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Rump-steak and Kidney Pud- ding
INGREDIENTS for pudding for 6 persons. 2 lbs. of rump-steak, 2 kidneys, seasoning to taste, of salt and black pepper, suet-crust made with milk (see Pastry), in the proportion of 6 oz. of suet to each 1 lb. of flour. AVERAGE COST, 3s. 4d.
Procure some tender rump-steak (that which has been hung a little time), and divide it into pieces about an inch square, and cut each kidney into 8 pieces. Line the basin with crust made with suet and flour in the above proportion, leaving a small piece of crust to overlap the edge.
Then cover the bottom with a portion of the steak and a few pieces of kidney; season with salt and pepper (some add a little flour to thicken the gravy, but it is not necessary), and then add another layer of steak, kidney and seasoning. Proceed in this manner till the basin is full, when pour RUMP-STEAK. in sufficient water to come within 2 inches of the top of the basin. Moisten the edges of the crust, cover the pudding over, press the two crusts together, that the gravy may not escape, and turn up the overhanging paste. Wring out a cloth in hot water, flour it and tie up the pudding; put it into boiling water and let it boil for at least 4 hours. If the water diminishes, always replenish with some hot in a jug, as the SUSSEX PUDDING DISH. pudding should be kept covered all the time, and not allowed to stop boiling. When the cloth is removed, cut out a round piece in the top of the crust, to prevent the pudding bursting, and send it to table in the basin, either in an ornamental dish or with a napkin pinned round it. Serve quickly.
TIME. For apudding with 2 lbs. of steak and 2 kidneys allow 4 hours.
SEASONABLE all the year, but more suitable in winter. Note. Rump-steak pudding may be very much enriched by adding a few oysters or mushrooms.
In Sussex, the inhabitants are noted for their savoury puddings, which are usually made in the manner just described. It differs from the general way of making them, as the meat is cut up into very small pieces and the basin is differently shaped, resembling a very large saucer: on trial, this pudding will be found far nicer, and more full of gravy, than when laid in large pieces in the basin. Where time (does not allow for the proper boiling of a meat pudding, it may be made of McCall's tinned meat, with a little fresh kidney cut up small in it. Rump-steakand Oyster Sauce. -INGREDIENTS for dish for 6 persons. 3 dozen oysters, ingredients for oyster sauce, 2 lb. of rump-steak, seasoning to taste, of pepper and salt. AVERAGE COST, 5s. 6d.
Make the oyster sauce, and when that is ready, put it by the side of the fire, but do not let it keep boiling. Have the steaks cut of an equal thickness, broil them over a very clear fire, turning them often that the gravy may not escape. In about 8 minutes they will be done, when put them on a very hot dish; smother with the oyster sauce, and the remainder send to table in a tureen. Serve quickly.
TIME.-About 8 to 10 minutes, according to the thickness of the steak. Instead of RUMP-STEAK PIE. fresh oysters, tinned ones may be used for the sauce.
SEASONABLE from September to April.
Rump - steak or Beefsteak, Broiled. INGREDIENTS. Steaks, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, salt to taste, 1 tablespoonful of good mushroom ketchup or Harvey's sauce. AVERAGE COST, 1s. 2d. per lb.
As the success of a good broil so much depends on the state of the fire, see that it is bright and clear, and perfectly free from smoke, and do not add any fresh fuel just before you require to use the gridiron.
Sprinkle a little salt over the fire, put on the gridiron for a few minutes, to get thoroughly hot through; rub it with a piece of fresh suet, to prevent the meat from sticking, and lay on the steaks, which should be cut of an equal thickness, about of an inch, or rather thinner, and levelled by beating as little as possible with a rolling-pin. Turn them frequently with steak-tongs (if these are not at hand, stick a fork in the edge of the fat, that no gravy escapes), and in from 8 to 10 minutes they will be done.
Have ready a very hot dish, into which put the ketchup, and, when liked, a little minced shalot; dish up the steaks, rub them over with butter and season with pepper and salt. The exact time for broiling steaks must be determined by taste, whether they are liked underdone or well done; more than from 8 to 10 minutes for a steak inch in thickness, we think, would spoil and dry up the juices of the meat. Great expedition is necessary in sending broiled steaks to table; and, to have them in perfection, they should not be cooked till everything else prepared for dinner has been dished up, as their excellence entirely depends on their being served very hot. Garnish with scraped horseradish. Oyster, tomato, onion and many other sauces, are frequent accompaniments to rump-steak, but true lovers of this English dish generally reject all additions but pepper and salt.
TIME.-8 to 10 minutes.
SEASONABLE all the year, but not good in the height of summer, as the meat cannot hang long enough to be tender.
A boiled suet pudding is one of the few Victorian dishes that needs almost no translation, but the vessel, the water level and the covering all repay attention. The page also runs on into two grilled-steak recipes; the notes below concern the pudding.
- The hinge: the water must never stop boilingBeeton is emphatic, and she says so twice. Top up only with boiling water from a kettle, and keep the pan lid on. A pudding allowed to go off the boil risks a heavy, sodden crust.
- Basin size and quantitiesTwo pounds of steak plus two kidneys and the crust for it needs a generous pudding basin; a 2-pint (roughly 1.2 litre) basin is the bare minimum and something larger is safer. Serves six as the original says, with potatoes and a green vegetable.
- Suet crust proportions6 oz suet to 1 lb flour is a lean crust by modern standards, where 8 oz to 1 lb is common. Use self-raising flour, or plain flour with 2 teaspoons baking powder, and enough milk to give a soft dough. Shredded packet suet works; vegetable suet gives a slightly less rich result.
- The kidneysTwo kidneys here probably means beef or ox kidney, sold in a piece rather than whole. Trim out the white core and gristle thoroughly, which she does not mention; the recipe itself says eight pieces to each kidney, though smaller pieces closer to the size of the steak suit the Sussex method she praises. Lamb's kidneys are milder if ox kidney is too strong for your table, though you will need a good many to make up the weight.
- The steak"Hung a little time" means dry-aged. Modern rump is usually sold too fresh to be tender enough for a pudding cut into inch squares; braising steak, chuck or skirt gives a better result over four hours than lean rump does.
- Water level"Within 2 inches of the top" assumes a deep basin filled with meat. In practice add water or beef stock until it comes about two-thirds up the filling; too much and the top crust lifts and leaks.
- Cloth or foilThe floured cloth is authentic but fiddly. A round of pleated baking parchment and a layer of foil, tied under the rim with string, does the same job and keeps water out. Stand the basin on a trivet or folded cloth in the pan so it does not rattle on the base, and keep water at least halfway up the sides.
- TimingFour hours is not exaggerated for this size, and the pudding will take five without harm. If you prefer a steamer to a full boil, allow the same time and check the water hourly.
- Two obsolete referencesThe "Sussex pudding dish" is a wide, shallow, saucer-shaped basin, which gives more crust in proportion to filling. "McCall's tinned meat" was a branded tinned meat of the period and is long gone; the shortcut it suggests is not worth reviving.
Steak and kidney pudding is often said to be the older sibling of steak and kidney pie: boiling in a basin needed no oven, only a pot over the fire, which is why it belonged to households that baked rarely or not at all. Suet crust cooked in a cloth is an English technique documented well before Beeton, and savoury versions were established by the eighteenth century, with the beefsteak-and-kidney combination becoming standard in the nineteenth. The Sussex note is one of the more interesting passages in the book: it records a genuine regional practice, the very shallow wide basin and the finely cut meat, and Beeton endorses it on the practical ground that small pieces yield more gravy. The addition of oysters, mentioned almost in passing, reflects a period when oysters were cheap enough to bulk out a beef dish rather than adorn it. The pudding is costed at 3s 4d for six.