If you’ve ever had a classic Sunday roast or Christmas dinner, you will almost certainly have tried a Yorkshire pudding. Made from batter cooked in a very hot oven, they are the traditional accompaniment to roast turkey and roast beef.
To help you make the best Yorkshire puddings this Christmas, two-time Yorkshire pudding champion Chris Blackburn has shared his “foolproof” recipe that has been “tried, tested, and judged by chefs and food critics”, and it “delivers every single time”. He said: “No faff. No gimmicks. Just proper pudds with skyscraper sides, golden crispness, and a hollow ready to drown in gravy.” The secret to these Yorkshires? Smoking-hot fat, a decent tin, and a batter mixed just right.
Ingredients
225g of plain flourFour large eggs300ml of whole milkOne tablespoon of beef dripping, gives it “next level crispiness”One teaspoon of saltHalf a teaspoon of white pepper
Method
Start by setting your oven to its highest temperature, many go to 240 to 270C. Put a little beef dripping into each hole of your Yorkshire pudding tin and slide it in to get smoking hot. Chris noted that he likes to use an oven thermometer as oven dials are “optimists”.
Next, it’s time to make up your batter. For this step, sift flour and salt into a big bowl and add the beaten eggs and half the milk. Whisk until it resembles “wallpaper paste”, super smooth. Add the rest of the milk and whisk again until silky. Leave it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
After, carefully pull out the tin (the fat should be shimmering). Pour the batter half to three-quarters full in each hole.
Pop the tin straight back in the oven and do not open the door for the first 20 minutes, “unless you enjoy disappointment”.
Chris noted that the Yorkshire puddings will be tall, golden and crisp in 20 to 25 minutes. He said: “If your oven was genuinely hot and your fat properly smoking, they’ll climb like champions.”
For those who find their Yorkshire puddings have come out of the oven flat, the culprit is either that the fat wasn’t hot enough or there was hesitation when pouring.
If Yorkshire puddings come out heavy with doughy bottoms, the tin has either been overfilled or under-heated. Chris instructed: “Stick to half to three-quarters full and ensure that fat is shimmering.”
