Yorkshire Pudding

No—these aren't actually puddings. Confusing, we know, but for these English bakes, the word "pudding" has a very different meaning than it does stateside. This traditional side dish often accompanies a large beef roast, but they're versatile depending on what you're serving them with, and when. If you're looking to have a traditional English holiday this year, or simply want to add a crowd-pleasing savory pastry to your Christmas dinner, follow our top tips to creating the perfect Yorkshire puddings.

First, what is Yorkshire pudding?

Yorkshire puddings are a savory British pastry, traditionally often served alongside a Sunday beef roast. A common side dish in England, these pastries also pair nicely with other large-format, holiday dinner dishes like roast chicken or prime rib.

What's the difference between Yorkshire puddings and popovers?

Yorkshire puddings are almost identical to popovers. The recipe is the same except instead of using melted butter, these are traditionally made with beef drippings or rendered beef fat, often from the beef roast dish it accompanies. If you aren't making a beef roast, you can buy beef fat (aka tallow), lard, or just use butter.

Here are our top tips for the best Yorkshire pudding:

• Make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature. Cold eggs or milk will instantly solidify that beef fat, creating a lumpy batter.

• Using a popover pan will give you a taller result. But if you don’t have one, you can use a 12-cup muffin tin—the puddings will all be half the size.

• Don’t open the oven door to take a peek. This can cause your puddings to deflate. Use the oven light if you want to look at their progress.

• The Yorkshire puddings should go into the oven exactly 28 minutes before you plan to serve them. They need to be eaten immediately, because they deflate and get gummy fast. So make sure your table is set, your Sunday roast is all laid out, and your guests are settled in before the timer goes off.

P.S. If you don’t mind dirtying another dish, transfer the batter to a pourable measuring cup to make dividing between the tins easier.

Did you try these? Let us know how it went in the comments!