Yorkshire Pudding

Yorkshire pudding is the name that an English recipe writer Hannah Glasse named the grand old dish that had been around for centuries. Previously the dish had been known as dipped pudding or drip puddings The recipe cooks to marry wheat flour and meat dripping. Dripping puddings, which did not rise up where they were to be and thus were flatter became known as Yorkshire puddings

Yorkshire pudding is an eggy , puffed up pancake dish The dish is traditionally served before the main course with gravy and meat drippings. In effect it is sort of a meat donut. The original pudding was flatter and and cooked in a tin under the mat. The meat was roasted on a spit over a fire so the pudding caught all meat drippings. The human body requires some dietary fat to facilitate the absorption of some vitamins.

Yorkshire pudding in the past centuries was made up in large tray pans but today they are commonly found in small amounts. It is common to find Yorkshire pudding served with meat and onion with gravy before the main meal to help fill up in order to serve less meat and veggies in the main meal.

The ingredients in Yorkshire Pudding are often staples found in every kitchen. Eggs, milk and flour are the main 3 ingredients add a little bit of lard and they are a bit tastier but oil can do the job as well. Common Yorkshire Pudding style dishes include Toad in the Hole. Tips for cooking Yorkshire Pudding:

• never use self raising flour, baking powder or any raising agent. These ingredients will achieve flat, soggy puddings
• the mix should be a little thicker than unwhipped double cream and as smooth as possible. 
• Heat the fat until hot and smoking a bit before adding batter
• Leave the oven door closed for 10 minutes at the start of cooking. Allow the pudding to rise and go brown without collapsing

For the Puddings:
4 large eggs (measured in a jug)
Equal quantity of milk to eggs
Equal quantity of all purpose/plain flour to eggs
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons lard (or beef dripping or vegetable oil)
For the Gravy:
2 medium onions (peeled and thinly sliced)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
750 milliliters beef stock
4 teaspoons corn starch
4 teaspoons water (cold
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

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.
When ready to cook your Yorkshire puddings, heat the oven to the highest temperature possible, however, do not exceed 450F/230C or the fat may burn.

Meanwhile, make the gravy
Melt the oil and butter in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the onion and cover with a lid. Cook slowly for approx 10 mins or until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar to the onions and stir well. Cover with the lid and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add the stock and boil gently uncovered for 5 minutes.
In a heatproof jug or bowl mix the corn starch/flour with the cold water to a thin paste. Pour a little of the hot gravy into the starch mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour the starch mixture back into the gravy, raise the heat to high and boil for 10 minutes or until the gravy is slightly thickened. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Cook the Puddings
Place a pea-sized piece of lard, dripping or a 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 tbsp 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.
Serve on hot plates drenched in delicious onion gravy.

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