Rookie Pan
← All recipes
United Kingdom, Europe · Yorkshire Pudding

Beef-Dripping Yorkshire Puddings with Slow Onion Gravy

Overnight-rested batter poured into smoking beef dripping for tall, crisp-edged puddings, filled with a deep red-wine onion gravy.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time50 min
Chilling the batter+ 4 h
DifficultyHard
About servingsOne egg makes 2 large puddings in a 4-hole Yorkshire pudding tin (10 cm holes), which is 1 serving. From 3 servings you need two tins; set them side by side on one shelf so both rise evenly, which is why the baking time is a little longer.

Method

  1. Whisk the eggs and salt in a jug until frothy, then whisk in the flour to a thick, smooth paste with no dry lumps. Gradually whisk in the milk and water, about in total, until the batter is as thin as single cream. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Take it out 30 minutes before baking.

    Add in this stepEggs (straight from the fridge) 2Salt (for the batter) 1 pinchPlain flour 80 gMilk 120 mlCold water 30 ml

  2. For the gravy, slice the onions thinly. Melt the butter in a 18 cm pan, add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook over medium-low heat for , stirring every few minutes, until soft, sticky and deep golden brown. If they start to catch, add a splash of water.

    Add in this stepOnions (medium) 1Butter 15 gSalt (for the gravy) to taste

    medium-low heat

  3. Sprinkle over the flour and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the red wine and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom, then add the stock, thyme and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer over medium heat for until the gravy lightly coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper, remove the thyme and keep warm.

    Add in this stepPlain flour (for the gravy) 1½ tspRed wine 50 mlBeef stock 250 mlThyme sprigs 1Worcestershire sauce 1 tspSalt (for the gravy) to tasteBlack pepper to taste

    medium heat

  4. Heat the oven to 230°C. Put 1 tsp of dripping in each of 4 holes and heat the tin in the oven for , until the fat is shimmering and just starting to smoke.

    Add in this stepBeef dripping (1 tsp per hole) 4 tsp

    oven

  5. Whisk the batter once more and pour it into a jug. Working fast, pull out the oven shelf and pour the batter into the hot fat until each hole is about half full; it should sizzle loudly. Close the door and bake in the oven for . Do not open the door for the first 20 minutes. They are ready when tall, deep golden and crisp, and sound hollow when tapped.

    oven

  6. Serve straight away, hollow side up, and fill each pudding with plenty of hot onion gravy, ideally alongside roast beef or sausages.

Cook's tip

Cold batter hitting smoking fat gives the biggest rise, so keep the tin in the oven until the very last second. A little water in the batter makes the shells crisper than milk alone. Cooking oil works instead of dripping, but the flavour is milder.

Cooking it at camp

Make the batter and onion gravy at home; carry the batter in a sealed jar in the cooler and the gravy in a container. At the campsite, heat 2 tbsp of dripping in a 30 cm Dutch oven with 17 coals on the lid and 8 underneath for 10 minutes, pour in all the batter and bake one large pudding for 20 to 25 minutes, without lifting the lid for the first 15. Reheat the gravy in a small pot on the burner.