Steak, Kidney and Oyster Pudding with a Stout Porter?

As it is St Patrick’s Day – how about a steak, kidney and oyster pudding washed down with a glass of Guinness? In the 18th century the ports of Britain, Europe and the Americas became synonymous with oysters, stouts, pies and public houses along the waterfronts nourishing and watering the working classes.

Irish workers from the early 1700s had started streaming into Britain with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, when new jobs were created; the Irish diaspora is thought to be an estimated 80 million people worldwide, 45 million in the States, who claim “Irish” as their primary ethnicity.

The Chicago River in Chicago, Illinois on Saint Patrick’s Day - coloured green using vegetable dye

So a few puddings or pies would have been sold to those emigrating souls, while the dockers, porters and sailors would have kept the tavern owners happy drinking a large number of pints of Guinness and other ales.

A photochrom print of Patrick Street in Cork, the second-largest city in the Republic of Ireland, ca. 1890–1900. Originally founded as a monastic settlement in the 6th century, Cork is believed to have been an important port city for Vikings. After the Great Irish Famine in the 1840s, Cork became a major point of Irish emigration to North America.

Oysters had been eaten for centuries, if not millennia, as middens testify to the prehistoric importance of oysters as food. Whitstable in Kent, and the Kentish flats at the estuary of the Thames were noted for their oyster beds and were sourced as far back as Roman times, if not probably earlier. In fact oysters were exported to Rome, which does seem somewhat extraordinary .. but true.

Throughout the 19th century, oyster beds in New York harbour became the largest source of oysters worldwide. On any day in the late 19th century, six million oysters could be found on barges tied up along New York’s waterfront. Today there is a scarcity – so oysters instead of being a working class food are now an expensive delicacy.

The development of the waterways during the Industrial Revolution, opened up routes right into the heart of the cities for the agriculture of the day. Barley, hops, brewer’s yeast and water were the main ingredients with a little of the Guinness magic thrown in .. a portion of the barley was roasted to give Guinness its dark colour and characteristic taste.

Porter is a dark-coloured style of beer, assuming the popular name of ‘porter’ from the street and river porters of London. A stout porter, or Stout, became so named because of a strong porter and robust brew of Porter. Muddled? Well .. most names come about this way – a mix and match of terms, bringing about a generic name as in this case.

Guinness, a popular Irish dry stout, originated from Dublin, in the 1750s and through good management and business decisions, together with incredible marketing have remained at the forefront in the drinks market with their clever branding to this day. One instance of this is “Black Velvet”, which was produced and named at the time of Prince Albert’s death in 1861.

Despite its reputation as a "meal in a glass", Guinness contains fewer calories than skimmed milk or orange juice and most other non-light beers – so a meal of steak, kidney and oyster pudding, with a side order of a Guinness or two wouldn’t be too bad an option – now would it? I haven’t had Guinness that often, but that glass with its creamy head of foam certainly brings the taste buds to the fore.

I feel quite a few Irish will have had a few pints in the early part of today, St Patrick’s Day, when the day world seems to turn green – and the Irish make their presence felt celebrating their homeland.

So let’s celebrate with them – have a glass of very dark ruby Guinness – yes it may appear black, but apparently is ruby red! And should you be in pub outside of Ireland, Guinness merchandise will be available to buy .. but only after you’ve purchased a specified number of pints – canny aren’t they?!

It’s a celebration of the Irish, St Patrick’s Day (for posts see below), good old fashioned fare, all washed down with a good pint in a welcoming cavernous, saw-dusted, public house along with many friends singing Irish folk songs to the accompaniment of an Irish fiddle – what more could any of us want. An enjoyable day out.

The Ale-House Door c.1790 by Henry Singleton

Dear Mr Postman – we are still settling and my mother seems comfortable and is quiet, mainly. It is definitely warmer and at last the Spring seems to be in the air ..

For more information on St Patrick and other saints
and here on the plant emblems of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (incl St Patrick)

Hilary Melton-Butcher
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