Yorkshire Pudding - Yorkies

Yorkshire Pudding is one of those things that seems to have a bit of a mystique surrounding it. There are cooks who say the batter must be made the night before, refrigerated and used cold; while just as many say it must be made right before baking.

Some say you must take care to not overmix; others insist you must whisk as much air as possible into the batter. There's a lot of controversy over proportions, especially the number of eggs. And over whether part of the liquid should be water, and how much.

I've seen experts of equal stature calling for starting temperatures anywhere from 375F/190C/Gas5 to 450F/230C/Gas8. I've made puddings at both 425F/220C/Gas7 and 450F/230C/Gas8. Both were fine. The point is that the preheated fat in the tins be blistering hot.

I've made them all sorts of ways, and they're always good. I don't think you can mess them up really. One thing few people ever mention is the puddings sticking to the tins, a problem I've had on more than one occasion with my plain aluminum muffin tins.

The solution seems to be to grease (I used butter) the cold muffin tins thoroughly before ever getting down to business. Having that extra layer of fat in place before adding the melted fat for preheating seems to take care of the problem pretty well. Any tips?

I don't know that anyone else puts dry mustard in their Yorkies, but that's something I learned from my mother. She had a million uses for dry mustard. I put in just enough to make you notice there's "something," but not enough that you know what it is!

Do you have any surefire tips for making Yorkshire Pudding? Any methods you (or your mother or grandmother) always insist(ed) upon?

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PS I'll write all about making a small roast beef another day. In the meantime, here's my Braised Brisket, perfect for Sunday Roast (also called Sunday Lunch).

Yorkshire Pudding

(Makes 12 individual puddings)

1 1/4 dip-and-sweep cups (6.25 ounces/177 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground mustard (also called dry mustard)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces/59 ml) water
3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces/177 ml) milk
5 tablespoons pan drippings from beef roast OR 2 1/2 tablespoons each melted unsalted butter and extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 An hour and a half before serving time, make batter. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, dry mustard and salt (to "sift"). Whisk in eggs and water; when smooth, whisk in the milk. Cover and let stand for an hour. Grease a 12-cup standard muffin pan and place it on a rimmed baking sheet.

2 Thirty minutes before serving time, take roast out to rest and turn oven up to 425F/220C/Gas7. Place muffin tin on baking sheet. Spoon 1 teaspoon of hot drippings into each muffin cup. Put baking sheet with muffin pan in oven until sizzling hot, about 5 minutes.

Note: You really must place the muffin tin on a rimmed baking sheet to prevent the fat from messing up your oven when it bubbles over during the baking of the puddings.

3 Whisk the remaining tablespoon of the melted butter/oil mixture, or drippings, into the batter. Remove pan from oven. Working quickly, using a partially filled 1/4 cup measure, pour 3 tablespoons batter into hot drippings in each cup. It should sizzle. Return pans (on baking sheet) to oven and bake 30 minutes or until puddings are puffed and golden. If they aren't crisp enough to suit you, then turn the temperature down to 325F/165C/Gas3 and bake for another 10 minutes to get them extra crispy. Serve immediately.

Note: When making a large roast, there are plenty of drippings for both gravy and Yorkies. But this day I made a small roast, 2.375 pounds, which did not supply enough fat, so I used the butter and olive oil combination. Very tasty! For both health and flavor reasons, I would never use the frequently recommended vegetable oil or shortening.

Jean