Steaming gives the suet pastry its distinctive soft, open texture. The easiest way to cook the pudding is to put its container in a saucepan with hot water that comes halfway up the sides of the container. The pan is covered and the pudding cooked over low heat to steam gently for a long time, and water is added to the pan as necessary. Take care to cover the pudding with a double thickness of kitchen foil, pleated to allow for expansion of the crust, and put a band of folded foil under the basin with ends projecting up the sides to act as handles.

SERVES
675 g|1 ½ lb chuck steak
butter for greasing
225 g|8 oz ox kidney
salt and freshly ground black pepper
plain flour
2 teaspoons very finely chopped onion
suet pastry made with 340 g|12 oz self-raising flour

1. Cut the beef into cubes about 2.5cm|1 in square
2. Cut the kidneys into smaller cubes, discarding any sinews.
3. Place both beef and kidney in a large sieve. Pour over the flour and shake until the meat is lightly coated.
4. On a floured surface, roll out two-thirds of the suet pastry into a round about 1 cm|1½ in thick. Flour the surface lightly to stop it sticking together when folded. Fold the pastry over to form a half-moon shape. Place the pastry with the straight side away from you and roll it lightly so that the straight side becomes curved and the whole rounded again. Now separate the layers, and you should have a bag, roughly the shape of a 1 kg|2¼ lb pudding basin. Use it to line the lightly greased basin, easing the pastry where necessary to fit, and trimming off the top so that 1 cm|½ in sticks up over the edge.
5. Fill the lined basin with the meat, sprinkling plenty of salt, pepper, onion and parsley in between the layers.
6. Add water to come three-quarters of the way up the meat.
7. Roll the remaining third of suet pastry 5mm|¼ in thick, and large enough to just cover the pudding filling. Put in place, wet the edges and press the together securely.
8. Cover the pudding with a double piece of greaseproof paper, pleated down the centre to allow room for the pastry to expand, and a similarly pleated piece of kitchen foil. Tie down with strings.
9. Place in a saucepan of boiling water with a tightly closed lid, or in a steamer, for 4-5 hours, taking care to top up with boiling water occasionally so as not to boil dry.
10. Remove the paper and foil and serve the pudding from the bowl.

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Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]