Any tips for making Yorkshire pudding?

December 21, 2004 9:41 AM

Any tips for making Yorkshire pudding? [MI]

I'm hoping to make it with roast beef for Christmas dinner and if it doesn't come out right Christmas will have been ruined and god will kill a kitten.

I've attempted to make it four times and only once did it work. The rest of the time it comes out as a flat mass of styrofoam. Soylent Yellow.

I need Encyclopedia (or Alton) Brown to read through this next paragraph and figure out what I'm doing wrong:

I follow a basic recipe out of the Larousse Gastronomique. Eggs and flour, maybe some milk and salt. I don't remember the exact recipe but I trust the source. I pre-heat the oven and a Pyrex roasting dish (maybe I should be using metal?) until the drippings (or butter) are SMOKING (I was told this is the key), pour in the chilled batter and close the door. I believe I turn the heat down a bit after fifteen minutes.

It never seems to rise nad bubble. It eventually gets brown but just stays flat.

There must be a trick. Maybe a metal pan will hold the heat better than the Pyrex? Maybe I could use a thermal mass (like a pizza stone) to retain the heat when I open the oven door? What's the deal? Maybe the problem is with the batter? Maybe I shouldn't chill it for an hour like I'm told?

FWIW: I have an electric oven and I'm a pretty decent cook.

There has to be a secret. The folks on that island that invented this stuff aren't exactly known for their skill in the kitchen. Surely an arrogant American like myself can take hundreds of years of refinement and figure it out in a couple of hours.

(that last paragraph was sarcasm)

So, what's your secret?

posted by bondcliff to food & drink (15 comments total)

Well, this is how St Delia does it.
posted by Grangousier at 9:50 AM on December 21, 2004

Yes, a metal pan would be better than the pyrex because the glass diffuses the heat differently than the metal.
posted by briank at 9:55 AM on December 21, 2004

A ceramic souffle type dish will hold more heat than either the glass (yes, pyrex is a ceramic, but whatever) or metal (transfers it too fast). Good luck.
posted by piro at 9:58 AM on December 21, 2004

I use a cast iron skillet (in the oven) and don't chill the batter.

I can also imagine the drippings smoking before the oven is entirely preheated; I wouldn't let that be my guideline about when the preheating is done.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:15 AM on December 21, 2004

a metal tray works fine. it sounds like your oven isn't hot enough. top shelf of a hot oven and don't open the door to peek every few minutes.
posted by andrew cooke at 10:15 AM on December 21, 2004

Maybe a metal pan will hold the heat better than the Pyrex?

The inverse is true, glass will hold heat better. I use a metal pan for mine. The recipe I use is different from the one linked above.

I wonder maybe the oil and pan isn't hot enough before you put the batter in? I don't chill my batter and I don't lower the temperature of the oven. Oh and no peeking!!! It lowers the temperature of the oven.

on preview: what andew said.
posted by squeak at 10:18 AM on December 21, 2004

The inverse is true, glass will hold heat better.

D'oh! My bad. See also this about adjusting recipe temps when using glass instead of metal
posted by briank at 12:05 PM on December 21, 2004

Are you over mixing? You want the mixture to be like pouring cream, but if you mix too much, you develop the gluten in the flour, and it'll be tough and won't rise properly.

Also, just how hot is your oven? Are you sure it's hot enough?
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:20 PM on December 21, 2004

Chilling really might be the problem here. I've never made a Yorkshire Pudding with chilled batter-- it's always been room temperature. I also have had the best luck with a roasting pan that has slightly sloping sides-- it seems to help the mass gain some traction as it cooks.

If that doesn't work, you could try what a good friend of mine does, and make it with cake flour. He swears by it.
posted by yellowcandy at 12:40 PM on December 21, 2004

Cake flour? If that's the opposite to higher gluten bread or "strong" flour, then yes, I agree. This is a quickbread like a pancake or a pikelet, we don't want nasty strong gluten holding shit together.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:50 PM on December 21, 2004

Ridge's "Jolly Good" Yorkies

• 4oz plain flour
• 1/2 pint milk
• 3 eggs (or 4 if you really want to indulge yourself)
• Salt and pepper
• A little oil
• 2 of these

Sieve the flour. Break the eggs into the flour and add a little salt and plenty of pepper. Preferably freshly ground for both.

Gently mix (with a fork! Don't be tempted to use a mixer - it ruins the batter by mixing too hard) until the eggs start to bind with the flour. Start to pour the milk into the mixture slowly, and continue to mix gently (are you getting this? Be gentle!) until the mixture resembles a batter.

Put the mixture in the fridge and leave it for at least 30 minutes.

Get your oven as hot as it can go. No, hotter than that. Dribble a little oil (groundnut - or peanut - oil works great) into the bottom of each dimple in the Yorkshire Pudding pans and put them in the oven.

When the oil is HOT!! (and this is why I use groundnut oil - not as smoky) use a ladle to spoon a portion of the mixture into each dimple. Be quick about this - you don't want the oil to cool too much otherwise you'll be left with oily Yorkshires - nasty!

Get them back into the oven pronto. Close the door and go away for twenty minutes!! Yes you! Go! Now! Open that oven door and your puddings will be ruined.

Twenty minutes later, come back and check them. Peek inside and they should be nicely risen and brown.

Serve with roast beef and lashings of gravy!

On preview: yellowcandy, I've found my Yorkies have significantly improved by chilling the batter first. *shrug*
posted by Ridge at 12:52 PM on December 21, 2004

I haven't made it yet myself, but... my mom always uses a cast iron skillet, but recently she started using a (metal) muffin pan, which has turned out quite lovely, giving everyone a beautiful, poofy little cake of yum. And she's always chilled the batter.
posted by mimi at 5:55 PM on December 21, 2004

This seems very odd to me. I have made Yorkshire pudding under a variety of circumstances, different pans, different flours, different oils. Sometimes when I don't have any roast drippings (for example if the roast doesn't have a lot of drippings) I've used melted butter. I've never had a problem.

You do realize it rises and then it will fall as it cools?

All I can think of is you are over beating. Practice by making popovers for breakfast.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:57 PM on December 21, 2004

I agree with gravy, I've made Yorkshire pudding with all kinds of flour under all kinds of conditions and never had a problem. As others mentioned, check the oven temperature with a thermometer you can leave in there. Also, don't add too much flour...it's better to err on the side of too little than too much, as flour is tricky stuff. Also, I've taken to using a muffin pan for Yorkshire pudding and they puff up like crazy and hold their shape really well. Then they're lots of fun to serve and hold lots of gravy.

Is this that secret life you're talking about?
posted by spaghetti at 7:48 PM on December 21, 2004

A little late to the party (things scroll up so quickly round here these days!), but what the hey...

The thing I like about YP is the crunchy crust rather than the soggy interior... solution learned from my mother: a muffin pan! You get 12 individual sized YPs and less chance for error. All complicated parts about heating the pan etc. still count, just not as much.

Recipe:
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
salt

Beat the egg until they are nice and foamy, beat in the other ingredients to make a smooth batter, refrigerate for half an hour (or until you are ready). Beat again (incorporating more air helps them rise) just before dividing equally into the twelve sections of the greased muffin tin (or something similar). 450 degrees for about 15 minutes (most ovens heat a little unevenly, so you might need to turn the pan once, but don't keep opening the door), turn the oven down to about 300 degrees for a further 10 mins., or until they seem done.

Great with beef of course, but why not be like a true yorkshireman and have them with any roast (helps fill up the cracks)? Basically they go well with gravy, so anything that you make gravy for they're good with. Cooked like this they are a bit like hollow muffins, perfect for filling with gravy -- the kids love them.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 9:30 PM on December 22, 2004