You know you’re getting old when you get excited by a good Yorkshire pudding rise. But come on - how lovely does that look! It could probably serve 6, but I want a whole corner to myself, and so does everyone else in the family, so let’s stick to a calorific 4-person toad in the hole.
What is toad in the hole?
It’s basically just a giant Yorkshire pudding with sausages cooked into it. The Yorkshire pudding batter is the same as a traditional Yorkshire puddings, the only difference is that we’re not cooking it in lard. Instead we par-cook the sausages in the oven in the baking tin in a little oil first. The sausages will release some fat, and that, along with the vegetable oil we added will act as the all important fat-base for the Yorkshire pudding part. Smokingly bubbly-hot fat (and enough of it) is hugely important for a Yorkshire pudding to rise well and to get the light, crispy outcome.
Here’s what we’ll need:
How to make toad in the hole:
We start by making the Yorkshire pudding batter. Place the flour in a jug, add the eggs and stir together, then stir in the milk using a whisk. Place in the refrigerator for an hour. Next cook the sausages with a drizzle of oil in a large baking tin in a very hot oven for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Take the Yorkshire pudding batter out of the fridge and stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper, then oven the oven door and pour the batter into the baking dish, around the sausages. Close the door immediately and cook for 25-35 minutes until risen and golden.
For the gravy, we cook onions and a little sugar in butter for about 15-20 minutes, until starting to caramelize. Then we stir in flour and slowly pour in hot beef stock whilst stirring, until the gravy thickens. Season with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
Serve the Toad in the Hole with the red onion gravy and some green veggies.
Pro tips for your toad in the hole:
It’s really important to let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes (ideally for an hour or two) in the fridge. This allows the flour granules to swell, meaning you’ll get a lighter, crisp and more even Yorkshire pud. The cold batter hitting a very hot pan also helps with the rise and evenness. Use a metal (or enamel-coated metal) baking tin if possible - a large, reasonably deep dish is best. Using a metal tin means the tin it will get hotter and the heat distribution will be more even. Mine is a rectangular enamel roaster, approx 31cmx25cm and 5cm deep. Here’s the link enamel roaster (affiliate link).
And of course no toad in the hole would be complete without a big jug of tasty gravy. Easy Cauliflower Cheese Simple Butter Pepper Carrots Cheesy Sprout Gratin Tasty being the all important word! Since we haven’t got the meat juices from a roast, it can be difficult to get a really flavourful gravy. So we’re using caramelized red onions, Worcestershire sauce and good quality stock (water and really meaty, tasty stock cubes are fine) for the best flavour (check out my gravy know-how post for info on making different types of gravy and using bones for stock).
The Video:
The Recipe:
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