Suet crust, or suet pastry, is a pastry crust made by incorporating finely chopped or shredded beef suet into flour, with water added to form a dough. Historically, suet crust has been used primarily for both sweet and savory pies, as well as steamed or boiled puddings such as steak and kidney pudding.
In the Victorian era and earlier, suet was preferred for its availability and its capacity to produce a tender yet robust pastry that remained soft under long cooking methods. Today, vegetable suet is sometimes substituted due to dietary preferences, but traditional beef suet crust remains emblematic of classic British comfort food.
Suet Crust for Pies or Puddings
Source: Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management
To every lb. of flour allow 5 or 6 oz. of beef suet and one pint of water.
Free the suet from skin and shreds; chop it extremely fine, and rub it well into the flour.
Work the whole to a smooth paste, with the above proportion of water.
Roll it out, and it is ready for use.
This crust is quite rich enough for ordinary purposes but when a better one is desired, use from half to three-quarters of a pound of suet to every lb. of flour.
Some cooks, for rich crusts, pound the suet in a mortar, with a small quantity of butter. It should then be laid on the paste in small pieces, the same as for puff- crust, and will be found exceedingly nice for hot tarts.
5 oz. of suet to every lb. of flour will make a very good crust and even a quarter of a lb. will answer very well for children, or where the crust is wanted very plain