Whether your family passes Pillsbury crescents or brown-and-serve rolls, the bready part of a holiday dinner is often woefully neglected. For some reason, people think making cravable favorites like popovers and Yorkshire pudding is more difficult than cooking a roast or a turkey, but it’s actually very simple. You don’t have to tell your guests about the simple part — just impress them with these satisfying homemade alternatives to store-bought starches.
A few quick tips: Special popover pans are readily available at kitchen supply stores like Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table — or even Fredericksen Hardware — but muffin pans work just fine. For the Yorkshire pudding batter, I let it sit in the refrigerator for two hours or so. This step is optional, but I think it helps the pudding rise higher. Finally, whatever you do, don’t open the oven while baking or you may wind up with deflated Yorkshire pudding or popovers.
Yorkshire Pudding
Serves 4–6
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup pan drippings or vegetable oil
Mix together the flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl. In smaller bowl, beat together eggs and milk until frothy. Stir in dry ingredients until just incorporated. Refrigerate mixture for two hours (optional).
Heat oven to 450 degrees (if you’re cooking a turkey or prime rib, crank up the temperature after you remove the meat to rest).
Pour pan drippings or vegetable oil into a 9×9-inch oven-safe baking dish. Put dish in oven for about 30 seconds, or until drippings or oil is just smoking. Remove dish from oven (carefully), pour in batter, and return dish to oven. Bake until puffed up and brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Popovers
Serves 4–6
- 1 tablespoon melted butter (cooled to room temperature)
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
In a small ramekin, melt butter in microwave; set aside to cool.
Heat oven to 425 degrees with popover/muffin pan inside to warm (again, you can turn up the temperature when you remove the meat to rest).
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Add salt. Whisk in flour. Add cooled butter. Spray pan with nonstick spray. Using a ladle, fill each pan well half full. Bake on parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet for 25 to 30 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown. Remove from pan and serve immediately.
