Name: Yorkshire puddings
Total time: 35 min
Yield: Makes 8
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 250g plain flour; 3/4 tsp sea salt; 150ml whole milk; 50ml vodka; 4 eggs (we used Clarence Court Burford Browns); 2 1/2 tbsp beef dripping

How do you make homemade Yorkshire puddings?

Making your own is worth the effort. There are lots of recipes for Yorkshire puds out there, with differing ratios, methods and techniques, but I’m pretty chuffed with how mine have turned out. The addition of vodka may seem surprising, but adding alcohol to any flour-based batter prohibits the formation of gluten, keeping the batter from becoming ‘doughy’. This same technique is used in Japan to keep tempura batter perfectly light.

Is it better to make Yorkshire pudding batter in advance?

Let’s also dispel a few Yorkshire pudding myths. First of all, making the batter in advance won’t make them any better (or any worse). I make my batter just before I put the trays in the oven to preheat, giving it 20 minutes or so to come together before going into the oven.

Most recipes will advise you to get the fat scorching hot before adding the batter, some even advising to put the tin on the hob while you pour in the batter. While this does cause a rapid expansion of the batter, it’s in an uncontrolled way, meaning your puds can end up looking like misshapen asteroids. Once the fat is in the preheated tin, put it in the oven for 5 minutes to get hot and fully melted, then pour in the batter and you’ll end up with high-sided Yorkshires that could hold a pint of gravy each.

How do you make Yorkshire pudding mix?

When it comes to ingredients, these really make all the difference. Whole milk, good quality eggs and sea salt help create a superior pud. Vegetable oil for the tin will do, but beef dripping is better. When a batter is as simple as flour, eggs, milk and a cheeky bit of vodka, being cooked in beef dripping undoubtedly improves the flavour.

Can you reheat Yorkshire puddings?

Yorkies tend to be left till the end of a hectic cooking session, but they actually reheat fantastically well. Make the batter ahead and cook them before the oven becomes full, cool on a wire rack and then put them back in the oven 10 minutes before serving to get nice and crisp. You’ll never have that last-minute panic again.

Yorkshire puddings recipe

250g plain flour
3/4 tsp sea salt
150ml whole milk
50ml vodka
4 eggs
(we used Clarence Court Burford Browns)
2 1/2 tbsp beef dripping

Method

step 1
Heat the oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8.
step 2
Put the flour and sea salt into a bowl and pour in the milk, vodka and 100ml of water. Whisk until just combined, then whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Transfer to a large measuring jug and cover.
step 3
Put two four-hole Yorkshire pudding tins in the oven to heat for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, add 1 tsp of beef dripping to each hole and return to the oven for 4-5 minutes to melt. Take out, pour the batter into each hole, filling right to the top. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip over and cook for 5-10 minutes until the bottoms crisp up.