Yorkshire Pudding

From Peasant Food to Holiday Royalty

FULL VIDEO ABOVE ^^^

There are very few dishes that tell the truth about food better than Yorkshire pudding.

Before it became a mandatory holiday side dish or the dramatic, golden crown on a Sunday roast, Yorkshire pudding was survival food. Smart food. Honest food. It came from a time when nothing was wasted, and meat was precious.

In working-class homes across England, a roast wasn’t just dinner, it was an event. As the beef cooked over an open flame, the fat and drippings fell into the pan below. Instead of letting that liquid gold go to waste, families poured a simple batter of flour, eggs, and milk (or even water in tougher times) directly into the hot drippings.

The pudding was served before the meat. Not as a garnish. Not as an afterthought. It was there to fill bellies, especially kids’, so less meat was needed once the roast hit the table. Yorkshire pudding wasn’t fancy. It was strategic.

And like most great foods born out of necessity, it turned out to be incredible.

Today, Yorkshire pudding has evolved into something celebratory. Crisp on the outside, custardy on the inside, deeply savory from beef fat, it’s now a holiday staple and, in many homes, the centerpiece itself.

In the video attached to this post, I walk you through exactly how to make Yorkshire pudding the right way. No gimmicks. No shortcuts. Just heat, fat, and a simple batter doing what it’s done for centuries.

The best part? You don’t even need a roast.

How to Make Yorkshire Pudding (Even Without a Roast)

Traditionally, Yorkshire pudding is poured straight into the roast pan once the beef comes out. If you’re making a prime rib or any beef roast, that’s still the gold standard.

But if you’re not roasting beef, or if you want perfectly portioned individual puddings, a muffin tin works beautifully.

Ingredients (That’s It)

• 3 eggs

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup flour

• A pinch of sea salt or kosher salt

• Beef tallow (or beef drippings)

The Method

1. Preheat your oven to 450°F. Heat matters here. Yorkshire pudding lives and dies by temperature.

2. Add 2 teaspoons of beef tallow to each muffin well. If you’re feeling indulgent, you can go up to 1 tablespoon per well.

3. Place the muffin tin in the oven and heat until the fat is smoking hot, about 4 to 5 minutes.

4. While the fat heats, whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, and salt until smooth.

5. Carefully pull the hot muffin tin from the oven. Pour the batter halfway up each well, right into the sizzling fat.

6. Return to the oven and bake at 450°F for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed, deeply golden, and crisp.

7. Pop them out immediately and serve.

That’s it.

No baking powder. No resting the batter for hours. No overthinking it.

Why This Dish Still Matters

Yorkshire pudding is proof that great food doesn’t come from abundance. It comes from attention. From using what you have. From respecting fat, heat, and timing.

It’s a reminder that some of the most iconic dishes in the world were built by people who had very little but knew exactly what they were doing.

Whether you serve it alongside a holiday roast, make it the star of the plate, or just whip up a batch in muffin tins for fun, Yorkshire pudding is still doing its job.

It fills people up.

It brings people together.

And it wastes nothing.

That’s real food. That’s American Gravy.

— Andrew