Toad in the Hole.

[Arch]

I've had a fancy to cook Toad in the Hole for NT and I at the weekend. I don't think I've cooked it since I left home 14 years ago...

Any tips? I've got some sausages in the freezer to use, just bog standard pork. I wondered about making some sort of onion confit to go with it - onions sauted slowly in butter until nice and soft and brown. Maybe use the pan residue in the gravy. Then a green veg, and something else. Potato might be a bit much. Butternut squash? I'm in a mood to be random.

I'll also be doing the tuna and sweetcorn slice thing again, only with some other toppings. Dunno what yet!

 

[Sandra Piddock]

Arch, I have a salutory tale regarding toad in the hole. As a newleywed in 1969, I cooked it for my new husband. I halved everything - except the milk for the batter. As I waited in vain for the batter to set, the sausages became solid logs floating on a sea of mush. It looked - and tasted - disgusting. It was so awful I've never attempted it since. However, this recipe from Delia Smith looks pretty good. I might give it a go myself.

 

[Arch]

Cheers, I'll try and stick to the recipe! I have Delias cookery book, so I'll work from that... I'll make enough for four, and if there's any left, have the next day...

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Cheers, I'll try and stick to the recipe! I have Delias cookery book, so I'll work from that... I'll make enough for four, and if there's any left, have the next day...

how did it go?
I have a wonderful recipe for Yorkshire pudding with some useful tips picked up when I was in the catering industry and from my (late) Grannie. never fails to rise and stays risen.....

 

[Arch]

Well, it tasted fine...

Didn't rise though, Well, it came up round the edges, but the base was very thin. The fat was good and hot, sizzled when I poured the batter in etc. Dunno what happened.

Anyway, served with boiled butternut squash and broccoli, fried onions, and gravy. We ate 2/3rds of it, and I had the leftover for dinner the next day with the leftover squash made into a hash with sweetcorn.

Do share your tips!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

My Grannie used to make Toad in the hole as well, but this is her Yorkshire Pudding recipe. I don't know when you add the sausages but I think it was after the batter, so they need to be ready cut up if you are cutting them, but I do recall she used to pre-cook them - I can't tell you anymore than that and can't ask her.

From working in the catering industry, I have made some alterations to her original recipe and now use a 50:50 mixture of plain flour and strong flour which means it holds its shape and does not 'flop' after you take it out of the oven.

The tin should be a tin, not glass, but I do recall my Grannie making it in a Pyrex glass dish very successfully.
Either way it needs more oil in it that you expect and you must heat the oil to spitting point before you add the batter.
There should be enough oil in the tin so that there is a good ring around the batter when the batter has been added, which will start to cook instantly when you pour in the batter due to the oil being exceptionally hot.
In catering we used to heat the oil in the tin on a gas ring rather than the over, just before we were ready to add everything. I still do that when we make it and it is very successful.
My Grannie used to then stand the tin on a baking sheet that was already in the oven before she turned it on, so again it is very hot already - I have not used this method for a number of years, but it is useful if trying to use a glass bowl rather than a tin, but the Pyrex bowl & oil need to be preheated in the oven before the batter is added.
The batter needs to be just under 1/2 inch deep (1cm) in the bottom of the tin for whatever sized tin you are using....

Can't think of any other tips off the top of my head. Other than it is a very hot oven and keeping everything very hot is essential.
There are no times on my Grannie's recipe. She didn't often use them. Like scones, this is a hot & quick recipe, short time in the oven...

 

[Arch]

Hmm, maybe not hot enough then...

I did it the way we always did at home - sausages in to bake first, then pour batter round them. Perhaps there wasn't enough oil...

We had a good recipe which was similar, only you made little minced beef and onion meatballs (about golfball size), and bake them, one in each dimple of a 4-dimple Yorkshire tin. Then add batter round each one and bake. I suppose you could make a veggie version of meatballs to your own taste.