How to Make Yorkshire Puddings

I am married to an Englishman (don't say Brit, it annoys him). I have had to learn to make a few of his favorite dishes from the Motherland. Before I met my Oliver, I thought Yorkshire puddings were some sort of gross... well, pudding. I was way off. They are actually delightful, simple pastries that you can't stop dipping in gravy and shoving in your mouth. Also, I haven't met a man, woman or child that doesn't love these. When I make them, they are gone in minutes.

Not pudding!

I was lucky enough to learn how to make these alongside Oliver's Mum and Gran. I use their recipe.

Recipe

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients:

4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
A pinch each of salt and pepper

Mix until it has the consistency of pancake batter. Feel free to add more flour if you think it needs it. This is not an exact science. The fun is perfecting it to suit your tastes.

The batter -I bet you have the ingredients already!

In a cupcake tin, drip a bit of oil into each cup. See my picture, just a few drops. Put the cupcake tin with just the oil into the oven. The key to this recipe is to heat the oil before adding the batter. I leave my oven open a crack while the oil is heating in case it gets a bit smoky. I usually let the oil heat up for 10-15 minutes. I also put my cupcake tin on top of a cookie sheet to make it easier to take in and out of the oven.

Look close...there is oil in there

My oven cracked open...so the smoke doesn't build up from the oil heating and blast me in the face.

Once the oil is heated, take it out of the oven and add the batter. Fill each cup about halfway and return to the oven. I cook mine for 20 minutes, and I keep a close eye on them (but don't open the oven door, use the oven light so all the people from England don't yell at you). They should rise and look glorious. 

Before

After!

We serve ours with proper English gravy called Bisto. I find it in the international section of our grocery store. We serve them whenever we have Sunday dinner. I make them while the turkey is resting so they are hot for meal time. We use the juices from the turkey to make the gravy along with the Bisto mix. Remember, English gravy is darker and thicker than what most Americans are used to. Enjoy!

Ahh, Bisto!