Steak and Kidney Suet Crusted Pie
Ah!!! English winters walk in and smell the pudding! Perfect served with good old mash and some organic baby carrots.
If you don’t like kidneys replace with more beef or sliced field mushrooms.
I cook this in a Spanish enamel open cooking dish, so I can cook the filling, stew the filling and then bake the pie in the same dish.
Preparation time: 15 minutes Quantity: Serves 8 Cooking time: 2 & 1/2 hours
Ingredients
Steak and Kidney Filling -
2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion - diced
2 rashes smoked bacon - chopped
2 - 3 cloves garlic - crushed
1 teaspoon paprika
1 stick celery - small diced
1 leek - washed and chopped (optional)
30 g / 1 oz butter (knob)
extra 1 tablespoon oil
750 g / 1 & 1/2 lb. braising steak (chuck)
200 g / 8 oz ox or lambs kidneys
1 pint / 550 ml beef stock
seasoning (12 - 15 twists pepper / 1/2 teaspoon salt)
3 tablespoons tomato puree
1 heaped teaspoon English mustard (Colemans)
Suet Crust -
100 g / 4 oz suet
200 g / 8 oz plain flour - sieved
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
seasoning
approx. 200 ml water (+ or -)
Egg Wash -
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk
pinch salt
Method
For the filling -
- Heat the oil in a very large frying pan
- Fry of the onions to soften without colour
- Add the bacon and cook for a minute or two
- Add the garlic, celery and leek (optional) cooking for a further minute or three if using leeks
- Remove the onion mix and set aside
- Place the frying pan back on the heat, without washing
- Add the butter and oil
- Cook of the steak until sealed on all sides (brown)
- Add the kidneys and toss around for a minute or two to brown
- Add all the onion mix back in to the pan, heat through
- Transfer in to a casserole pot or suitable ovenproof pie dish
- Add the stock
- Cover with a lid or tin foil
- Cook in a preheated oven gas 6 / 200*c / 400*f - for 1& 1/2 - 2 hours or until the beef is tender
Meanwhile make the Crust -
- Add all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl
- By hand or fork mix in enough of the water to form a soft but not too sticky dough ball
- Cover with a damp t-towel until needed
- When nearly needed, roll out on a floured surface - a little bit bigger than your pie dish
- Mix the egg wash mix together
Finishing the Pie -
- Remove the steak and kidney pie mix from the oven
- Stir in the puree and mustard
- Season to taste
- Cover with the suet crust, simply folding over the excess
- Brush with the egg wash
- Bake for a further 20 - 30 minutes on gas 7 / 220*c / 440*f - until the crust is firm and light golden.
- Serve