Suet is beef fat....very solid...and the best kind is found in a chunk above the kidneys...called...duh..."kidney suet"! LOL!
Don't be turned off....much nicer than crisco!
A steamed pudding is steamed in a ....another Duh!...a "pudding steamer!"..I have one which is a mold with a clamp ob lid.
If you don't have as teamer...you use a pudding bowl...which is a heavy crockery bowl...with a sort of lip...so you can cover it with oiled parchment and put it into a pan of water on top of the stove...on a rack so it doesn't touch the bottom of the pot....and steam it.
Other recipes call for a pudding cloth...which is a piece of muslin that you tie up around a ball of dough and place in a pot above the boiling water and steam it that way.
Linda C

cookie8,

You need to start Plum Pudding (Christmas Pudding) about six weeks before you want to serve it. Suet is raw beef fat especially the hard fat around the loins and kidneys. You can substitute Crisco but you'll loose the authentic taste of the pudding. I describe how I steam mine in the recipe below. I have served this to my neighbor who is British & lives in England half of the year. Her family has written me from England saying it's the best pudding they've had & asking for the recipe. Since I've never eaten Plum Pudding in England...I can't vouch for their compliments but we sure enjoy it!

Here's my recipe:

PLUM PUDDING WITH GRAND MARNIER HARD SAUCE
Makes about a dozen servings.

2 Cups Chopped Walnuts
1 3/4 Cups Dried Currants
1 3/4 Cups Golden Raisins
3/4 Cup Chopped Candied Orange Peel
3/4 Cup Chopped Candied Lemon Peel
1/2 Cup Chopped Candied Citron
1/2 Cup Chopped Pitted Prunes (dried PLUMS, hence Plum Pudding!)
1 Cup AP Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Allspice
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
2 Cups Dried Fresh Breadcrumbs, lightly toasted (you can use those crumbs in the paper tube affair...I won't tell)
1 Cup Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
3 Eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 lb. Ground Suet (I have to grind this in my food processor)
1 Granny Smith Apple, cored and finely chopped
1 Carrot, peeled and grated
1/4 Cup Fresh Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Grand Marnier
1/4 Cup Cognac
1 Teaspoon Sugar

Butter a 2 1/2 quart mold thoroughly (use a bundt pan w/o too many details)

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl or stockpot. Mix in flour, salt, allspice, and ginger. Add breadcrumbs, brown sugar, eggs, suet, apple, carrot, orange juice, and Grand Marnier and mix well.

Pack tightly into prepared pan. Cover with parchment paper cut to fit. Then, cover with foil and tightly seal foil down around edges of pan. Push your finger through the hole in the center of the bundt pan and crimp the foil down around the hole to seal. Then, place another larger piece of foil over the entire pan and seal tightly at edges. Lastly, take a knife and poke through this second layer of foil where the hole is to allow steam to penetrate pan.

Place a rack in a large kettle and sit the pudding pan on the rack. Fill kettle with water to half-way up the sides of the pudding mold (pan). Cover kettle. Turn on the heat and bring to a strong simmer. Turn the heat down to a slow simmer. Steam the pudding for 2 - 2 1/2 hrs. adding more water, as necessary.

After the pudding is done, discard all wrapping materials and allow the pudding to sit for about 5-10 minutes. Place a plate over the pudding and flip to unmold.

Then, return pudding to the baking pan (you unmolded it just to make sure it didn't stick). Heat the brandy and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat, swirling pan occassionally, until warm. Ignite with a match. Pour over pudding. Wrap the pudding tightly and store in the refrigerator for 3-6 weeks to mellow.

Serve with hard sauce

GRAND MARNIER HARD SAUCE

1 Cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3 Cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 Cup Grand Marnier
1 Egg Yolk

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add Grand Marnier and yolk and beat until smooth. Transfer to a serving dish. Refrigerate until firm. Bring to room temperature before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

/tricia

Yeah, I kind of figured it was out of my league. Maybe another year. Maybe I will just stick with my eggnog cheesecake.

If you do decide to make the pudding, Atora brand makes a good vegetarian suet...FYI

Here is a link that might be useful: store selling Atora

And if you do make the pudding, try pouring hot lemon and butter sauce over it. It's sweet and lemony and so very delicious!

1 cup sugar
2 TBS cornstarch
2 cups water
4 TBS butter
1 teasp lemon juice
1 teasp grated lemon rind
1/4 teasp salt

Combine first 3 ingredients in saucepan and stir over low heat. When sauce thickens remove from stove and stir in butter, lemon juice, rind and salt. Spoon over hot pudding. Keeps well in fridge for a few days. Can be reheated and used again.

SharonCb