Son of a Gun In a Sack

Instructions

In mixing bowl combine flour, bread, crumbs, sugar, soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Stir in raisins, suet, and nuts. Stir in milk and molasses; mix well. Arrange layers of cheese cloth to form a 16 inch square about 1/8 inch thick; set in a 1 quart bowl. Fill cheesecloth with pudding mixture; bring up sides of cheesecloth allowing room for expansion of the pudding; tie tightly with string. Place the “sack” in a colander. Place colander in kettle; add enough boiling water to cover the sack. Cover; boil gently for 2 hours. Remove colander from pan; remove cheesecloth from around pudding at once. Turn pudding, rounded side up, on plate. Let stand 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm with whipped cream or whiskey sauce, if desired. Serves 10-12.

FOR THE WHISKEY SAUCE: Melt the butter in a cast-iron skillet or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the sugar and cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Gradually stir in the cream and half-and-half and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring for 10-12 minutes, until the mixture becomes a smooth, medium-thick sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the whiskey. Serve the warmed sauce spooned over Son-of-a-Gun-in-a-Sack. Makes about 2 cups.

Heritage Cooking BHG

Author's Comments

When the ranch cook wanted to be especially nice to the cowhands he made a boiled pudding sometimes called Son of a Gun in a Sack. Raisins or dried apples and suet were added to a soft dough. Despite its colorful name, this dessert is really just the cowboy version of English and colonial suet puddings. Following the old colonial method, the mass was placed in a cloth sack and boiled in a big kettle of water until done. Perhaps it got its name because it was so much trouble to make.

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