Steak and kidney pudding recipe

This steak and kidney pudding is a lovely traditional recipe for a great British comfort food. 

Unlike a meat pie which is topped with puff or shortcrust pastry and baked in the oven, this pudding is cooked in a soft, suet pastry, which you steam for a long time. This means rather that a crispy top you get a doughy outer crust which soaks up all the delicious flavours of the meat and gravy. It takes a long time to steam - about four hours - but the actual prep work is quick and once it's cooking you can just leave it to do its thing.

Ingredients

• 750g (1½lb) chuck or braising steak, in one piece
• 125g (4oz) pig (or ox) kidneys
• 1 rounded tbsp well-seasoned flour
• 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
• 150ml (¼ pint) stock or water

For the suet pastry:

• 250g (8oz) self-raising flour
• 1 level tsp salt
• 125g (4oz) shredded suet (beef or vegetable)

You will also need:

• 1.75 litre (3 pint) pudding basin, buttered well
• Double thickness of greaseproof paper, pleated, and string

Method

1. Cut meat into thin slices, then in 2.5cm (1in) strips. Core, then chop kidney into small pieces. Roll a strip of meat around a piece of kidney, then coat meat in flour.
2. To make the pastry: Sift flour with salt; mix in suet. Add cold water (about 8 tbsp) to make a soft dough, using a knife.
3. Put on a floured surface, cut off a quarter of the pastry and roll out evenly to a round, about 1cm (½in) thick. Dust the pastry with flour, fold it lightly in 4, then put it into the basin, unfold and press it up the sides of the basin, so that it just overlaps the top.
4. Fill pastry case with meat and sliced onion alternately. Pour in the cold stock or water. Roll out rest of pastry to form a lid. Moisten top edge of pastry and press lid on firmly. Butter paper on one side and put over pudding, tying it with string. Trim off surplus paper. Steam the pudding for 4 hours, in a double steamer or large, lidded pan. Keep topping up boiling water, to come halfway up sides of basin.
5. Take off paper. Cut a slice of pastry from top and add a little hot stock or water to increase the amount of gravy, if you like.

Top Tip for making steak and kidney pudding

When steaming, make sure you keep topping up boiling water, to come halfway up the sides of the pudding basin.

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