DEEP-FRIED haggis and beer doughnuts have hit the menu at an Edinburgh bar as the ultimate calorific Burns Night treat.
The Beer Kitchen in the capital’s west end has reinvented the nation’s national dish by stuffing it inside a doughnut made with a rich beer batter.
In true Scottish tradition the doughnut is then dunked in a deep fat fryer to soak it in oil and turn it a rich golden brown.
Unlike the lowly deep-fried Mars bar the haggis doughnut is the served with a sophisticated twist – coated in rosemary breadcrumbs and plated up with smoked bone marrow aioli and crispy leeks.
But Scots watching their waists in the new year may do well to steer clear of the snack as it is thought it could contain around 500 calories – a quarter of your daily allowance.
Bar bosses say that in spite of its calorific contents the £5 bar snack has proven a hit with patrons.
In the past week over 180 have been sold – and in the run up to Burn’s Night on monday the bar has had to ship in an extra chef to meet demand.
One US customer keen for a taste of Scotland even ordered 12 of the treats for him and a group of friends over on holiday.
Each decadent doughnut is made using 25g of Macsween Haggis wrapped in a doughnut batter made with Innis and Gunn beer and melted butter.
When served drinkers can choose to devour the doughnut with either a homemade “broon” sauce or a bone marrow aioli – a posh garlic mayonnaise combined with bone marrow.
Joanna Livingstone – a spokeswoman for the bar – said: “We’ve had the haggis donuts on the menu since November.
“There was a bit of a slow start but throughout December but in January and in the run up to Burns Night we cannot make enough of them.
“We think it’s down to word of mouth as people have been coming in specifically to order them.
“It’s currently the most requested dish at the bar and restaurant and we have had to bring in another chef to cope with the demand of making them by hand.”
Scotland has a rich history of pioneering deep-fried delicacies – a tradition which begAn with the notorious deep-fried Mars bar in the mid-1990s.
In the years since deep-frying has become something of a national sport – with burgers, Tunnock’s Teacakes, shortbread, butter, and pizza all taking the plunge.
The practice of deep-frying pizzas has become so popular that Scots supporters backing their team in fixtures against Italian sides have been known to chant “We’re going to deep-fry your pizzas” at their opponents.
