For most projects Pam works for me. When I bake pumpkin muffins in brioche tins Bakers Joy is much more effective in getting the muffins out cleanly.

Something I read online suggested that you need to fully preheat the pan once the oven has reached the set temperature before adding the batter. "A minute or two" may not be long enough.

This is maybe not unlike how to hard boil eggs so that the egg doesn't stick to the shell. They need to be submerged in water but not before the water is at a rolling boil (or put in a steamer once the steam is thick). Maybe it's the instant high heat exposure that prevents sticking.

Popovers need a bit more than a spray coating, IMPE. A half tsp. or so of oil/butter in each cup should work - and make sure pan with oil/butter is sizzling hot before you put the batter in.

I do the same with cornbread for a crispy crust.

That said, I use this spray oil, but not for popovers:

FWIW, I'm not that fond of spray oil; I haven't figured out how to keep from getting the overspray on surroundings.

The recipe I use for popovers has you use oil or oil/butter mix, total one tbsp per cup and brush the oil up the sides before heating in oven 2 minutes before filling.

One additive is usually lecithin, I think...?

I do not like the taste of sprays. I can taste it in the final product. I butter things and my DH use avocado oil spray.

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll try a bit more butter next time, or fat if I have it. Avoid spray.

Re the stickiness, from baked on spray, I’ve had that hsppen plenty with regular oil as well. Even when seasoning cast iron.

Elmer - The longer preheat applies to heavier pans like CI. Doesn’t apply so much to today’s common tins. Per your buddy KL-A.

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-yorkshire-pudding-popover-recipe

To the question of "You Need to Start with a hot pan", his conclusion was

"True, sort of".

The Yorkshire Pudding recipe has eggs and 1/2 cup of oil in the mix for only 5 oz of flour. Seems like a lot of oil, just a bit less than flour by weight. YP always seems somewhat greasy to me.

Does your popover recipe have as much?

I agree. The spray stickiness creates a huge clean up mess. Avoid it. Spray olive oil....

Lars the CM was best rated on ATK when I bought, gets recommended left and right online, but I’d be willing to try others.

Elmer - The oil in their recipe is just for the pan, not the mix. Comes to one tbsp per, and I def use less. The recipe I use (Ina’s) just says generous. But it does call for butter which I’ll try. And the ”sort of” was because it has minimal impact in a tin, but important in something heavier.

I have a popover pan I've used for years that is quite heavy but I am unsure what it is. It seems like cast steel but is not non-stick and seems too heavy for aluminum. IDK I just butter it heavily and pour in my batter when it's cold, never preheat it. My popovers are great, hold their shape, don't stick to the pan. It's one kitchen Item I don't put in the dishwasher but most everything else I cook with does go in. I started having the best luck with popovers years ago when I started making the batter at least an hour ahead and letting it sit. Seems to ensure a tall, puffy bake and no sticking.

This is the recipe I have always used: Sunset Magazine's Favorite Recipe for Popovers

Lars: thats the pan I have. It seems to always work well for me.

My popover pan is similar with the cups and wires. I've always heated it with the oven, and heat the puddle of oil (poured) around 3-5 minutes before pouring batter.

For general spraying, I use Spectrum organic sunflower oil spray. ingredients: EXPELLER PRESSED REFINED HIGH OLEIC ORGANIC SUNFLOWER OIL*, ORGANIC CANE ALCOHOL, ORGANIC SOY LECITHIN, PROPELLANT.

it very very rarely does that spray residue thing. Most of the time it's just like regular oil but doesn't get stuck up like refillable misters do, and it really does mist, unless it's nearly empty, when it's heavier.

I don’t put any oil in Yorkshire pudding. I grease the pan with drippings from the roast. I usually make it in one 9“ by 9” pan.

I could be wrong but I believe yorkshire pudding by definition is just a popover but using drippings for the pan instead of butter or oil. Sometimes I’ll save fat and drippings just for the purpose.

Popovers and Yorshire pudding are cousins not twins. :)

On some TV footage of people at a restaurant in England, the other day, I think talking about Sunday Roast, showed a normal plate of food with a popover shaped (as opposed to shallow pan style) YP the size of the diner's head!

I’m not sure about the definition but

my mother made it in one pan quite often, and sometimes in a muffin tin.

Same here . 🤠

I love it covered in gravy.

I’ve never made Yorkshire pudding or popovers but have had each many times. Agree with plllog regarding ”cousins.” Thinking back to my MIL, I’ve always thought Yorkshire pudding was cooked in the meat drippings, and popovers in a buttered pan. No?

Traditionally, yes, because popovers were made ahead as the "rolls" for the dinner, whereas the Yorkshire pudding was made in the roasting pan while the meat was resting and being sliced. But being cousins, and the same general concept, both terms have borrowed from each other as those who wanted rolls poured the drippings into cups for the YPs, then wanting YPs and having no drippings, used butter instead; and people making popovers thought it was silly to waste butter if they had hot drippings right in front of them. I've never encountered in life or 'net, the batter poured into a large pan and called "popover", however, given that they don't pop, in the same way.

I find the problem with using the roasting pan for the Yorkshire pudding is that is where I like to make the gravy. I’ll use a 9” by 9” pan for the Yorkshire pudding.

If I want to get ”fancy” 🤠 I’ll use a muffin tin. Good either way.

Just know that butter browns a lot more than oil.

And wouldn't adding fat to the batter interfere with it puffing up?

The batters are basically the same - flour, eggs, milk, pinch salt. It's the cooking that differs, IMPE. BIL makes individual Yorkshire puddings in a muffin tin. I do not have a popover pan, so I use a muffin tin.

Letting the batter rest in the fridge really does help.

This is making me crave popovers now 😄

My understanding is that when you roasted a roast in front of a fire-the only true roasting-and the drippings were collected in a pan under the roast the final stage was heating that fat piping hot and pouring the batter into the hot pan wherein it puffed and browned. The cooked dough rests on top of the layer of fat. Properly cooked it is light and airy and crispy.

patriciae

"And wouldn't adding fat to the batter interfere with it puffing up?"

My popover recipe includes a bit of melted butter. The tiny bit used to grease the pans doesn't seem to inhibit the puff.

Ina’s has a small amount of butter in it.

Wait wait wait! So you're supposed to heat up the pan before you spray it? I've never done that. Probably explains my less than perfect success. Oh. Am I misunderstanding something?

I heat the pan with the oil/butter in it - IOW, together.

Rob, I'm not sure spraying while piping hot is a good idea, though you can grease the sides first if you want to. But you are supposed to heat the oil or butter in the bottom of the cups before putting in the batter.

So I did get it right all along. I'm kind of sad there wasn't a revelation there. I was hoping it was a new tip. 😃

Unless your using "clarified" butter...I wouldn't butter a muffin tin...I'd stick to a high end olive oil sprayed onto the tin. My muffin tins are high end stainless steel. If...I was using parchment liners in my tins...then aluminum tins would be ok. A poor-mans trade off.

I don't use clarified butter to grease my popover pan and it's just fine. I've been doing it with the same pan for probably 35-40 years.

Stainless steel doesn't "season". I'd never use butter....I'd have a browned on mess. That's just me. Pan type and distribution of heat is a key component of baking muffins that are non-stick.

I use butter, not oil and sprays.

Nonstick sprays are death to most bakeware. That's because most bakeware today is either anodized or has other nonstick propeties. Preheating a pan with spray bakes the spray onto the pan. Only butter or shortening with or without flour, bakers grease or a spray specifically made for baking with flour added should be used. I have the same pan as Lars. It's pretty non stick on its own. I use a very light touch with butter or shortening.

That just reminded me that some nonstick bakeware does not tolerate extra high heat - which is what my popover recipes call for.