Originating from Yorkshire the traditional Yorkshire Pudding is something I enjoy. For anyone not from the Britain then you should be aware that despite it's name this is a savoury dish, and Toad in the Hole is a sausage and Yorkshire Pudding based dish, not "Eggy in the Basket", which is sometimes called Toad in the Hole elsewhere.
Traditionally Yorkshire Pudding was served with gravy as a first course. Today in Yorkshire a Yorkshire Pudding is often served during Sunday dinner with the days choice of Roast Meat (e.g. Beef, Chicken, Pork, Lamb etc.), with potatoes, vegetables and gravy. Elsewhere in Britain Yorkshire Pudding is served with a roast beef but less likely to be served with other roast meats.
The puddings can be created as a large pudding cooked in a dish of about 20cm (8 inches), or as individual puddings cooked in a special tray (similar to a bun tin, but with the individual sections about twice the size). A bun tray could be used to create mini Yorkshire Puddings.
Toad in the Hole is a complete dish based on a Yorkshire Pudding, with a sausage filling. It is usually served with vegetables and gravy.
Ingredients
- 200g (8oz) Plain Flour
- 2 eggs
- 400ml (1/2 Pint Milk) approx
- Dripping or Lard (alternatively vegetable oil can be used)
- Pinch of Salt (optional)
- 6 Butchers Sausages (for Toad in the Hole only)
Cooking Instructions
Sieve the flour (and salt if used) into a bowl and add the eggs. Whisk with a metal hand whisk until it forms a solid dough like mixture. Add the eggs a little at a time whisking until it forms a thick batter consistency. The amount of milk required may vary, the mixture should be pourable, but not runny. Whisk well either by hand, or using an electric whisk.
Put the fat into the tin and place in the oven at 200°C, Gas Mark 7 to heat. If using small tins then the trays should be approx 1/3 full, for a large tin then the bottom of the tin should be well covered when the fat has melted. The trays should be removed when the fat is very hot (approx 5 mins). Dripping and Lard are better as they heat to a higher temperature, but vegetable oil can be used for a vegetarian option, or if you prefer it to the saturated fat for health reasons (most of my cooking uses vegetable fat, but it is better if using lard).
Ladle the mixture into the hot fat (taking care not to get any hot fat on you), and cook in the oven until golden brown and risen on the outside (approx 20mins for small Yorkshire Puddings, or 35 minutes for large Yorkshire Puddings).
Toad in the Hole
This follows the same instructions as Yorkshire Puddings, but adding good quality sausages into the tin after the batter. Preferably the sausages should be traditional butcher / farmers market sausages, but other premium sausages can be used instead.
You can place the raw sausages into the batter, but it's recommended that you first half cook the sausages (eg 10 mins in the oven), to ensure that they are properly cooked.
Normally an average sized Toad in the Hole is made which can be served as a main course for one person (make two using the above quantities), or they can be cooked in a single large dish and shared between two to three people. Alternatively you could create mini Toad In the Hole for children using cocktail sized sausages in the small Yorkshire Pudding trays.
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