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Beef-steak and Kidney Pudding

A boiled pudding made with diced rump steak, kidneys, suet crust, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Isabella Beeton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Beef-steak and Kidney Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Procure tender rump steak that has been hung a little time.

  2. Divide the steak into pieces about an inch square.

  3. Cut each kidney into 8 pieces.

  4. Line the dish with crust made with suet and flour in the proportion of 6 oz suet to each 1 lb flour, leaving a small piece of crust to overlap the edge.

Assemble the pudding

  1. Cover the bottom with a portion of steak and a few pieces of kidney; season with salt and pepper.

  2. Add another layer of steak, kidney, and seasoning.

  3. Repeat layers until the dish is full.

  4. Pour in sufficient water to come within 2 inches of the top of the basin.

  5. Moisten the edges of the crust.

  6. Cover the pudding with the top crust, press the two crusts together so gravy does not escape, and turn up the overhanging paste.

  7. Wring out a cloth in hot water, flour it, and tie up the pudding.

Boil and serve

  1. Put the pudding into boiling water and let it boil for at least 4 hours.

  2. If the water diminishes, replenish with hot water from a jug, keeping the pudding covered.

  3. When the cloth is removed, cut out a round piece in the top of the crust to prevent bursting.

  4. Serve quickly.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

167Calories
4 gProtein
0 gFat
38 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Isabella Beeton. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Rump steak (in the method)
Provides the main meaty filling that becomes tender during the long cooking.
Kidneys
Adds a rich, strong meaty flavour to the filling and gravy.
Suet (in the method)
Enriches the crust with fat, keeping it tender and moist during boiling.
Flour (in the method)
Forms the structure of the crust that holds the filling and gravy.

The step that matters

Keeping the water level and boil going. The pudding is cooked by boiling water around the sealed basin for hours. If the water drops, the crust and meat can dry or cook unevenly, so the water must be topped up with hot water to keep the boil steady.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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