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ann_oliver
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steak and
oyster
suet
pudding
I came across this idea when writing a weekly feature column for the Adelaide Advertiser and researching the history of oysters. In the 1600s oysters were cheap and plentiful and whilst they were the food of the poor, equally they were the food of the rich. Water was too dangerous to drink and beer and stout were the main beverages. Funny, but as it turned out, excellent inspiration to make a mentioned dish a reality.
The late Bessie Mortimer was a wonderful cook and whilst in her later years she explored more modern cookery, she was a font of knowledge for more traditional old English cooking. Bessie’s Steak and Kidney Pudding with the suet crust was legendary and it was a no brainer to use her recipe for the steak and oyster pudding. The suet pastry used for this pudding is brilliant, and my only intervention was to change it to metric weights.
AO 29 june 2025
PICTURED above fresh suet before trimming
image copyright © wikipedia
[1] Fresh suet needs to be ordered from your butcher well in advance these days. I prefer fresh, and it needs to be nice and white, clean smelling and no stickiness to it. Suet is one of those ingredients less commonly used these days and requires a level of trust with your butcher.
bessie's SUET PASTRY
Clean the suet of all skin and bloody pieces and chop it into cubes of about 1cm. Weight from it 290g – this should be about all you have left after cleaning.
Measure out the water. Put the flour, baking powder and salt into the processor and mix together. With the motor running, feed the suet down the feed tube and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Do not overprocess. Add the water, and as soon as the pastry comes together in a ball, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hand and heel until it is smooth.
Wrap in plastic and rest in a cool place for at least 30 minutes.
you will need
The fact that most traditional pudding basins have an outside ridge, is for good reason. It gives you a point to tie your string on and secure your covering so that water does not get into your pudding.
1 x 2L-2.5L traditional ceramic pudding basin click here
baking paper
Aluminum foil
cooking twine
cake rack or collapsible steamer stand that fits into your saucepan
for the pudding
serves 6-8
1 quantity of Bessie’s Suet Pastry…recipe above
500g brown onions p/w, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
125g unsalted butter
plenty of freshly ground black pepper
2 pinches Maldon sea salt
60g Worcestershire sauce
sprigs of thyme, stalked and chopped
100g port or stout
250g veal or poultry reduction
1kg chuck steak, cleaned up a little and cut into cubes
60g of flour + little for rolling the pastry
2 dozen oysters and their liquor
Remembering the oysters provide a lot of saltiness…apart from a couple of pinches in the onions, I prefer not to add salt, because it is hard to judge until the pudding is cooked and always put salt on the table.
PICTURED ABOVE….traditional pudding basin
for the filling
Sauté the onions and garlic in a pan with the butter, Maldon and pepper until they are golden. Stalk and finely chop the thyme, add it, the Worcestershire sauce, port or stout and poultry stock, simmer for three minutes, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Trim and cube the meat. Put the flour into a bowl, season it lightly and roll the meat through the flour.
Tear off a sheet of baking paper slightly larger than the top of the basin. Invert the basin over the piece of baking paper, and using a sharp knife cut a disk of paper.
Butter and flour the pudding basin/
Roll out three-quarters of the pastry and line the basin. Put half of the filling into the pastry, add the oysters and any liquor and gently place the remaining filling on top.
Fold back the top edges of the pastry into the centre. Roll the remaining pastry until it is slightly larger than the top, and position it on the top of the pudding. Very gently tuck the edges down the sides of the pudding basin and place the disk of baking paper on top.
Cover with a double layer of foil, securing it with string, and then fold the foil back on itself so that it is completely waterproof. Everything to this point can be done several hours in advance.
Three-quarters fill the saucepan with hot water and put the cake rack or steamer in the bottom. Put the pan on medium heat and when it starts to boil, add the pudding. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for three hours.
Always remember to check the water level, letting it run out of water means that your pudding is ruined.
Allow the pudding to rest in the pot for at least 30 minutes before umoulding.
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