Yorkshire Pudding

Some years ago, I visited the British branch of my family and learned how to make Yorkshire pudding.  The name is pretty misleading because it’s not a pudding at all, it’s sort of what you’d get if a popover and a soufflé got together in Britain’s Yorkshire county.  Typically it’s served with roast beef (my Aunt L makes a fabulously succulent one) and it must be eaten rather quickly the way you would a soufflé lest it deflates.  The interior of a Yorkshire pudding is moist, pillowy and soft, while the exterior is golden brown and thinly crisp.  The sum total = delicious.

I think if I made Yorkshire pudding more often, I’d invest in a popover pan, whose deep sides will support these puddings better

Traditionally, it’s baked in beef drippings (fat) until it’s super puffy and flavorful.  Sometimes it’s made in a muffin tin, and other times it’s baked as one giant pudding.  It just depends on your needs and how you want to present it.  Personally, I like making Yorkshire puddings in a muffin tin because there’s more crusty goodness in an individual serving than in one large pudding.  Also, it’s the way Aunt L taught me!

My early attempts at Yorkshire pudding were a bit dismal.  They collapsed into dense, heavy messes, and gave up on ever making Aunt L’s Yorkshire pudding.  Some time later, as I was making a bunch of savory cream puffs for a party, I realized that in order for the puffs to stay crisp and airy, I had to cut an opening for the steam to escape while drying them out in the oven.  So I tried Yorkshire pudding again, and this time, I applied my cream puff theory and poked each pudding with a skewer.  It worked!  I still had to eat them rather quickly, but they didn’t deflate as fast or as nastily as they did in previous attempts.

I forgot to take pictures of them when I took the puddings out of the pan

Yorkshire pudding is actually very easy to make, but you do have to have a bit of patience as well as time it correctly if you’re planning to serve it with roast beef because the batter has to rest for a while.  After you get the hang of this, feel free to experiment with different flavors.  Maybe you’d like to use a bit of truffle oil in the batter instead of melted butter?  Or add finely minced chives?

Yorkshire Pudding

3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 TB melted butter
2 TB sunflower oil (or other oil with high smoking point)

1. Whisk eggs and milk in large bowl until well combined.  Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl and gradually add to egg mixture; whisk quickly until flour is just incorporated and mixture is smooth. Cover batter with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Whisk 1 tablespoon of melted butter into batter until bubbly and smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer batter to large liquid measuring cup or other pitcher.

3. Measure 1/2 teaspoon of oil into each cup of standard muffin pan; a popover pan also works really well.  When oven has been at 450 F for at least 20 minutes, place pan in oven to heat for 5 minutes or until oil just starts to smoke. Working quickly, remove pan from oven, close oven door, and divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Immediately return pan to oven. Bake, without opening oven door, for 20 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes longer. Remove pan from oven and pierce each pudding with skewer to release steam and prevent collapse. Using dinner knife, lift each pudding out of tin and serve immediately.