Yorkshire Pudding

This is the Yorkshire Pudding I grew up with. My Nanna made it this way in muffin tins, but my Grandma made hers in a large flat baking dish and sliced it into portions afterwards--both were equally delicious. This is England's greatest contribution to the culinary world. Describing it to someone is hard because the uninitiated see it in their minds as a dessert. But it's not--it's a savoury addition to any roast dinner. It's like a hearty, yet fluffy bread that goes well with roast beef and gravy.

The oil that you use is entirely up to you--but it must have a high smoke point. I've been making and using tallow lately, thanks to a friend who put me onto it. Tallow adds an unmatched depth and richness to anything that you're cooking--it's the best thing for a steak! It's just rendered beef fat that you can get from your butcher (and if your butcher is good like mine, it won't cost you a thing for a few kilos). It'll keep in your fridge for up to 18 months. It's also a natural vegan repellent. Awesome.

The trick to making this work perfectly, is speed AND heat. You need to have all of your ingredients ready to go. Your oven needs to be as hot as possible and you need to move swiftly. So clear the kitchen of any unwanted things and people, take a deep breath, and go!

Makes 12 large puddings.

Ingredients

• 4 Eggs, large
• 1.5 cups Whole Milk
• 1 tsp Salt
• 150 g Plain Flour
• 1/2 cup Tallow, Roast Beef Dripping or a neutral oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 250degC.
2. Put the eggs, milk, and salt in a blender. Carefully measure out the flour and add it to a blender. Cover and pulse several times, using a plastic spatula to scrape down the sides. Blend until completely mixed.
3. Transfer the batter to a large measuring cup and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Pour a little of the tallow (or dripping, or whatever) into the bottom of a 12-cup muffin tin (it should come to about 1 teaspoon per muffin cup). Put the muffin tin in the oven for 15 minutes or until the oils are beginning to smoke.
5. Working very quickly, open the oven door, slide out the muffin tin as far as you can without removing it completely and pour the batter into each muffin cup until 3/4 full. Then slide the muffin tin back into the oven and close the door.
6. Bake 20 minutes until the puddings have risen and are browned.
7. When the puddings are ready, take the muffin pan out of the oven and serve the puddings at once with spoonfuls of hot gravy.