The greatest living Yorkshire chef, Brian Turner, has a really simple
and foolproof recipe for Yorkshire puddings.
Naturally you can use the 1:1:1 ratio of eggs, flour and milk to make
the pudding in any quantity you desire. Also you can add herbs to
the mixture to make a savoury pudding. Preheat the oven to fairly hot
(or set it at the temperature at which you are going to cook your
joint of beef) Add a small drop of oil or beef fat to the bottom of a
roasting tin or into each compartment of a Yorkshire pudding tin and
place at the top of the oven to be getting really hot. It is
important that whatever container you use it should be metal. It
doesn't seem to rise or crisp properly in any other material. Mix
together all the ingredients to form a batter with the consistency of
double cream. When the oil in the tin is beginning to smoke add the
batter until it comes just below the level of the tin (it should rise
when cooked). Put the tin back into the top of the oven and leave for
15 to 20 minutes by which time the puddings should be well-risen and
crisp.
When I was a boy we would have Yorkshire pudding at every course of
our Sunday dinner. We would always start with a slice of the pudding
served with a savoury gravy. This is the traditional way to eat it
as it was intended to fill the family so that they would require less
of the expensive meat. The second course was the beef with the
pudding and a selection of vegetables, always including roast
potatoes and usually roast parsnips. If there was any pudding left
it would be served to the children with Golden Syrup (a bit like US
corn syrup). It is a typical Yorkshire way of making a little go a
long way on a small budget.
