Bad Teeth and Lousy Food: The Mighty Yorkshire Pud

It wasn't all bad, you see. I've already mentioned fish and chips as an example of good grub that was available back in seventies Britain, but it wasn't necessary for me to leave the house in order to get enjoyable food. My mother was a pretty good cook. Yes, she worked within the limitations and prejudices of the time and yes, she tended to overcook vegetables just like everyone else back then, but there were certain things she cooked which I remember fondly. Some were odd little dishes she found in women's magazines (and I'll be posting about one of those soon) but most were British standards, such as Yorkshire pudding.

Yorkshire pudding is both easy to make and easy to screw up. My mother taught me that there were just a few key things you have to get absolutely right to ensure success. A successful Yorkshire pudding should be light, nicely risen, just a little moist on the base, well-browned and above all, tasty. A screwed-up Yorkshire pudding can be burnt, soggy, flat or jaundiced-looking, but it will always be completely inedible. Even a Yorkshire terrier will turn his nose up at a ruined Yorkshire.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and Ann's three kids (plus one girlfriend) came round to be fed a fairly traditional Thanksgiving meal. Of course we had a big fat turkey. We had corn, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry... but there was also a British interloper. I made six little Yorkshire puds, following mum's recipe (given below), and in spite of our temperamental and capricious oven they turned out pretty well. There they are in the picture above.

Mum's take on the perfect Yorkshire involves, frankly, witchcraft. She insists that it is vital that the batter is beaten with a wooden spoon; no other implement will give the same results. Further, it must be beaten for five wrist-cramping minutes. She swears that the final addition of a teaspoonful of warm water makes all the difference. I do not believe any of this. I'm a rationalist. Why on earth shouldn't the batter be beaten with a whisk? Such nonsense! On the other hand, I know my mother's Yorkshires are peerless. I used a wooden spoon. I beat the mixture for five minutes. I added that teaspoon of warm water. Don't mess with witchcraft.

Jack's Mum's Yorkshire Pudding

For four individual puds (You'll need a non-stick cooking tin similar to this):

1 egg
2 oz plain flour
5oz full milk
Pinch of salt
Lard, cooking fat or shortening such as Crisco

Mix the egg, sifted flour and salt thoroughly, and beat a little if you can (it will be very stiff). Gradually stir in half the milk, beating all the while. Add the remainder of the milk and beat for five minutes or as long as you can stand. Get plenty of air in there. If you do this right there will be no lumps. If you fail, get a nearby friend to chastise you and then put the mixture through a sieve. Shame on you.

Leave the mixture to stand for 1-2 hours.

Put a knob of the cooking fat into each dish of your Yorkshire tin. How much is a knob, you ask? Oh... about a rounded teaspoonful, I guess. Enough to cover the base of the dish when it melts. Put the tin into a HOT oven and leave it for around ten minutes, or until the fat is really hot. This is important. Your batter needs to sizzle when you pour it in.

Just before putting the batter in, beat that magic teaspoonful of warm water into the mix (and yes, you can probably leave this bit out, even though I lack the courage) Divide the mixture between the four pans. Each one should contain enough to comfortably cover the base and maybe a little bit over, but don't make it too deep or you'll end up with a sloppy bottom. And nobody likes a sloppy bottom, do they?

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Resist the urge to open the oven door to check on things until at least 15 minutes have passed otherwise you risk the collapsed soufflé effect. Your puds will be done when they have risen nicely and look medium-to-dark brown at the edges. Serve with any roast dinner and gravy. Nothing beats a good thick gravy over a Yorkshire.

(Previously) Bad Teeth and Lousy Food: The Perfect Chip

(Next) Bad Teeth and Lousy Food: Late Developments

Comments

[Manggy]

Ah, I won't forget what it is now. Honestly, I get so confused with all the true puddings and non-pudding puddings: plum, Yorkshire, Queen of-, and Eve's (among others). Not to mention that Americans would call custard pudding. Groan. Anyway. It does look perfect for roast meats and gravy. I think I've seen the tin manufactured by Prestige being sold here. I wonder how it sells? (Probably not very well.) I'm just concerned about its lack of versatility. Any ideas to overcome this?

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

[Ann]

Hi Manggy, we don't have the proper tin here in New York-- it's sitting in our London kitchen. So Jack used a muffin tin... and it worked just fine. Oh, and I have to tell you, my gravy was to die for. :-)

Off to see what you've been up to...

[Karyn]

I'm always intimidated by British "puddings," and British desserts in general, because I'm never quite sure what's in them. If I ever go to the UK, I suspect I'll come home smelling strongly of curry. Still, these Yorkshire puddings look fun and delicious (and magical). I might just try them - they look better than the canned spotted dick my local grocery store now carries. :)

[Jack]

Manggy - as Ann says, it doesn't absolutely have to be one of those tins (I probably should have mentioned that in the post), I just find they're handy for making a nice individual size. The ones in the picture were done in a large muffin tin and in fact, the most traditional type of Yorkshire pudding is a single large rectangular one done in a tray. The real tradition was to put that under a roasting joint so that it would catch the dripping... lovely!

Karyn - Yorkshire pudding isn't a dessert-style pudding (although some folks like it that way, served drizzled with syrup!) It's more of a standard accompaniment to a roast dinner. Hmmm... maybe I should do an entry about steamed dessert puddings (such as Spotted Dick) in this series. Thanks for the idea!

[Karyn]

Well, I realized it wasn't a dessert when you said to eat it with gravy. :)

I just think it's funny how scary I find British food (treacle tart? chip butty? figgy pudding? blood sausage?), when I'm eager to try foods from almost every other culture.

I'm German, Irish, English, Dutch, and French - and my least favorite foods are German, Irish, English, and Dutch (which I will conflate here with all of the Netherlands and their surrounding countries). I'm okay with some French foods. But I adore Indian, Vietnamese, and Thai!

I would love to see posts about steamed puddings (just don't expect me to eat that suet). :)

[Tonia]

Oh my god it has to be at least 25 years since I've had Yorkshire Pudding. Now I must dust off my muffin tins and try it with this weekends roast beef. If I fail miserably I'll blame it on my lack of a wooden spoon.

[chefjp]

Howdy! First time visitor to your site---really enjoyed it. Your Yorkshire Pudding post is great because it captures a true sense of local regional cooking a la England Thanks for a great read!

[Jack]

Tonia - if you use muffin tins be careful not to overfill them. I used about a quarter cup of batter per tin.

Karyn - well, at the moment these posts are working through old-fashioned, traditional Brit cooking but I aim to get up to date with modern British by the end. There's some great stuff out there. No, really!

chefjp - hi there, glad you liked the post! I shall run over and check out your site. I like the name... :-)

[Karyn]

I look forward to seeing good, modern British food. My knowledge about British food mainly comes from a few ex-pats that I know and J.K. Rowling - and none of them are exactly giving me selling points.

I had a British coach whose obsession with fish and chips took me to many, many Long John Silvers - the McDonalds of greasy who-knows-how-old-seafood. I'd hate to judge an entire country by her example!

:)

[Christima]

Well, that confused me for a moment- I took one look at your image and thought that maybe my family had hijacked a British food, toenails and all, but with a different name and use! My favourite breakfast food that my father often made were known as popovers and have the same basic ingredients, and are generally cooked in muffin tins. We omit, however, the sizzling lard and the spoonful of warm water and instead use a couple tablespoons of butter and start it in a cold oven. It's also possible that the proportions are different, I don't remember them off the top of my head.

[Jack]

Christima - yes, whenever I try to explain Yorkshire puddings to confused Americans I often say they're kinda like popovers.

Best popovers I ever had were at Jordan Pond cafe in Bar Harbor, Maine...