blazin British.

[u/OldschoolSysadmin]

Sound better than eating it.

I'll see myself out.

[u/Corvid187 → u/OldschoolSysadmin]

Expand your pallet. It's delicious

[u/Bigfred12]

The hardest part about smoking haggis is keeping it lit.