How To Make Suet Crust Pastry (Using Atora)

Traditional Suet Crust Pastry is made from self-raising flour, suet, salt and water. Suet pastry is very easy to make and practically foolproof, so makes the perfect pie crust – even if you’re not usually very good with pastry! Though traditionally made using beef suet, suet crust pastry can also be made using vegetable suet. (Serves 4-6, depending on appetite and accompaniments.)

Course Main Course, Pie Crust, Pies

Cuisine British

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings people

Calories 339kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

250 g self-raising flour (US - self-rising flour)
125 g shredded suet (I use Atora Beef or Atora Vegetable Suet)
¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Cold water
1 egg beaten

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

First prepare your pie filling. You can use any pie filling you like – I recommend either a classic steak and vegetable filling, a chicken and vegetable filling or – if making this for vegetarians – a root vegetable and apple filling.
Pre-heat your oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F. (Or turn the oven up to that temperature, if you are already using the oven to cook the pie filling.)
Put the flour, suet and salt in a bowl. Stir to ensure the salt and suet are evenly distributed throughout the flour.
Add just enough cold water to make the mixture come together into a firm dough. (Add a little at a time to ensure the dough does not get too wet. The dough should be firm, but not crumbly or sticky.)
On a floured surface, roll the dough out until it is about 2cm (1inch) bigger than your pie dish all the way round. Place your pie dish upside down and cut round the dish using a knife – make your cut around 1cm (½inch) bigger than the pie dish. Keep the offcuts!
Carefully transfer the pie filling to a 26cm wide pie dish (with a rim). (See Note 1.) If your gravy is looking a little thick, add a splash of boiling water to thin it out. (See Note 2.)
Crack an egg into a small dish and beat lightly with a fork. Using a pastry brush, brush the rim of your pie dish with the beaten egg and cover the rim with pastry offcuts.
Brush the pastry offcuts with beaten egg and then place the rolled out pastry circle on top of the pie and crimp the edges to attach the pie crust to the offcuts and make the pie look pretty. Trim off any overhang.
Finally, brush the pastry lid all over with the beaten egg, then cut a small cross in the centre of the pie to allow the steam to escape.
Place the pie into the oven and cook for 30 minutes, or until the suet pie crust is a beautiful golden brown.

Notes

You have two options here. Option 1 is to transfer the pie filling to a pie dish as per the instructions above. This will give you a beautiful looking pie, but it does require a few extra steps. Option 2 is to simply cut your pastry to fit the top of the dish you cooked the pie filling in and then just pop the suet crust on top of the pie filling, in the same dish as you cooked the pie filling in, so it sits inside the dish – then return the dish to the oven and cook for 30 minutes. This is the much quicker and simpler, but doesn’t look as attractive.
Check on the gravy before covering with the pie lid. The suet crust pastry will absorb some of the liquid, so I recommend adding enough boiling water so the gravy is a little thinner than you would usually make it. By the time the pie is cooked, your gravy will be the perfect thickness!
I recommend using this this 26cm / 10inch Falcon Round Pie Dish.
Suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition