Steak and Onion Suet Pudding

If you’re looking for pure comfort food look no further, this has all the traditional homemade comforts you could wish for in a main meal. Melt in the mouth tender chunks of steak with soft onions in its own meaty gravy, encased in soft luxurious suet pastry. Served with creamy mashed potatoes and vegetables here is a match made in heaven. It may take a little time to cook in a steamer but as long as it’s not left to boil dry, you can leave the pudding to steam away while you have time for yourself. You must try this sometime for you and your family.

Steak and Onion Suet Pudding

Ingredients

For The Suet pastry

225 g (8 oz) self-raising flour

110 g (4 oz) shredded suet, (I use vegetable suet)

110 ml (4 fl oz) water, (you may not need all this water)

½ tsp of salt

For The Filling

450 g (1lb) lean braising steak

Flour for coating the braising steak

1 large onion
Worcestershire sauce

Salt & freshly ground black pepper
110ml (1/4 pint) good beef stock
A little water for sealing the pastry lid

Method

You will need a 1.2 litre (2 pint) greased pudding basin and a steamer.

In a bowl add the flour, suet, salt and water (you may not need all the water listed), then mix together until it forms into a ball. Cover the suet pastry in cling film and chill in the fridge for ½ hour. Chop the braising steak into approximately 5 cm (1 inch) cubes and remove all fat, (you only need the lean meat). Place some flour on a plate and then coat all the cubes of meat in the flour, shake off any excess.

Peel and chop the onion in half then slice into thin half slices.

Take the suet pastry from the fridge. Roll the pastry into a circle on a floured surface you will need it larger than the pudding bowl. Cut a triangle out of the circle and put to one side for later. Carefully take the rest of the pastry and line your pudding basin, making sure all edges are sealed well or the gravy will leak later when cooking.

With a quarter the meat place a good layer in the bottom of the basin. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Next add half the onions then the half of the meat, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Onions again over the meat, finishing with the remaining meat, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Top up with the beef stock, but don’t over fill or the stock will burst out of the sealed top.

Take the triangle and roll into a circle large enough to fit the top of the basin for a lid. Wet the top edge of the pastry in the basin and lay the lid on top sealing well to keep all those lovely juices inside. With greased greaseproof paper make a pleat and put onto the pudding top. Cover over with a piece of pleated foil and tie with string around the covers and around the lip on the pudding basin so all is nice and secure so no water can get in.

Place the pudding into the trivet top of the steamer so it is not touching any water. Steams for approximately 4 – 4 ½ hours until meat is tender, remember to keep the steamer topped up with water so it doesn’t boil dry.

Serve with creamy mashed potatoes, veggies and lashings of extra homemade onion gravy.

Serves 4 – 6