According to the history of Yorkshire pudding, at one time long ago in England, they would hang a roast of beef from a hook and have the drippings create the Yorkshire pudding beneath it.
Since standard recipes today call for a prerequisite amount of beef drippings, and since cooking a roast and pudding take about 40-60 minutes each, is there some way to make them now as they once were? Maybe with a roasting pan?
Best Answer
This website mentions that historically the puddings were made in a large, shallow pan and then cut into squares for serving. They were also made below a piece of meat usually placed on a spit
Their suggested method for a modern oven is to collect the beef drippings in a pan and then add the batter to it before proceeding with baking it on the high rack of the oven
This modification is due to the fact that the puddings need high heat to puff up properly. In olden times of cooking in an open hearth, the highest level of heat was close to the fire, below the piece of meat in the spit, since the heat would then dissipate upwards through the chimney
Nowadays, modern ovens tend to be hotter on the top shelf, especially if you are using the top heating element. You might be able to tinker with your oven settings to have it hotter at the bottom and then make the puddings the old-fashioned way - grease the bottom of the pan a bit before adding the batter and then use the pan to catch the drippings