The Best Yorkshire Pudding
Most people don’t really know what a Yorkshire pudding is, I also didn’t know. I asked my coworker what it was- “Kind of like a batter and you pour it into a pan and you bake it,” was how it was explained to me.
I dug a little more and found that Yorkshire pudding is really just my mother’s favorite popovers in the British version. Though Yorkshire puddings are traditionally served with beef drippings and gravy and our popovers are cooked in specific tins, theoretically, they are quite similar.
Similar to the thin pastry used to produce cream puffs, gnocchi in the Parisian style, and gougères, a Yorkshire pudding is made using the same basic ingredients. All of those recipes begin with a high-moisture dough and rely on the force of steam to puff and rise into their ultimate shapes, which are light and crisp. With batter that is so wet that it runs out like milk and puffs up to at least four times its original volume, Yorkshire puddings and popovers push the same idea to the limit.
There are several theories on how to make the best Yorkshire pudding, after testing, trying and integrating all theories I discovered that I was able to come up with what I call The Best Yorkshire Pudding ever. Trust me this is the best you’d see around.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 150g all-purpose flour
- 175g whole milk
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 250ml water
- 100ml beef drippings, lard, shortening, or vegetable oil
Directions
- In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, flour, milk, water, and salt. Whisk until a homogeneous batter is created. Give the batter at least 30 minutes to rest at room temperature. Alternately, for optimal results, put the batter in a sealed container and chill for up to 3 days. While the oven is getting hot, take the jar out from the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) with the rack in the center position. Divide the drippings (or other fat) evenly into two 8-inch cast iron skillets or oven-safe nonstick skillets, two 6-well popover pansand one 12-well normal muffin tray, or one 24-well mini muffin tin. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes, or until the fat is scorching hot.
- Transfer the pans or tins to a heat-safe surface (such as an aluminum baking sheet on the stovetop) and divide the batter evenly between each well (or between the two pans if using pans). Fill the wells halfway to 3/4 of the way (if using pans, fill them approximately 1/4 of the way). Return to the oven immediately. Bake until the Yorkshire puddings have about tripled in size, are dark brown all around, crisp, and sound hollow when pressed. Smaller ones will take around 15 minutes, while popovers or skillet-sized ones would take about 25 minutes.
- Serve right away or allow to cool fully before transferring to a zipper-lock freezer bag and freezing for up to three months. To reheat before serving, use a hot toaster oven.
