The Great Northern Yorkshire Pudding

You know, I’m not the first to say this, BUT…
YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS are A LOT like ME 😝
FAT on the BOTTOM
And FULL OF HOT AIR 😝

You can find the recipe here… Yorkshire Pudding Recipe…
And you can always follow one of my cooking hero’s recipe in her book…
Delia’s Cookery School…
One day I will have my own book 😝

But until then… here we go…

Nothing warms the cockles of my heart more than to see my Yorkshires puff up like popcorn!!

In America they are commonly known as Popovers, I believe!!

I am a Yorkshire girl, as I said…

And as someone pointed out to me today…
Yorkshire Puddings are IN MY BLOOD!!

I’ve eaten them ALL MY LIFE…
My Nana made them!
My Dad’s Mum (also Nana) made them!
My Mum STILL makes them!
My BROTHER makes them!!

Everybody I know in England actually takes a crack at it now and again!!

We had them as part of our New Years Eve Dinner this year in London… made by the husband of one of my best friends!!

He did them proud… even though he is a Southerner 😝

They usually accompany Roast Beef…

And are drenched in a thick coating of good old fashioned Gravy made from the Beef Juices!!

Now THIS was a piece of Prime Rib I bought for a Sunday lunch party!!

I wouldn’t dream of cooking it without serving Yorkshires as part of the lunch!!

Seriously it was crying out for them…

And I was happy to oblige!!

BUT HOW TO MAKE YORKSHIRE PUDDING???
Simple but SCARY…
Will they RISE… or–heaven FORBID–will they end up flat as pancakes 😱

ONLY 4 ingredients:
Flour
Egg
Milk and Water
Salt

My family doesn’t measure out the ingredients…

They don’t pay attention to the RULES of whether or not to refrigerate the Batter…

Sometimes they MIGHT, other times they won’t have time…

They just make them and they RISE… every time!!!

Big ones… little ones…

Sometimes my Mum made them with Sausages nestled in the valleys and hills of this true comfort food!!
We call that…
TOAD IN THE HOLE… now I make it for my boys, too!!

Other times, it’s made into a dessert…

But I NEVER had it that way when I was young!!

Some people in Yorkshire serve it BEFORE the Roast Beef as a starter… with Gravy…
Others wouldn’t dream of doing SO!!

No right or wrong way…
It’s just what you grew up with… how your Mum served it and hers before!!

The whole purpose of this heavenly Batter… was to FILL YOU UP!!
When meat was expensive… and there wasn’t much… you always felt satisfied because of the Yorkshires!!

WHAT MAKES THEM RISE???
Well, one thing you MUST HAVE is a HOT OVEN!!

The Yorkshires go on the mid to top shelf, and the FAT has got to be SMOKIN’ HOT, too!!
I tend to use Bacon Fat or Beef Drippings (unless I’m making them for desert, then I use Olive Oil–NOT VIRGIN)
Once they’re in and you see them start to turn lacy around the edges you know you are in for a treat 👍

The PAN makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE AS WELL–HEAVY DUTY!!

The Real Deal–no nonsense–is what’s called for here!!

If you are going to make this joyous dish you may as well have the right equipment…

And that’s either a Popover Pan for individual Yorkshires…

(Williams Sonoma sells just the thing

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/m/recipe/popovers.html)

Or a proper Roasting Pan!!

I use All-Clad wherever possible!!

In fact, I dreamed of the day I would be in a position to buy a complete set of All-Clad Copper-Core pans!!

I HAVE ARRIVED 😎

It’s the Egg, of course, that makes the Yorkshires billow up!!

And I’ve often heard it said, “If in doubt, ADD AN EGG!!”
This is because Eggs vary SO MUCH IN SIZES!!
So, when a recipe calls for an Egg, you can always err on the side of more rather than less Egg…
TRUST ME!!

My recipe is EASY

1 cup of all purpose Flour

1 cup of mostly Milk topped off with Water

1 cup of Eggs (usually around 3)

A good pinch of Salt

A teaspoon of high temperature cooking Oil or Fat…

Canola…

Peanut…

Olive Oil…

Bacon Fat or Beef Drippings….

Place all the ingredients in a jug… and I use my emersion blender to mix…