If you’re not British, the name Yorkshire pudding may confuse you at first. But in England, where these very savory little bakes hail from, the word “pudding” has a very different meaning than it does stateside. Yorkshire puddings are almost identical to popovers. The recipe is the same except instead of using melted butter, these are traditionally made with beef drippings or rendered beef fat. That beef fat is usually the result of cooking a big Sunday beef roast, to which Yorkshire puddings are a traditional accompaniment, but if you aren’t making a beef roast, you can buy beef fat (aka tallow), lard, or just use butter. Not planning on a roast beef? Yorkshire puddings also go nicely with other large-format dishes like roast chicken or prime rib.
Here are a few helpful tips for the best Yorkshire pudding:
• Make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature. Cold eggs or milk will instantly solidify that beef fat, creating a lumpy batter.
• Using a popover pan will give you a taller result. But if you don’t have one, you can use a 12-cup muffin tin—the puddings will all be half the size.
• Don’t open the oven door to take a peek. This can cause your puddings to deflate. Use the oven light if you want to look at their progress.
• The Yorkshire puddings should go into the oven exactly 28 minutes before you plan to serve them. They need to be eaten immediately, because they deflate and get gummy fast. So make sure your table is set, your Sunday roast is all laid out, and your guests are settled in before the timer goes off.
P.S. If you don’t mind dirtying another dish, transfer the batter to a pourable measuring cup to make dividing between the tins easier.
Did you try these? Let us know how it went in the comments!