Yorkshire Pudding is one of those quintessential English dishes, always paired with a standing rib roast. When done right, it’s wonderful; when something goes wrong it’s a sodden lump. There are three things that make for a truly good Yorkshire Pudding:
A heavy pan (or tin as we call it in England).
Smoking hot oil
A light and fluffy batter
For the pan, you can use either the individual popover pans that are widely available, or a heavy roasting pan. Do not use glass/Pyrex dishes, I’ve tried it and always got the sodden lump I was talking about above.
This is my family recipe for Yorkshire Pud; I hope you enjoy it as much as we have through the years
5 oz flour
Pinch of salt
1 large egg
10 oz whole milk
Beef drippings from your roast beef, or canola/safflower oil. Do not use olive oil, it doesn’t work for this recipe.
Pre-heat over to 425 degrees
Sift flour and salt together into a bowl. Make a small well in the flour, then crack egg into the well with a little of the milk. Beat well with a wooden spoon, adding the rest of the milk gradually until you have a smooth batter.
You can tell when the batter is ready because it will make a “plop, plop” sound against the edge of the bowl and will feel thick and smooth against your spoon. This is why I suggest beating the batter with a wooden spoon rather than using an electric hand mixer, because you really should get the feel that the batter is light and smooth, and you can’t get that as well with an electric mixer.
Cover the batter with a cloth for 30 minutes or so, away from drafts.
Add about 1 tsp beef drippings or oil to each small popover pan or 1 tbsp or so for a large single pan. Put in the oven until smoking hot, about 5 minutes.
Remove pan from oven and pour batter into pan(s). Don’t dawdle doing this because the oil should remain hot. Put pan(s) back into the oven and cook until the Yorkshire Pudding has risen well. It should be golden brown, puffy and delicious looking. Cooking times are about 10 to fifteen minutes for the popover pans and 40 to 45 minutes for a large pan. When checking on your “pud's” progress, make sure to close the oven door gently as it will drop if you slam the door!
