Go to the Recipe: Light, Crispy Popovers
Ugh... posted a day too late. This would’ve been perfect using the Thanksgiving herb oil!
I'm guessing that white gravy at the end is a future release recipe?
I have been making popovers for years and wonder why I want to bring the fat and calories to the party by adding oil?
It was just a basic béchamel—milk, roux, seasoning and some chives...needed something for the glamour shot!
Recommendations for working foie into these?
ChefSteps foie gras ganache would be amazing spread on a hot pop over... also, we tried using rendered foie fat instead of the oil and it was pretty epic.
Using rendered foie fat sounds exactly like what I was thinking!
If I’m going to add fat, it’s going to be something tasty. Grapeseed oil is pretty neutral to flavorless.
Looks like the perfect usage for the ham fat left over from the fresh glazed ham recipe.
Hi Mark, Popovers are an American version of Yorkshire pudding and don’t typically require the hot oil or fat that is customary in its British cousin. We added the oil because it increases the puff of the popovers. If you prefer less oil, adjust the recipe to your own liking.
Hi Live2eat, Try a batch with our Holiday Herb Oil!
What's the difference between a popover and a Yorkshire pudding?
Sadly, I don't have metal muffin pan. Do you think hot oil in silicone muffin forms would be enough to crisp them?
should work
That’s an ongoing discussion, Julia!
First attempt the popovers fell after I pulled them out of the oven.
What am I missing? Any suggestions?
When something falls after removing from the oven it is a sign of under baking. Try adding a few minutes to your bake time. They can bake to a deeper golden brown and still be delicious.
"Just mind the smoke point of each fat and heat that fat in the pan appropriately." Please explain what this means.
Thanks...
My mom always used bacon fat if the beef drippings weren't ready
yum
different oils have different temperatures that they can get heated to before they begin to smoke and degrade, and or flash into a flame. Know the temperature of the oil you are using so that you do not smoke out your kitchen or start a fire.
Did you try warming the milk during your recipe building? I've found that yields the most consistent rise.
Traditionally, Yorkshire puddings are cooked in beef tallow. Popovers are the same kind of recipe, but cooked in another fat.
I was happy to see popovers from Chefsteps since I'm no stranger to making them but my execution missed the mark somewhere. I used a blender and did it slowly when incorporating the flour. The batter rested about 90 min and I oiled a muffin pan and popover pan with grapeseed oil per instructions. after pouring the batter and placing them in the oven, the oil spattered all over the oven. The popovers had rise but had a tight crumb akin to a dinner roll. The flavor was good but these were not popovers. Now I have to completely clean my oven due to the oily residue everywhere.
I'm used to Alton Brown's recipe and have also had success with J Kenji-Lopez Alt's version.
First time I attempted popovers- I made these for Christmas and they puffed up excellently and had a lovely flavor, but I think I had too much oil (in the muffin pan) and resulted with oil finding its way into a puddle in the middle of the pretty popovers which was a little sad. Are we going for 20% full of oil in muffin pans as well? Can we just do grams for how much oil in each cavity to be more precise?
Also, a side note about after taking them out of the oven, what's the best way to avoid them collapsing? The popovers I took out looked amazing in the oven, but almost immediately after putting them in a large serving bowl, they started to collapse under their own weight like a sad soufflé. Might have been due to the oil issue mentioned above, or could it be a moisture thing? Any advice would be welcome to prepare for a second round.
yep, 20% is about what we aimed for in our tins. And rule of thumb for the collapsing, if that happens they are under baked. let them go for longer next time.
Clarified butter was the fat of choice used in a traditional popover pan. This pan was set into a rimmed baking sheet, which successfully collected the overflow fat for future use. I have an AGA cooker and used the roasting oven, keeping that oven door closed for exactly 20 minutes. Popover perfection. Thank you!
Bless this post. I have tried to follow YouTube video after YouTube video, but every popover recipe relies on some tiny bit of knowledge that you should already know. I feel like I can finally do this and get it right.
Even when my popovers are perfect I like to poke them with a knife to make a little hole while they cool. Helps to prevent collapsing. But I will try cooking even longer to be able to do without the poke.
I have made popovers before. They are usually o.k. but not amazing. I followed this recipe exactly and these were the tiniest, un-popped, popovers I have ever made! I don't know what went wrong, All of my ingredients were fresh, I did all of the resting... so disappointed.... waited so long for what is essentially and eggy muffin. I would love to see more options for measurements, just so I can confirm. I bought a kitchen scale so I could follow the recipes but would like to know what I'm eye-balling as well.
If using convection setting in my oven, should I reduce the temperature and reduce the amount of time? I didn't try convection with my first batch and it did not rise up evenly. It also collapsed after removing from the oven so I realize it was likely under-baked (after reading the comments below)
This was my 2nd attempt...still opened up in the middle and collapsed into a dense eggy muffin. This time we warmed the milk and used our kitchen aid to whip up the eggs. Cooked for 20 minutes.
Any bits of advice would be much appreciated.
Try lowering your oven temp 25 degrees and bake for longer. Looks a bit dark on the bake. Remember oil and pan has to be hot and do not over fill each cavity. Think less is more for this and hope you get a good puff next time. Any collapsing is caused from under baking.
I decided to try using this and my memories of toad in the hole from England to make something different. I used small breakfast sausage links. Put one in each compartment and put the tin in the oven while preheating. I preheated to 400°. Put in batter and bake for 25 minutes. They don't pop over, instead the make a fluffy bowl to put a sous vide poached egg in and top with Hollandaise sauce.
It's nice that ChefSteps is revisiting this, but it's really the Yorkshire Pudding that is the mystery, which is to say how to achieve a cup rather than a mushroom top. The perfect Yorkie has a well perfect for gravy (to be eaten before the Sunday Roast) but too often they don't form a cup. WHYYYYYYY?????????? The only vague possibility I've been able to find is that the batter needs to become an island in the fat, if that makes sense.
I make Yorkshire's rather often. I found a great way....and quick way....is to blend the eggs in the Vitamix (or whatever blender you have) then add in the milk and flour that are the exact weight of the eggs you're using. Add the salt, then blend. VOILA! It comes out smooth and the perfect consistency. As with all batters I too let it rest before baking. I prefer using avocado oil (better flavor). Always perfect out of the oven! ENJOY!!
Less is more when it comes to adding the batter....no more than half the depth of the vessel you're using, be it a muffin tin or a Yorkshire Pudding tin. And I agree with Matthew in that you need to try a lower temp, perhaps 400° for a longer time. DO NOT PEEK while they are rising in the oven either! Use the oven light to see what's going on. Remember....
if you're lookin', they ain't cookin!
I’ve made popovers in the pasted, I thought I’d give this a shot What a disaster… I see in a lot of comments that they had the same problem it did not pop it ended up with a hole in the center and a deflated whatever you wanna call it…
So disappointed
I could not find my usual recipe, so tried this one....let's just say I will dig a little harder looking for my original recipe. These were a disaster.... Followed the recipe to a T....and barely any puff at all.....made the perfect tenderloin roast and amazing gravy....these were not worth the effort at all. Super disappointed!
Should have read comments first. These barely popped above the top of my popover pan. Back to the serious eats recipe.
