Steak and kidney hotpot

Packed with flavour and incredibly easy to make, this steak and kidney hotpot is a super easy meal with minimum prep. To speed things up I cooked the steak and kidney in a pressure cooker before adding a layer of sliced potatoes and finishing it in the oven. I've also included stovetop instructions for those who prefer a more traditional approach.

What is a hotpot?

A hotpot is simply a slow-cooked stew or casserole made with meat and vegetables and topped with a layer of sliced potatoes. Today I'm sharing a delicious steak and kidney hotpot. You can put any combination of meat and vegetables in a hotpot, as you will see from these recipes:

• Lancashire hotpot made with lamb;
• minced beef hotpot made with ground beef
• pork and cabbage hotpot which uses pork as the main ingredient.

This recipe for steak and kidney hotpot almost didn't get posted - which would have been a pity, because in my humble opinion, this steak and kidney hotpot is one of the tastiest casseroles on my website!

The reason I almost didn't post it, was because the potatoes sank down into the gravy instead of sitting on top and turning crispy (as they were supposed to). But all things happen for a reason, and once I'd tasted the potatoes that had soaked up all the flavours of the rich, tasty gravy, I realised that we were onto a winner! It just goes to show - even if your meal doesn't turn out quite as originally envisaged, it doesn't mean it's going to be any less tasty! Perhaps I should have subtitled this recipe 'How to turn a Culinary Disaster into a Triumph'

But it turned out well!

To speed up the process I cooked the steak and kidney in a pressure cooker - it only takes half an hour to bring the meat to fall-apart tenderness in my Ninja. However, if you get started early you can easily cook the meat in a saucepan on the stove. It will take around 2 hours to get to the same consistency.

Then I transferred the cooked steak and kidney to a casserole dish, covered it with a layer of thinly sliced potatoes, popped the lid on the casserole, and baked it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

To cut a long story short, the end result was succulent steak and kidney hotpot, swimming in a thick, luscious gravy and covered with soft almost fondant-like potatoes (instead of the layer of crispy potatoes I thought I was going to get).

But it doesn't matter - it turned out well in the end. And this was backed up by hubby's comment 'Oh thank goodness you made lots - we're definitely having the leftovers tomorrow'!

Jump to:

• What is a hotpot?
• But it turned out well!
• Why did my potatoes sink?
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Tips for a successful outcome
• Serving suggestions
• Equipment
• Storage
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

Why did my potatoes sink?

I think it was for 3 reasons:

• I sliced the potatoes on a mandolin and I may have sliced them too thinly. The potatoes should be about one-eighth of an inch in thickness.
• There was a lot of gravy in the casserole. Now this in itself isn't a bad thing - the gravy is delicious - but the gravy probably bubbled up while the dish was in the oven and covered the potatoes.
• Even though my gravy had thickened nicely, because there was so much of it I should probably have thickened it more with a little flour and butter.

I'm going to make this recipe again in the near future and add some new photos so you can see what it was supposed to turn out like.

But in the meantime - it still makes a yummy supper!

Ingredients

This recipe will feed at least 4 people.

• Steak - you should use a cut of stewing steak which benefits from a long, low cooking process such as chuck, flank or topside. I used a piece of brisket with a nice marbling of fat running through it. The steak should be cut into bite-size pieces.
• Kidney - ox kidney is the best to use. Lamb kidney would turn rubbery in the time this dish takes to cook. You can buy a whole piece of kidney and remove the inner core and chop the kidney yourself, or buy ready-cleaned and chopped-up ox kidney from the butcher.
• Flour - this should be seasoned with salt and black pepper. It is used to coat the meat. You may also need a little flour mixed with a knob of butter for thickening the gravy.
• Onions - peeled and finely chopped. These will go into the pressure cooker with the meat and should be cut into chunky dice.
• Cabbage - not everyone likes cabbage, so you can leave it out if you prefer. The cabbage goes into the pressure cooker at the same time as the meat, and cooks away to almost nothing, leaving lots of flavour in the gravy. It should be finely sliced.
• Carrots - these go into the pressure cooker for 4 minutes once the meat has cooked. If you left out the cabbage you might like to add other vegetables at this time. Sliced green beans would be a good choice, as would chunks of sweet potato or yams.
• Potatoes - these form the topping of the hotpot and I also grate one potato and add it to the pressure cooker with the meat to help thicken the gravy naturally. The potatoes should be peeled and cut into slices approximately one-eighths of an inch in thickness.
• Stock - this is beef stock. I normally make it using a stock cube or a stock pot. If you are cooking the meat in a pressure cooker you will find 2 cups of stock is sufficient; if you intend to cook this on the stovetop you will probably need an additional cup to allow for evaporation.
• Worcestershire sauce and tomato puree (or tomato paste) - used for additional flavour.
• Dried thyme - you could substitute this with other herbs such as rosemary or oregano, or simply leave it out.
• The final ingredient would be a couple of tablespoons of sunflower or other vegetable oil for browning the meat. Browning the meat isn't strictly necessary - the meat will still turn out tender and succulent, but I always feel that browning the meat before cooking it adds an extra dimension of flavour.

**You can find the exact ingredient measurements to make this steak and kidney hotpot on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

Instructions

This is where the wheels fell off when I made it! When I took the casserole out of the oven after 30 minutes the potatoes had sunk and as I thought I'd ruined the dish I stopped taking process shots.

I managed to rescue the potatoes (almost) by using a fork to lift the potatoes back onto the top of the meat, then I browned them in the oven for the final 15 minutes. They weren't as crispy as they should have been, but they certainly tasted delicious! They were soft and creamy, and absolutely packed with flavour.

Tips for a successful outcome

Here are my top tips to ensure your steak and kidney hotpot turns out perfectly:

• If you've bought pre-cut kidneys, make sure that you remove any bits of the middle core. Even if you've used a reputable butcher, the odd bits of core can sometimes get left behind.
• Don't skip the step of browning the meat. This not only adds loads of flavour to the dish, but the flour in the coating helps to thicken the gravy.
• Adding a grated potato to the pressure cooker helps thicken the gravy even more as the potato cooks away to nothing, leaving only the starch behind.
• Do not cut your potatoes too thinly or they will not stay on top of the casserole. They will soften too quickly and they will sink. ⅛th of an inch is the perfect thickness!
• When thickening the gravy (only if necessary) the amount of flour you will need will depend on how much gravy you have. Half a teaspoon of flour should be sufficient but if you have lots of gravy you may find you need a full teaspoonful.
• Cover the casserole with a lid for the first 30 minutes in the oven so the potatoes can soften in the steam that gets produced. Then remove the lid and cook for a further 15 minutes to allow the potatoes to brown and crisp.

Serving suggestions

I like to serve this steak and kidney casserole with lightly steamed vegetables such as cauliflower, brussels sprouts and green beans.

Equipment

This is the equipment you will need for making a steak and kidney hotpot:

• Pressure cooker - I used my Nina pressure cooker which I find cooks food in less time than a normal electric pressure cooker. Please consult your manufacturer's manual for your own particular model of pressure cooker.
• Saucepan - you can also make the steak and kidney filling in a saucepan on the stove. You will need a saucepan large enough to hold all the ingredients, with a tightly fitting lid to minimise evaporation.
• Casserole dish - I used a heavy cast iron casserole dish, but you could use ceramic too as long as it has a lid.
• Mandolin - for slicing the potatoes. You could also use a sharp knife and a chopping board.

Storage

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.

This dish freezes well. Allow it to come to room temperature, transfer it to a suitable container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and reheat as above.

Save for later

If you would like to make this steak and kidney hotpot (and probably do a better job than I did) why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.

Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

Related recipes

Visit my soups, stews and casserole recipes page for other delicious warming meals. Here are a few you might enjoy:

📋The recipe

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!

If you'd like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.