[Pudsey_Bear]

Yorkshire Pudding Theory #5: Add Water for Crisper Puddings
Again, this was a simple matter of adding water while keeping the ratio of liquid to flour the same. As expected, puddings with more water in them rise up puffier and crisper. Unlike with excess egg yolks, however, the puddings stay tender enough that the tradeoff is worth it. In my recipe, I ended up using milk and water at a 7:1 ratio (that is, for every 175 grams of milk, I use an additional 25 grams of water). Even easier is if you have skim or low-fat milk—they work just fine on their own, no need to cut them with water.

Yorkshire Pudding Theory #7: Don't Open the Oven While Baking
If there's one bit of advice you hear more frequently than any other, it's this: Do not, under any circumstances, open the oven door while your Yorkshire puddings are baking. Everyone from Gordon Ramsay to Felicity Cloake advises against it. Your puddings will fall, they say. They will refuse to puff, they say. They will spontaneously combust and burn down your house with your goldfish and sense of self-worth trapped inside, they say. They will raid your fridge, finish the milk, and put the empty carton back, they say.*


*They only actually say two out of four of these things.


Fortunately, none of it is true. I baked batches of puddings side by side in two identical ovens. One I monitored carefully through the glass door in the soft orange glow of the oven light. The other I opened up every few minutes to peek along at its progress. (I have two ovens and only one working oven light, so this actually worked out quite well for me.) With the latter, I even took the risk of rotating the tray a few times during baking.


Both batches rose just fine and equally tall.


Verdict: Totally, absolutely false.

 

[Pudsey_Bear]

Going to look into and try this one next week maybe:-

Recipe Facts
4.7
(25)
Prep:5 mins
Cook:30 mins
Active:5 mins
Resting Time:30 mins
Total:65 mins
Serves:8 Yorkshire puddings
Rate & Comment
Ingredients
Save Recipe

• 4 large eggs (200g; 7 ounces) I only use two
• 150g all-purpose flour (5.25 ounces; about 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons) I use 140g Plain
• 175g whole milk (6 ounces; 3/4 cup) (see notes) same
• 2g kosher salt (about 1/2 teaspoon) Just a good pinch
• 25g water (0.85 ounces; 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons) (see notes) I'll give it a go
• 100ml beef drippings, lard, shortening, or vegetable oil (about 1/2 cup) I put maybe half a small cup of oil in the tin

Directions

1. Combine eggs, flour, milk, water, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until a smooth batter is formed. Let batter rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Alternatively, for best results, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate batter overnight or for up to 3 days. Remove from refrigerator while you preheat the oven.
   
   
   
2. Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Divide drippings (or other fat) evenly between two 8-inch cast iron or oven-safe non-stick skillets, two 6-well popover tins (see notes), one 12-well standard muffin tin, or one 24-well mini muffin tin. Preheat in the oven until the fat is smoking hot, about 10 minutes.
   
3. Transfer the pans or tins to a heat-proof surface (such as an aluminum baking sheet on your stovetop), and divide the batter evenly between every well (or between the two pans if using pans). The wells should be filled between 1/2 and 3/4 of the way (if using pans, they should be filled about 1/4 of the way). Immediately return to oven. Bake until the yorkshire puddings have just about quadrupled in volume, are deep brown all over, crisp to the touch, and sound hollow when tapped. Smaller ones will take about 15 minutes, popover- or skillet-sized ones will take around 25 minutes.
   
   
   
4. Serve immediately, or cool completely, transfer to a zipper-lock freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in a hot toaster oven before serving.
   
   
   

Special Equipment
Two 8-inch cast iron skillets, popover pan or muffin tin (optional)

Notes
Yorkshire puddings come out best when the batter has been rested for at least one night; however, they can be cooked immediately after forming the batter if time requires it. Form the batter as directed in step 1 and immediately proceed to step 2 without refrigerating it. The quantity of batter doesn't divide easily into standard 6-well popover pans, but you can scale up the recipe by 50% in order to make a full 12 popovers instead of 8. If using skim or low-fat milk, omit the water and increase amount of milk to 200g (7 ounces; 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons).

NUTRITION FACTS(PER SERVING)
219	CALORIES
15g	FAT
16g	CARBS
6g	PROTEIN

 

[Drew]

"Next time I will only use half the amount of spices this is much too strong for me even though I put 2 tins of tomatoes in".

How much hot chilli powder did you use in the end Jan? 1½ teaspoons was far too hot for us, that is why I suggested to you to cut it down. How Kev survived with 4 I'll never know.

 

[erneboy]

Have you tried following the Mary Berry recipe Kev?

Mary Berry's Yorkshire pudding recipe

Mary Berry's Yorkshire pudding recipe is foolproof. She's been making them to serve with Sunday lunches for many years. You can even make and freeze them.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Pudsey_Bear]

Tuff up ere tha'knows.

TBH I could not be bothered using a spoon as the jar openings are too small so had to tip it onto the spoon trying not to decorate the kitchen, so I just whack a bit in without being silly now, but first time I did use the spoon and it wasn't that hot, this one is mega tasty, looking forward to tomorrow.


Edit to add, maybe the stuff I'm using is a bit old, I'm not sure I'd need to see if Liz bought new or if we had it.


Edit to confirm all the Spices G said to use were Schwartz & bought new, so full fat, and I'm not normally a fan of really hot stuff, having said that I've lived in Bradford for most of my life and used to almost live in the curry houses of the 70s & 80s

The Yorkshire City Known As The 'Curry Capital' Of The UK

Bradford is known for some of the best curries in the UK - with hundreds of fantastic curry houses serving authentic food.

the-yorkshireman.com

 

[Pudsey_Bear]

Have you tried following the Mary Berry recipe Kev?

Mary Berry's Yorkshire pudding recipe

Mary Berry's Yorkshire pudding recipe is foolproof. She's been making them to serve with Sunday lunches for many years. You can even make and freeze them.

www.bbc.co.uk

I do have one of hers Alan but no not yet, I'd just get confused until I figure out what has happened to the one which gave wonderful results until it didn't.

Just checked and the one I have is the same as the one I bookmarked.

doing my head in for sure, it must be something simple with the method as the ingredients are the ingredients and I've stuck to those as near as dammit.

 

[erneboy]

Mrs Eb was like you Kev. Years of perfect puds endlessly then failure after failure. The MB recipe fixed it for her she says.

 

[Pudsey_Bear]

Just edited my response to Drew.

 

[Pudsey_Bear]

Mrs Eb ws kile you Kev. Years of perfect puds endlessly then failure after failure. The MB recipe fixed it for her she says.

Thanks for that Alan

Well I'm going to try the water treatment as I have added some before with no problems just to see if it made any difference, so it may come to it.

 

[JanHank]

"Next time I will only use half the amount of spices this is much too strong for me even though I put 2 tins of tomatoes in".
How much hot chilli powder did you use in the end Jan? 1½ teaspoons was far too hot for us, that is why I suggested to you to cut it down. How Kev survived with 4 I'll never know.

I used just about a teaspoonful Drew, every one of the spices I brought new because some I have never used before , made by Ostmann and best before 2025 or 2026.
Maybe the hot Chilly was wrong for me I´ll get the ordinary chilly for next time, if there is a next time.

 

[Drew]

Over the past 4 weeks we have made all of Grahams recipes using Turkey and Chicken Breasts, cubed Rump Steak and the cubed top half from a Leg of Lamb. The next time we use lamb I will buy it already cubed as it was a pain in the backside to do it myself. Having said that the 1.2 Kilo that I bought generated 750 gms of cubed meat and from the bone that I pulverised in the pressure cooker I gained another 70 gms of meat and a bowl full of stock that will be made into a soup.

Other than Turkey Dupiaza his other recipes weren't hot, all were full of flavour and most enjoyable and have been added to our "Favourite Meals" folder.

 

[Glandwr]

Jan you need to start at beginner level with curries. Same pleasure in cooking and preparation but start at the mild end.

A good start would be a Thai green curry, lemon grass, spring onions, garlic, chilli, spices, coconut milk, summer veg etc it can be served with rice or noodles. Good for chicken or prawns.

Then move on to pakistani/northern India Korma and Thai red. Another advantage is that they are relatively quick to cook .

 

[GMJ]

I did caveat the dupiaza recipe on the front page of this thread saying to be careful with the chilli powder, as there are so many variants around: Kev's Schwartz ones obviously have little power whereas the Indian ones I buy will knock your socks off. It's the same with shop bought fresh chillies as well - it's a little like Russian Roulette!

Also folks have different tastes and different tolerances to spice heat. I can eat much hotter ones than Mrs GMJ for example. I also find that the curries get better several attempts down the line as you experiment and amend to suit your own taste.

 

[JanHank]

There was not meant to be any criticism of your recipe Graham, as I said it´s a long time, meaning years, since I made or tasted anything hot like curries, I did try the fresh chillies once and spat out immediately. What I made yesterday won`t be wasted, I can probably give that to any visitor that likes hot, hot food Or even put a bit into other things I make, like Goulasch, I do make a big pot of that now and then for the freezer.

I will try the beef curry next and use an egg spoon as the measure, but that won`t be just yet.

 

[GMJ]

I didn't take offence Jan - no worries.

 

[Pudsey_Bear]

I like mine with Pitta bread, I make little pockets and have a tiny curry sarnie

 

[Drew]

We have used Pitta bread with various meals but now that we made a batch of Grahams Naan bread we will used it as and when. Both freeze well and are equally as good.

Having left the Lamb stock in the fridge overnight I have about a 1/16" of fat to skim before using it for our lunchtime soup.

As I have never made Yorkshire Puddings before, this afternoon I am going for gold and experimenting with 3 different recipes all from members of this and MHO's. Mr Behr — Coppo — and Randonneur.

The Proof is in the Pudding.

 

[Pudsey_Bear]

Well Sir, I wish you the very best of look but don't come on here showing off

1/16'' I'd leave it on, the body does need a certain amount of fat to lubricate joints, mine are well lubricated.

 

[JanHank]

That´s settled that then, I have saved the turkey and onion etc, the juice I drained off and has gone down the sink. I tried it again using up the other half of the rice and it really is not my thing, it has a much coarser taste than Curry. I have very delicate taste buds obviously.
I remember one of my brothers telling me after he had stopped smoking for about a year he couldn´t eat hot curries anymore the chicken Tikka was strong enough for him and one of the Birds Eye Chinese meals, I can´t remember the name now.
Inis up the road will take the chilli powder.

 

[Pudsey_Bear]

Vesta??