Steak and Kidney Pudding

You will need a 1.7 litre / 3 pint plastic pudding basin with lid, both well buttered.

1. The 2 hours of steaming — which involves little activity on your part — seems less of a consideration when separated from the pudding's preparation. So, preheat the oven to 140ºC/120ºC Fan/gas mark 1/275ºF, season the 2 tablespoons of flour with salt, pepper and the mustard powder, and put it into a plastic bag along with the steak and kidney. Seal it, and toss everything about to get an even coating of flour.
2. Warm the butter and oil in a casserole and brown the meat (including the kidney) in batches, removing each to a dish. Fry the onion in the pan, then add the mushrooms and fry them briefly, adding more oil if you need it. Put all the meat back into the casserole and over a medium heat add the stock, stout and oyster sauce. Bring it to the boil, scraping any floury bits off the bottom. Cover with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for 1½ hours. When it's cooked, check the seasoning and put aside to cool.
3. About 2½-3 hours before you want to eat, fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. When it begins to boil, start making the pastry, and not before. Mix the flour, salt, suet and mustard powder in a large bowl; then, stirring with a wooden spoon, add enough cold water to make a firm dough.
4. Roll out on a floured surface into a large circle, approximately 5mm / one-eighth of an inch thick, and cut away a quarter segment from the circle to use later as the lid. Ease the three-quarter circle of pastry into your buttered pudding basin; there should be about 3cm / 1 inch of overhang. Spoon the cold filling in, not letting it come up higher than about 2cm / 1 inch below the rim. Roll out the quarter segment into a small circle to fit the top and seal it with the overhanging edges. Clip on the basin's buttered lid, immerse it in water or place it in a steamer over water and leave it there for 2 hours, remembering to check water levels occasionally.
5. Turn the pudding out onto a plate with a good lip, or some sort of shallow bowl: there is a wonderful moment when, like a bulldozed building, your pudding begins to crack and crumple and then cascades downwards; you need to make sure every thick oozy bit of stout, beefy liquid is safely contained.

You will need a 1.7 litre / 3 pint plastic pudding basin with lid, both well buttered.

1. The 2 hours of steaming — which involves little activity on your part — seems less of a consideration when separated from the pudding's preparation. So, preheat the oven to 140ºC/120ºC Fan/gas mark 1/275ºF, season the 2 tablespoons of flour with salt, pepper and the mustard powder, and put it into a plastic bag along with the steak and kidney. Seal it, and toss everything about to get an even coating of flour.
2. Warm the butter and oil in a casserole and brown the meat (including the kidney) in batches, removing each to a dish. Fry the onion in the pan, then add the mushrooms and fry them briefly, adding more oil if you need it. Put all the meat back into the casserole and over a medium heat add the stock, stout and oyster sauce. Bring it to the boil, scraping any floury bits off the bottom. Cover with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for 1½ hours. When it's cooked, check the seasoning and put aside to cool.
3. About 2½-3 hours before you want to eat, fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. When it begins to boil, start making the pastry, and not before. Mix the flour, salt, coarsely grated vegetable shortening (freeze overnight to make it easier to grate) and mustard powder in a large bowl; then, stirring with a wooden spoon, add enough cold water to make a firm dough.
4. Roll out on a floured surface into a large circle, approximately 5mm / one-eighth of an inch thick, and cut away a quarter segment from the circle to use later as the lid. Ease the three-quarter circle of pastry into your buttered pudding basin; there should be about 3cm / 1 inch of overhang. Spoon the cold filling in, not letting it come up higher than about 2cm / 1 inch below the rim. Roll out the quarter segment into a small circle to fit the top and seal it with the overhanging edges. Clip on the basin's buttered lid, immerse it in water or place it in a steamer over water and leave it there for 2 hours, remembering to check water levels occasionally.
5. Turn the pudding out onto a plate with a good lip, or some sort of shallow bowl: there is a wonderful moment when, like a bulldozed building, your pudding begins to crack and crumple and then cascades downwards; you need to make sure every thick oozy bit of stout, beefy liquid is safely contained.