Popovers with Beef in Cream Sauce

Jessica Costantini of Toronto, Ohio, has fond memories of her maternal grandmother’s Christmas popovers. She still recalls the aroma of them baking in the blackened, well-worn muffin tins that her grandmother used. “They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, with air pockets of steamy, buttery dough.” Split open then filled with her grandmother’s tender beef in cream sauce, the popovers were part of a rich, comforting meal. When Jessica attempted to replicate those popovers, hers ended up burned on the outside, and the insides were either too doughy or dry. So she turned to Milk Street for assistance. Popovers, which are believed to have originated in New England, have a lot in common with England’s Yorkshire pudding and share an almost-identical ingredient list. To re-create the popovers Jessica remembered from her childhood—beautifully puffed and with a light interior—we found two techniques to be key: Using low-fat milk yields crispier, airier popovers, and having the batter at room temperature promotes a high rise. Resist the urge to open the oven door to check on the popovers’ progress; if your oven has a window and a light, you can monitor the magic as the batter puffs up. Poking the popovers with a skewer and baking them for another minute allows any steam to escape, which prevents the pastries from deflating. If you have a 6-cup nonstick popover pan, feel free to use it instead of a muffin pan; the baking time will be the same.