This worked out really well!

I'd never made a boiled pudding before. Or baked with suet. Lard, yes, but not suet. I'd used suet in cooking and making things like mincemeat. But I don't think I'd ever done a classic suet pudding before. So this was a bit of an experiment, but also a lot of fun.

I made this as a gluten-free, dairy-free clootie dumpling. I just used a commercial gluten-free flour mix and some rice-based GF breadcrumbs and then swapped in some oat milk for the cow's milk. The flour I used did have some vegetable gums added to try to compensate for the lack of gluten, but my dumpling was still somewhat lacking in structural integrity. I might try adding an extra egg next time, just to help bind it a little more. It was still delicious either way, it just didn't stay intact.

Clootie Dumpling

From BBC Good Food

Ingredients

• 175g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 175g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• 175g beef suet, grated/shredded
• 100g dark soft brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 100g currants
• 175g sultanas
• 2 tbsp black treacle or golden syrup
• 150mL milk
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. Boil a pudding cloth for 15-20 minutes, then wring it out and dust it liberally with flour.
2. Tip the breadcrumbs, flour, suet, sugar, salt, baking soda, spices, and dried fruit into a large bowl and stir to mix.
3. Whisk the treacle or syrup into the milk and egg using a fork until well blended.
4. Stir the mixture into the dry ingredients with a fork or butter knife to make a soft dough.
5. Use the floured pudding cloth to line a large bowl and then press the dough into it to make a large, round ball.
6. Dust the top of the pudding with more flour and then bring the edges of the cloth up around the top of the pudding and tie it off, leaving enough room for some expansion.
7. Fill a large pot with water, place an upturned plate in it, and bring to a simmer.
8. Place your cloth-wrapped pudding into the simmering water, cover, and cook for 3 hours.
9. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
10. Tip the pudding into a colander to drain, then carefully peel off the cloth.
11. Place the pudding on an ovenproof dish or baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes to dry it off and produce the classic skin.
12. Serve sliced with custard, cream, or ice cream—and a dram of whisky if you like.

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Variations

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Version

Ingredients

• 175g gluten-free breadcrumbs¹
• 175g gluten-free flour, plus extra for dusting
• 175g beef suet, grated/shredded
• 100g dark soft brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 100g currants
• 175g sultanas
• 2 tbsp black treacle or golden syrup
• 150mL oat milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice)
• 1-2 large eggs

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¹ As noted above, I used some dry, rice-based breadcumbs for my version in order to keep my dumpling gluten-free. This seemed to work fine. That said, I think I'd probably aim to get a loaf of GF bread next time and make my own fresh breadcrumbs. ^Back

Scottish food has the best names! Neeps (turnips), tatties (potatoes), clapshot (mashed neeps and tatties with chives), skirlie (suet-fried oats and onions)... the list goes on.

I was initially going to make some clapshot to go with the haggis, skirlie, and whiskey sauce for Reiver's birthday. But it ended up working out better to do a pot of plain mashed potatoes and then have the other veggies separate. At which point I figured it might be fun to just do up a few extra tatties, grab some cabbage, and turn it into rumbledethumps. (I mean, it's worth making for the name alone!)

Rumbledethumps

From BBC.co.uk

Ingredients

• 600g potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 400g turnips, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 75g butter, divided
• 250g cabbage (preferably savoy), sliced thin
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 25-50g cheddar cheese, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 23cm (9") square baking dish or other large casserole dish.
2. Place the potatoes and turnips in a pot with enough water to cover them and bring to a boil.
3. Cook until tender, then drain and return to the pot.
4. Meanwhile, melt 50g of the butter over medium heat.
5. Add the cabbage to the butter and cook until tender.
6. Add the cabbage and the remaining 25g of butter to the pot with the tubers and mash.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Transfer the mash to the prepared baking dish and top with cheese.
9. Bake at 180°C (350°F), covered, for 30 minutes.
10. Uncover and continue baking for another 15 minutes.

The Kidlet came home from her cooking class with half of a fairly hefty head of cabbage a couple weeks ago. I wasn't really feeling the cabbage roll casserole or coleslaw, so I've been casting about for another recipe that would use it up. I liked the look of this boiled dinner as a simple, one-pot meal, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Sadly we didn't have any brisket left in the freezer, so I didn't end up making my own corned beef for this. (Maybe next time.)

I actually couldn't find any corned beef (that wasn't out of a can), so I ended up getting a piece of "pastrami-style" brisket instead. They're similar. The pastrami is just more highly seasoned and made from a fattier piece of brisket (and is normally smoked and steamed rather than boiled).

It would have been nice to have had the leaner corned beef for this dinner, but the pastrami still worked very nicely. And TF definitely appreciated how tender it was!

This is a great, simple dinner. Just be aware that you will need a fairly large pot to accommodate all the ingredients. I only had half as much meat and ~75% as many potatoes as I was supposed to and my Dutch oven was still on the verge of overflowing! So, if you don't have a very large pot available, you may want to halve the recipe and make a smaller batch.

Boiled Dinner

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 (1.5-1.8kg/3.5-4 lb.) corned beef brisket¹
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 5-6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 6 large or 12 small carrots, peeled
• 2 cloves garlic (optional)
• 3-4 onions, cut into wedges
• 900g (2 lbs.) new potatoes
• 1 small green cabbage, cut into wedges
• 1/2 c. sour cream²
• 1-2 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
• black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives (optional)

Directions

1. Place the corned beef in a large pot and add enough water to cover it by 2-3cm.
2. Bring to a boil and skim any foam off the surface.
3. Reduce heat; add bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns; cover; and simmer until meat is somewhat tender and has reached an internal temperature of at least 70°C/160°F (2-3 hours³).
4. If your carrots are large, cut them into smaller chunks. (If they're small, they can just be peeled and left whole.)
5. Add the carrots, garlic (if using), onions, potatoes, and cabbage to the pot.
6. Increase heat to quickly bring the mixture back to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and continue to simmer until potatoes are fork tender (~30 minutes).
7. Meanwhile, stir the horseradish into the sour cream and season to taste with pepper.
8. Stir in the chives (if using).
9. Once the vegetables are done, remove them with a slotted spoon.
10. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and slice.
11. Serve the meat and veggies together, passing the horseradish sour cream at the table.

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¹ If you'd like to make your own corned beef, here are the instructions:

Combine 8 cups water, 1 1/2 cups kosher salt, 1/2 c. sugar, 3 Tbsp pickling spices, and 3 cloves garlic, crushed.
Stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
Submerge the brisket in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 5-8 days.
Remove the brisket, rinse, and proceed with recipe.

I didn't end up trying this approach this time (hence why it's down here in a footnote). If I ever do, I'll give it its own write-up in a separate post. I just wanted to have it recorded somewhere in the meantime. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for 1 c. of heavy cream here. You were meant to whip the cream and then fold in 3 Tbsp. of horseradish. TF didn't like the sound of that, so I swapped in some sour cream instead. It was delicious on the beef and went great with the potatoes too! ^Back
3 I was working with a much smaller piece of meat, so mine had already cooked through before it'd even reached the 1-hour mark. Adjust your cooking time as needed based on the size and shape of your brisket. ^Back