Recipe Yorkshire Pudding

[classic33]

The original purpose of serving the pudding was not as part of a main meal, in the way that it’s served with traditional roast dinners now, but instead served before, with gravy, as an appetiser course. This is because, when meat was expensive the Yorkshire pudding could act to fill the consumer, meeting the appetites of working men and allowing the meat to stretch further: “Them 'at eats t'most pudding gets t'most meat”, as the saying goes.

Ingredients
4 large, fresh eggs, measured into a jug
Equal quantity of milk to your measured eggs
Equal quantity of all purpose/plain flour to measured eggs
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp lard, beef dripping (or vegetable oil!)

Method

• Heat the oven to the highest temperature possible, however, do not exceed 230°C / 450°F or the fat may burn.
• Pour the eggs and milk into a large mixing bowl and add the pinch of salt. Whisk thoroughly with an electric hand beater or hand whisk. Leave to stand for 10 minutes.
• Gradually sieve the same volume of flour (as the eggs) into the milk and egg mixture, again using an electric hand beater or hand-whisk to create a lump free batter resembling thick cream, if there are any lumps pass the batter through a fine sieve.
• Leave the batter to rest in the kitchen for a minimum of 30 minutes, longer if possible - up to several hours.
• Place a pea-sized piece of lard, dripping or ½ tsp vegetable oil into your chosen Yorkshire pudding tin, or a 4 x 2"/5cm hole tin or 12-hole muffin tin and heat in the oven until the fat is smoking. Give the batter another good whisk adding 2 tbsps of cold water and fill a third of each section of the tin with batter and return quickly to the oven.
• Leave to cook until golden brown approx 20 minutes. Repeat the last step again until all the batter is used up.
• In Yorkshire serving the pudding is traditionally with gravy as a starter dish followed by the meat and vegetables. More often smaller puddings cooked in muffin tins are served alongside meat and vegetables.
• Yorkshire Puddings do not reheat well, becoming brittle and dry.

The secret to making Yorkshires, as they are fondly known, is to pour well rested, cold batter into slightly smoking hot fat and put immediately back into a really hot oven. It is as simple as that.

http://britishfood.about.com/od/regionalenglishrecipes/r/yorkspuds.htm

 

[Technotrucker]

I was born in Yorkshire as dad was demobbed at the end of WW2 at Pocklington and found work on a farm. Dad tells a story about the farmer and his wife invited mum and dad to Sunday dinner. A pudding was placed on a plate in front of all of those there, as dad's a black country lad he thought that was all they were going to get. The farmers wife asked if he would like another, dad said he would, after he'd finished and thought "that was that" the rest of the dinner arrived....meat and veg were brought in....dad's face must have been a picture.
My good lady makes a proper job of them.

 

[Autumn_Hearthwitch]

I love a good Yorkshire pudding. I've never had it as a starter but rather as part of the main meal here in Eastern Canada. It's one of my favorite dishes and just plain satisfying. I've made Yorkshire pudding only once and they turned out very good if not as big and fluffy as I would have preferred. You are correct, they do not reheat well at all. I should make it again before summer really gets a hold of us and it gets too hot outside.