A neighbor asked for popover tips recently. I shared what I know and promptly made a batch of my own. The three of us ate the twelve of them in a snap.
They are good with roasts, good with stews, and a delight for breakfast. I suppose you could put jam or something on them, but it seems like a bit of gilding the lily to me.
Popovers
Here is what I know about making popovers pop. You want a very hot oven, a preheated muffin tin or popover pan, and room temperature ingredients. I’ve done the whole “fill only every other muffin cup” nonsense and never noticed it made a lick of difference.
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Heat the oven to 450. While the oven heats, put the eggs and milk in a blender or bowl and let sit to come to room temperature. Once the oven is hot, put an empty 12-cup muffin tin or popover pan (or 2 6-cup pans) in the oven and let it heat while you make the batter.
Whirl the eggs and milk or whisk them vigorously until completely combined. Add flour and salt and whirl or whisk until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and whirl or whisk to combine.
Take pan(s) out of the oven and brush the cups with the remaining melted butter. Fill cups evenly with the batter. Twelve muffins tins will each be about half full.
Put filled pan(s) in the oven and reduce heat to 425. Bake 25 minutes without so much as thinking about opening the oven door. Reduce heat to 350 and bake until completely golden and mostly brown, about another 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve popovers hot, or at least warm. Time does them no favors.
arugulove | 05-Mar-10 at 10:49 am | Permalink
These look so good! Yet another reminder that I really need to buy a popover pan.
Andrea | 05-Mar-10 at 12:20 pm | Permalink
Lovely. Never made them before and thanks for the tip on skipping the muffin cup. Would using a popover pan make much of a difference?
Cooklyn Veg | 05-Mar-10 at 1:34 pm | Permalink
Yay! These are called Yorkshire Puddings in the UK – I’ve often wondered if there’s an American version. I’ve only ever used muffin tins, what’s the difference between that and a popover pan?
Molly Watson | 06-Mar-10 at 11:08 am | Permalink
A popover pan has cups that are deeper and narrower than a muffin tin. The good ones are made of cast iron so they really heat up when you stick them in the oven ahead of time. The “pop” aspects of things is a bit more guaranteed with a popover pan, but they are real cupboard-space-eaters so I make due with my tin muffin pan….
Kate | 06-Mar-10 at 1:22 pm | Permalink
When I run out of food in the house popovers are my go-to meal. One egg, half a cup each of milk and flour, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of butter (half melted for the batter and half to butter the popover pan) and I have three popovers to fill me up.
I dump everything in at once, barely whisk the batter – it’s crazy lumpy – and don’t preheat the oven. Still works like a charm. So easy.
Ashley at Hither and Thither | 16-Mar-10 at 10:07 am | Permalink
I can’t wait to try these! May have to change tonight’s dinner menu to accommodate… Thank you!
Martin | 20-Mar-10 at 4:53 am | Permalink
It’s really interesting to see how different countires look at and name a recipes. We’ve always known them as Yorkshire puddings. A requirement for any good roast dinner.