450g self raising flour
225g shredded beef suet
568ml cold water
A sprig of thyme
1kg chuck steak, chopped into medium sized chunks of about 1cm
Tablespoon of plain flour enough to cover and dust chopped steak
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
1 carrot, peeled & chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
200g wild mushrooms roughly chopped not to finely, inexpensive mushrooms are just as good
1 oyster per pudding shucked and clean to remove any shell
300ml dark ale, we use old inn dark ale for its deep flavour
1 bay leaf
Sprig of thyme
Splash of olive oil for cooking
1. First make the suet pastry. Mix the flour and suet with a pinch of salt and the leaves from a sprig of thyme. Slowly add cold water to bind. Make the pastry into a ball leave to rest for 20 minutes, then turn onto a floured surface. Roll out to a few millimetres thick. Press into dariole moulds or suitable pudding moulds and cut out lids for each pudding using the top of a spare mould. Set aside.
2. To make the filling, sweat down the onions, garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms in the olive oil until soften and lightly coloured, then add the steak. Once coloured add flour and stir well. Add bay leaf and thyme leaves. Pour in the ale and bring to the boil, simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes stirring often, then leave to cool.
3. Once cooled place an oyster at the bottom of the mould then spoon the stew based mix a few millimetres from the top, then press on the lids and firmly seal the edges and remove any over lapping edges
Butter tin foil and place them on top and steam for up to 2 hours
when making this dish at home i used a large pan filled with boiling water with the water level a few millimetres from the top of the moulds and simmered with a lid or large plate to cover the surface checking every so often it doesn't boil dry and topping up with water if necessary
