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In the UK Yorkshire puddings are often served alongside a nice Sunday roast, and are usually covered in gravy before being eaten. Despite being called “pudding” this British food is more like a popover. Except there’s no turning these rolls as they puff up into strangely beautiful shapes all on their own while baking in the oven. For a global take on this treat, a new trend to smother these little puddings in chili and cheese has taken off. And, we are here for it.
As you would for crêpes you’ll need to allow the batter to rest before baking. After the simple batter of eggs, flour, salt, and milk has rested you’ll need to preheat the oven to 450˚F. Then add a little bit of high-oleic vegetable oil or lard to a 12-muffin pan (or 2 6-muffin pans).
Here is where I give you some sound advice: do not overfill the muffin cups with fat! I used oil and it was easy to overfill. If that happens oil will spill out during baking- something you definitely don’t want. I had to spend quite bit of time cleaning the oven after this happened to me. Next time I will use lard or shortening as it might be easier to avoid overfilling- that and a sparing hand.
Once the fat in the cups has been heated to smoking carefully take them from the oven and fill each slot with 1/3 of the way full with batter. Then bake the puddings until they swell up into delicious, golden brown puffs.
My oven has some uneven heat spots, so about a quarter of my Yorkshire puddings didn’t get as big. That’s perfectly fine, just know that your puddings might not all reach equal heights.
These are best served fresh from the oven with hot chili spooned over the top and finished with some shredded cheddar cheese and some chopped chives. But, they also reheat very nicely the next day.
I used canned chili for simplicity, but you can make yours from scratch if you’d like. You can find a recipe for Boston beer chili here.
For a hearty fusion of American and British cuisines these chili con carne Yorkshire puddings deliver tons of flavor. Their delicate, bread-like texture is hard to resist and may even be better than cornbread when paired with chili.
Chili Con Carne Yorkshire Puddings
Yield(s): Served 4-6
1h 15m prep time
25m cook time
437 calories
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, shortening, or lard
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 (15 oz) cans pre-made chili con carne
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup finely chopped chives
Preparation
- Break eggs into a measuring cup and mix with an equal amount of milk (both should be 1 cup). Pour into large mixing bowl and beat until uniform in color. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl combine flour and salt. Slowly add this mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until no lumps remain. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. When ready to bake add in cold water and whisk well.
- Preheat oven to 450˚F. Add 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil to each slot of a 12-muffin pan (or 2 6-muffin pans). Place into oven and allow to heat until oil or lard begins to smoke slightly. Remove from oven and fill each muffin slot 1/3 full with batter.
- Return to oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until puddings are puffed and golden. While puddings are baking heat chili over low heat on stovetop.
- When puddings are done remove from pan and plate with some warmed chili in the center of each. Add some cheese and chives as a final garnish and serve immediately.
Recipe adapted from The Spruce Eats.