Toad in the Hole

Tonight, we had Toad in the Hole. I know, weird name. Delicious dish. Toad in the Hole is basically Yorkshire puddings with sausages baked into them. Or, how I make it, one GIANT Yorkshire pudding with sausages baked into it.


What? You don't know what Yorkshire pudding is? My goodness, you have truly been missing out. Yorkshire pudding is sort of a savory popover, made of flour, eggs, milk, and water. The liquid in the water evaporates and causes the whole thing to puff up as it cooks, making it light and crispy. My dad is a Yorkshireman born and bred, and the traditional holiday meal in our house has always been Roast Beef with Yorkshire pudding. As a kid I could eat my weight in those things, smothered in gravy. Deeee-licious.


Nowadays, I haven't got any Yorkshire pudding tins, so when I'm in the mood for a fix, we usually make Toad in the Hole, served up with roasted potatoes, steamed veg, and a bit of beef gravy to drizzle over the top.

Toad in the Hole

Serves four to six

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup milk

4 eggs

½ cup water

16 good breakfast sausages (I like to use chicken-apple sausages)

Some vegetable oil

Mix the flour and salt together in a mixing bowl. Add milk and mix until combined. Add eggs and mix again. Add water and mix again. Then turn the mixer on full blast and let it run for 2 minutes (According to Dad, the batter should be given “100 strokes by the arm of a Yorkshirewoman” but it’s easier to just use a mixer.)

Put the batter in the fridge for at least a half an hour.

Heat the oven to 400. Brown the sausages in a large saucepan. Put the batter back in the mixer and give it another 2 minutes at full throttle.

Pour a thin later of oil into each compartment of four Yorkshire Pudding tins (16 puddings total). If you don't have Yorkshire Pudding tins, use two heavy metal baking pans.

Put the pans into the hot oven for 5 minutes. Carefully lift them out and pour a little batter into each, about 3 to 4 tablespoons (if using pans, pour half the batter into each pan). Drop a sausage into each (or just scatter them at random if using pans).

Bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, use that saucepan to make a beef gravy.

Check out that gravity-defying Yorkshire pud!