My Steak & Kidney Pudding

This is one of the great dishes of British cooking, and there are no shortcuts. Diced stewing beef and beef kidneys get flour-coated and layered into a suet pastry-lined bowl with seasoned flour between each layer. Stock fills the gaps, a pastry lid seals everything in, and the whole pudding steams for four hours over boiling water.

The suet pastry is specific to steamed puddings: flour, baking powder, salt, and shredded suet processed until mealy, then brought together with cold water. It bakes into a soft, slightly spongy crust that absorbs the meat juices from the inside while the steam keeps it moist on the outside. This is not a flaky pie crust. It’s something entirely different and uniquely suited to steaming.

The funnel hole in the pastry lid serves a practical purpose: if the pudding needs more liquid during the long steam, you can pour stock directly in without opening the whole thing.

Kitchen Tips

• Keep the water at a hard boil for the first 2 hours, then reduce to a simmer. The initial blast sets the pastry
• Refill the water as it evaporates. Running dry ruins the pudding and potentially the pot
• Wrap the bowl in a dish towel with corners tied on top for a handle to lift the hot pudding safely
• The meat should be meltingly tender after 4 hours. If it’s still chewy, steam longer

Variations

• Add sliced mushrooms between the meat layers for extra earthiness
• Use lamb kidneys instead of beef for a milder kidney flavor
• Stir a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce into the stock before adding