Steak, mushroom and kidney pudding
It’s a winter classic – curl up with Matt Tebbutt’s comforting suet pudding, best served with a side of buttered greens.
Equipment and preparation: You will need a 2 litre/3½ pint pudding basin
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 350g/12oz self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
- 175g/6oz beef suet
- 1 free-range egg yolk
- splash milk, to bind
- black pepper
For the filling
- 600g/1lb 5oz beef shin, cubed
- 2–3 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tbsp beef fat
- 1 whole beef kidney, membrane removed and cubed
- 8 chestnut mushrooms, quartered
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 200ml/7fl oz Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 250ml/9fl oz red wine
- 800ml/1½ pints hot beef stock
- butter, for greasing
- salt and black pepper
- buttered greens, to serve
Method
To make the pastry, add the flour, suet and egg yolk along with some black pepper to a food processor and blend. Add a small amount of milk to bring it together. Remove from the machine and wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
To make the filling, season the beef with salt and pepper and coat in the flour. Place a pan over a high heat and add the beef fat, then add the beef and sauté until well coloured all over. This will take 8–10 minutes. Remove the beef from the pan.
Throw in the kidneys and repeat, this will take 4–5 minutes. Then remove from the pan.
Repeat with the mushrooms and colour, this will take 2–3 minutes.
Now add the onions, bay and thyme, fry for 10 minutes or so until soft then add the Worcestershire sauce and cook until reduced. Add the tomato purée and the red wine. Reduce by half before adding the stock, mushrooms and the beef back into the pan and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes.
After this time, add the kidney back to the pan.
Grease and line the pudding basin. Divide the pastry into two thirds and one third. Roll out each piece, on a floured surface it 2cm/1in thick and use the larger piece to line the 2-litre pudding basin, leave the smaller one for the lid.
Add the filling into the lined pudding basin and brush the edges of the pastry with water, top with a lid and pinch together, trim off any excess.
Lay a piece of kitchen foil big enough to cover the basin down on a work surface. Cut a piece of baking paper the same size to make a cartouche and butter one side. Now lay this cartouche, butter side up (facing you) onto the foil and make a pleat with both pieces together in the centre, about 2.5cm/1in, to allow for expansion. With both pieces together, lay the butter side on top of the pie and scrunch down the cartouche and foil around the edges of the dish, then tie tightly around the edges with a piece of string. Steam in a large pan with a tight-fitting lid for around 2 hours 30 mins.
Serve the pudding alongside buttered greens.