Planning a Robbie Burns Supper for Burns Night

This page provides the Order of the Burns Night Supper, as well as the the Selkirk Grace, the address to the haggis, the closing, and even a recipe for making your own haggis.

Whether you call it Robbie Burns Day or Robbie Burns Night, or just Burns night, this annual celebration of the Scottish poet's birthday is not to be missed by the Scottish and those who wish they were!

Robert Burns is also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire and (in Scotland) as The Bard. He lived from January 25, 1759 to July 21, 1796.

Burns Nights or Burns Suppers are held world over, wherever there are folks of Scottish heritage. These celebrations can be formal or informal, but Scotch whiskey and haggis are staples.

A Burns Night will observe some or all of these components.

The Order of the Supper

1 Start of the evening

2. Host's welcoming speech

3. Entrance of the haggis

4. Supper

5. Loyal toast

6. Immortal memory

7. Appreciation

8. Toast to the lasses

9, Reply to the toast to the lasses

10. Other toasts and speeches

11. Works by Burns

12. Dancing

13. Closing

Attributed to Robert Burns

Traditionally, a Robbie Burns Day (or Night) celebration begins with the host's opening remarks, followed by the Selkirk grace, or prayer.

Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it,

But we hae meat and we can eat,

Sae the Lord be thankit.

Following the grace, a soup course is served. Traditionally, this will be Scotch broth, cock-a-leekie soup or potato soup. The soup may be accompanied by Scottish Oat Bread.

A high point of any Robbie Burns Day celebration

As everyone stands, a cook brings in the haggis and places it in front of the host. Usually, a piper playing an appropriate tune walks ahead of the cook. A Man's A Man for A' That or Brose & Butter are examples of two such melodies that the piper might choose.

Just in case you want to make your own

A traditional haggis is cooked in a sheep's stomach, if you can find one. Alternatively, you can use a plastic baking bag or 1 large sausage casing

If you are using a sheep's stomach, double the ingredients below:

1 sheep liver, heart,& lights (lungs)

1/2 lb beef suet

2 large onions

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp allspice

1 lb oatmeal, the old fashioned, slow ooking type

1 to 1 1/2 cup broth in which liver,heart and lungs were cooked

Method

Trim the liver, heart and lungs. Put in pot with water, bring to a boil and summer for an hour and a half or until cooked. Cool. Keep the broth.

Put the liver and heart through the meat grinder. Take the lungs, cut out as much gristle as possible and put them through a grinder also. Put the raw beef suet through the grinder.

Add all grinded meats and suet to a big pot. Peel, slice and chop the onions and add them to the meat in the pot. Add the salt and spices. Mix.

Toast or brown the oatmeal lightly in a heavy bottomed pot on top of the stove. Add the oatmeal to the pot of meats and mix thoroughly. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cup of broth from boiling the meat.

Add enough broth so the meat mixture sticks together when you grab a handful.

Stuff it in the sheeps stomach, plastic bag or sausage casing. Stuff it about 3/4 full if you are using a stomach or a plastic bag. If you are using a sheep's stomach, have the smooth side out and sew up the opening.

Wrap it in cheesecloth and be sure to prick it with a skewer so it won't explode from the steam. Prick it occasionally again during the early part of cooking.

Fill large pot with at least 1 gallon of water and bring to a boil. Boil gently for 4 to 5 hours.

Typically, you serve your Robbie Burns Day haggis with neeps (turnips) or clapshot (mashed turnips & potatoes)

Said with some flare and drama

Upon receiving the haggis at a Robbie Burns Day supper, the host offers this poem:

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Painch, tripe, or thairm:

Well are ye wordy o' a grace

As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,

Your hurdies like a distant hill,

Your pin wad help to mend a mill

In time o' need,

While thro' your pores the dews distill

Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dicht,

An' cut you up wi' ready slicht,

Trenching your gushing entrails bricht,

Like ony ditch;

And then, O what a glorious sicht,

Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:

Deil tak the hindmaist! on they drive,

Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,

Are bent like drums;

Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,

"Bethankit" hums.

Is there that o're his French ragout

Or olio that wad staw a sow,

Or fricassee wad mak her spew

Wi' perfect scunner,

Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view

On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him ower his trash,

As feckless as a wither'd rash,

His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,

His nieve a nit;

Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,

O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,

The trembling earth resounds his tread.

Clap in his wallie nieve a blade,

He'll mak it whistle;

An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,

Like taps o' thristle.

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,

And dish them out their bill o' fare,

Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware

That jaups in luggies;

But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,

Gie her a haggis!

Following the address to a haggis, a whiskey toast is offered, and guests then eat their dinner.

At the closing of the Robbie Burns Day Supper, guests stand, join hands and sing Robbie Burns song, Auld Lang Syne. This is the original version as Burns wrote it.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And days o' auld lang syne

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear,

for auld lang syne,

we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup!

And surely I’ll be mine!

And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,

and pou’d the gowans fine;

But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,

sin’ auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,

frae morning sun till dine;

But seas between us braid hae roar’d

sin’ auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !

And gies a hand o’ thine!

And we’ll tak a right gude-willie-waught,

for auld lang syne.