Topic: microwave

[gordonsveg]

Does anyone have a recipe for steak and kidney pudding that can be cooked in a microwave please? ??? ???

[valmarg]

Yes, I've found one in an old M&S cookbook.  It's quite long, so I'll type it out and post it as soon as I can.

valmarg

[Melbourne12]

We've experimented with savoury and sweet suet puddings in the microwave, but I'm not sure that it's really a great success.  Put it like this - none of them have become regular favourites.

You make the crust as per normal - 2 parts SR flour to 1 part suet, plus salt, and water to mix to a stiff dough.

The filling has to be cooked in advance (which is one reason why it's not very labour saving, but in all fairness you can make a batch and freeze it in portions).  It doesn't have to be Kate & Sidney, of course, steak & ale, chicken & mushroom, whatever.  But make plenty of gravy - you'll need extra to pour over the pudding.

Use a large pudding basin or pyrex bowl.  The crust will expand greatly during cooking.  Grease it well and line with the suet dough, say half way up.  Add the filling, leaving it moist but not too much gravy.  Too much liquid will boil and blow the top off the pudding.  Add the suet crust lid, and pierce well.

The cooking time will depend on your oven power and the size of pudding.  Give it 5 minutes on full power and see how it's getting on.  It will rise alarmingly.  Probably the best method of judging when it's done is to taste a bit of the crust.

If your results are the same as ours, you'll end up with a pudding that is very light and fluffy (good) but with the filling sort of embedded in it rather than as a separate juicy middle (not bad, but a bit odd).  Serve with plenty of gravy, since the liquid in the filling will mostly have been absorbed by the crust.

[valmarg]

I am not a microwave fan, as I personally find it difficult to use, insofar as I either overdo stuff to the inedible, or don't do very well. ;D

That said. OH is a past master.  Things he does in the microwave in a pyrex dish that on the hob would leave you with a gungy saucepan with caked on debris are mushy peas, bread sauce, cheese sauce, etc.

As I said I will type out the recipe I have.  I can't recommend it because we have never tried it.  One sweet one I can thoroughly recommend is a treacle suet pudding.  It's in another M&S microwave cookbook.  Preparation/cooking time is 10-15 minutes.  It's easy, delicious and we had to stop doing them because they were not helping our weight. ;D

valmarg
 

[PurpleHeather]

The microwave can work perfectly for 'steaming' if you get the timing exact.

Sadly if you do not (and it is only a short time with cooking) then the result makes a complete failure of something which has taken a long time to prepare.

[Digeroo]

Personally I like steak and kidney pudding done in a pressure cooker.  It softens up the meat really well. 

[Melbourne12]

Personally I like steak and kidney pudding done in a pressure cooker.  It softens up the meat really well. 

I agree - and it's nearly as quick as microwaving

[Obelixx]

Can't help with cooking ina microwave as I only ever heat up coffee or defrost things in ours and the d**n thing's offline anyway as it's taken to shorting out the entire house rather than just tripping its own circuit.

However, I can help with Valmarg's sticky pots.   Leave them to soak overnight with some biological washing powder such as Ariel.   It's brilliant, especially with milk or cheese baked dishes and also my occasional bits of pyromania where I forget a pan and then find a burnt crust in the bottom.

[valmarg]

Well, I've typed it out, and I should have to say I don't fancy it one bit.

The recipe is based on a microwave oven with a maximum output of 700 watts so it would need to be adapted for higher output ovens.  Something I don't know how to do. ;D

MICROWAVE STEAK AND KIDNEY PUDDING

Filling:
25g/1ox butter
25g/1oz flour
1 beef stock cube, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
200ml/⅓ pint hot water
225g/8oz ox kidney, rinsed trimmed and chopped
450g/1lb chuck steak, wiped trimmed and finely chopped (minced)
2 medium onions, peeled and grated or puréed

Pastry:
225g/8oz plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
100g/4oz shredded suet
8-10   tablespoons water

1.Put the butter in a 2 litre/3½ pint bowl and cook on maximum (full) for one minute or until it has melted.
2.Stir in the flour, then add all the remaining filling ingredients.  Stir thoroughly, then ¾ cover with cling film and cook on max for 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes.  Reduce the setting to medium low (35%) and cook for a further 15 minutes, stirring once during cooking.
3.Meanwhile make the pastry.  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl, then stir in the suet.  Mix in sufficient water to form a soft but manageable dough.
4.Roll out pastry and line a 1litre/2 pint buttered pudding basin.  Spoon filling into basin, and roll out a circle of pastry to form the lid.  Damp the edges of the pastry in the basin and place the lid on top.  Slit the pastry lid with a sharp knife, cover the basin loosely with clingfilm.  Cook on medium low (35%) for 15 minutes.  Release the clingfilm at one corner and leave the pudding to stand for 10 minutes before turning out on to a hot dish.


We have a very good recipe for steak and kidney, whether we use it for pie or pudding.  We make a large batch of the mix and freeze in (Lakeland ;D) tubs.  Whether we fancy pie or pudding, we defrost a tub and make the pie or pud.

OH has said when we do a batch bake of filling, once the pudding is assembled, he would he more than happy to cook it in the microwave.  I think this would probably be a better option than the above. ;D

valmarg

[gordonsveg]

Thank you all for your help,it turned out o.k but next time it will be the pressure cooker.
     Once again THANKS VERY MUCH ,A HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.