My First British Recipe Experiment

My First British Recipe Experiment: Yorkshire Puddings!

First of all, let me tell you a little secret about me: I love food and I love to cook (but not clean!) I enjoy trying new recipes so I am really excited to start this part of getting ready for the move.

Now, “What are Yorkshire Puddings,” you say? Well, as misleading for Americans as the name is, they are not what we call “pudding” at all (as my daughter matter-of-factly informed me as she watched them rise in the oven). Another term for them is “popovers,” and- if I had to compare them to something- I would say they are very close to “rolls” here in the US. They play much the same role (from what I’ve read) in English dishes. It seems they are most popularly paired with roast, so this is how I served them as well.

As I was preparing to assemble the ingredients, I encountered a small obstacle that I hadn’t considered when I found the “Yorkie” (not the dog) recipe I decided to try: metric measurements. I have probably the same basic understanding of metric measurements that most of America has (which isn’t much, I’m sad to say). Metric units that pertain to cooking are measured in weight, whereas American cooking measures by volume, known as US Standard. (Did you know there is a “Standard” and then there is “US Standard”? Talk about complicating things!)  This presents a challenge since the two are very different units of measurement. But the biggest problem came in with the recipe being in metric measurements and my measuring utensils being in standard.

So before I could even begin, I had to figure out how to convert the recipe’s metrically measured ingredients into measurements my American Standard measuring cups and spoons could handle. And also converting Celsius to Fahrenheit for the oven temperature. Thank you, Google! (Note to self: When you get to England, get new kitchen utensils!)

After researching recipes, I settled on this recipe from The Guardian’s “Word of Mouth” blog. There is an interesting little history of Yorkshire Puddings on this page, as well. Best part about this recipe was the short list of ingredients!

Preheat oven to 230C/446F (I used 450F.)

12-hole muffin tin

2 C AP Flour (orig. recipe called for 250g. Roughly 2 Cups.)

150 ml whole milk (I actually had this measurement on one of my Pyrex glass measuring cups)

150 ml cold water

4 eggs, beaten

"Generous pinch of salt" (I used Kosher, as I do for most everything.)

Beef Drippings, or Oil

Sift together the flour and salt into the bowl you will be using to mix everything together. In a separate container, combine the milk and water and set it aside.

 Next, make a well in the flour and add the eggs. Begin whisking the ingredients together, adding the milk/water mixture gradually until you get a "smooth batter." (Mine was about the consistency of pancake batter. Maybe a tiny bit thicker.)

 Let the batter rest at room temp for 15 minutes. While you are waiting, drop about 1/2 tsp of beef drippings (or oil, if using. I skimmed the fat off the top of my roast and used it) into each hole of the muffin tin and pop this into the oven to heat up (about ten minutes.) 

 When this is done, pull the tin out and ladle in the "pudding." According to the recipe's website, it should sizzle when it hits the hot tin.

Pop the tin into the oven for 15-20 minutes to let them rise. Do NOT open the oven while they are cooking. They will deflate! When they are done, eat immediately!

Shown here with the Open-Face Roast Beef Sandwiches we had with our Yorkies. They were excellent at mopping up gravy!

I read on the recipe's website that there is some debate over how many eggs to use. I have to tell you that this recipe produced some very "eggy" tasting Yorkies. I have nothing to compare them too, but this is not a desirable taste for me. So, next time I will adjust to use less eggs!