isithalal.food · Recipes

Steak and kidney pudding without stout

A steamed British suet pudding filled with Halal steak and kidney in a thick gravy, with Halal beef stock in place of the stout, oil instead of dripping, and Halal or vegetable suet.

British · Main · Moderate · 1 pudding (1.2-litre basin) · 285 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Print Back to recipe

Why Halal checks matter here

The filling is simmered in stout and the vegetables fried in dripping, the pastry is beef suet, and the steak, kidneys, dripping, suet and stock are only Halal from Halal-slaughtered animals.

Halal-critical ingredients

• Stout: The original simmers the steak and kidney in 200 ml of stout. Cooking it does not make it Halal on this site. Use more Halal beef stock, as here. See Beer.
• Dripping: Dripping is beef fat, Halal only from Halal-slaughtered cattle. Use vegetable oil, which the original allows. See Beef tallow.
• Beef suet: The Atora and Aldi beef suet pack records show no Halal mark. Buy beef suet from a Halal butcher, or use vegetable suet. See Suet.
• Steak, kidneys and stock: Beef, kidneys and beef stock are Halal only from Halal slaughter. Buy steak and kidneys from a Halal butcher and use Halal-certified stock cubes. See Beef and Stock cubes.

Ingredients

Filling

• 2½ tbsp (2½ tbsp) vegetable oil (in place of dripping)
• 2 (2) onions, halved and sliced
• 1 (1) large carrot, diced
• 2 (2) bay leaves
• 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) plain flour
• 1 tsp (1 tsp) English mustard powder
• 400 g (14 oz) Halal lean stewing steak, diced
• 150 g (2 kidneys) Halal kidneys, halved, cored and cut into chunks
• 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) Halal beef stock, in place of the stout
• 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) strong Halal beef stock

Suet pastry

• 300 g (2½ cups) plain flour
• 1 tsp (1 tsp) baking powder
• 150 g (5½ oz) shredded beef suet from a Halal butcher, or vegetable suet
• ½ tsp (½ tsp) salt
• 150 ml (⅔ cup) cold water
• for greasing (for greasing) soft butter, for greasing
• to serve (to serve) parsley, chopped (optional)

Method

1. Soften the vegetables. Heat 1½ tbsp of the oil in a large non-stick pan and fry the onions, carrot and bay leaves for 15 minutes, stirring often, until golden.
2. Brown the meat. Mix the flour, mustard powder and some seasoning in a large bowl and toss the steak and kidneys in it until coated. Lift the vegetables out of the pan with a slotted spoon, add the rest of the oil and fry the meat until browned.
3. Simmer without stout. Stir the first 200 ml of stock into the flour left in the bowl (this replaces the stout), pour it into the pan with the second 200 ml of stock and stir over the heat until it thickens to a gravy. Return the vegetables, cover tightly and simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring often so the flour doesn't stick; add a drop of water only if it gets too thick. The meat finishes cooking in the pudding. Leave to cool, or chill overnight.
4. Make the suet pastry. Put the flour, baking powder, suet and ½ tsp salt in a bowl, pour in the 150 ml of cold water and stir with a round-bladed knife into a dough. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface until smooth, then cut off a quarter for the lid.
5. Line and fill the basin. Grease a 1.2-litre pudding basin very generously. Roll the larger piece of pastry into a circle big enough to line the basin up to the rim, press it in evenly and spoon in the filling. Roll the rest into a lid, brush its edge with water, lay it on wet side down and seal it all the way round to the sides.
6. Cover the basin. Cover with a double layer of greased baking parchment and foil, pleated first to allow for expansion, and tie with string, adding a string handle for lifting.
7. Steam. Put an upturned heatproof saucer in a large pan and stand the basin on it. Pour in boiling water to come three-quarters of the way up the basin, cover the pan tightly (with foil if the lid won't close) and simmer over a low heat for 2 hours, topping up with boiling water if needed.
8. Turn out and serve. Lift the pudding out, leave it to settle for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a plate. Scatter with parsley if you like and serve with mash and greens.

Allergens

gluten (flour, and the flour in shredded suet), mustard, milk (butter for greasing)

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Steak & kidney pudding' (onion, carrot and bay fried in dripping; steak and kidney tossed in flour and mustard, browned, then simmered with stout and beef stock for 1¼ to 1½ hours; a suet pastry of plain flour, baking powder and beef suet lining a 1.2-litre basin with a lid; covered with pleated parchment and foil and steamed for 2 hours). We replaced its 200 ml of stout with more Halal beef stock, used its vegetable-oil option instead of dripping, and specified Halal steak, kidneys and stock and Halal beef or vegetable suet. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph from our ingredient library: a homemade steak and kidney pudding, not the finished dish.