Beef & onion steamed pudding

Volumes are approximate. For baking, use a scale; Metric keeps the specified gram weights.

• about 1 lb (450 g) raw boneless chuck eye roast, external fat trimmed to zero, edible meat and internal fat cut into 2 cm cubes
• about 5 ¼ oz (150 g) onion, finely diced
• about 2 tsp (10 g) olive oil
• 20 g plain tomato paste
• 2 g fresh thyme leaves
• about ¼ tsp (½ g) ground black pepper
• about ¾ tsp (5 g) fine salt, divided: 3 g filling and 2 g pastry
• about 1 ⅔ cups (400 g) water, divided: about 10 ½ oz (300 g) braise, about 3 ¼ oz (90 g) pastry and about 2 tsp (10 g) slurry; separate steaming water is a process aid
• 8 g cornstarch
• about 1 ¾ cups (220 g) all-purpose flour, divided: about 7 ½ oz (210 g) pastry and 10 g handling
• about 1 ⅓ tsp (5 g) baking powder
• about ¼ cup + 2 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter, divided: about ¼ cup + 1 ½ tbsp (80 g) cold pastry butter and 5 g basin grease

Let’s make it

1. Heat oven to 325 F /163 C. Brown beef in all oil in a small lidded ovenproof pot in 2 batches, about 8–10 minutes total. Add onion and cook 5 minutes; stir in tomato paste, thyme, pepper and 3 g salt for 1 minute.
2. Add about 1 ¼ cups (300 g) water, scrape the pot, bring to a simmer, cover tightly and braise in the oven 2½–3 hours until beef is fork-tender. Check halfway; if liquid is catching, add only enough boiling process water to replace evaporation. Retain all meat, fat and juices.
3. Mix cornstarch with the reserved about 2 tsp (10 g) cold water. Stir into the simmering filling on the stove and cook 2 minutes until thick. If still loose, simmer uncovered up to 10 minutes; the filling should mound on a spoon, not run like soup.
4. Transfer filling to a shallow container in an ice-water bath, stir occasionally for about 20 minutes, then refrigerate promptly until 40 F /4 C or below, allowing about 60–70 minutes. Keep bath water out of food. Do not leave the filling on the counter to cool for hours.
5. During chilling, mix about 1 cup + 1 ½ tbsp (210 g) flour, baking powder and 2 g salt. Rub in about ¼ cup + 1 ½ tbsp (80 g) cold butter to coarse crumbs, add about ¼ cup + 2 tbsp (90 g) cold water and bring together gently. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. This is butter pastry, not a suet crust.
6. Grease a heatproof 1.2-liter pudding basin with about 1 tsp (5 g) butter. Reserve one-quarter of dough for the lid. Using the 10 g handling flour, roll the rest about 5 mm thick and line the basin without stretching. Patch with any clean trimmings so no pastry is discarded.
7. Spoon all cold filling into the lined basin, leaving about 1 cm headroom. Roll the reserved dough into a lid, moisten the edge with a fingertip of process water, press firmly to seal and fold any excess neatly into the rim. Cover with baking parchment and foil, each with a central expansion pleat; secure under the rim with kitchen string.
8. Set basin on a stable trivet in a deep covered pot. Add boiling water to halfway up the basin, below the cover, then keep at a steady gentle simmer for 2½ hours. Check every 25–30 minutes and carefully top up with boiling water; never let it boil dry or water enter the cover.
9. Carefully remove using heatproof mitts and a secure lifting sling. Open foil away from the face. Pastry must be fully set and the center of the filling at least 165 F /74 C; if not, reseal and steam longer. Rest 10 minutes, loosen the rim and invert carefully onto a rimmed plate. Divide all pastry, beef and gravy into 4 equal portions.
10. The 600-minute allowance includes pre-braising, safe cooling, pastry chilling, assembly and steaming; longer cooling or tenderness checks add time. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow portions within 2 hours, use within 3–4 days and reheat to 165 F /74 C.