- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup packed thinly sliced chives (if unavailable, mince the deeper green part of a scallion)
- 3 tablespoons beef drippings (optional)
- 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (if not using drippings, use 3 tablespoons each whole and Clarified Butter)
- When your roast beef enters the oven, assemble the batter. Use a whisk to combine the flour, salt, cayenne, and black pepper. In a separate mixing bowl, use a fork to beat the eggs. Mix the milk and chives into the eggs. Pour the seasoned flour into the beaten egg mixture and, using either a batter whisk or a regular whisk, combine the mixture gently but thoroughly. (No dry pockets of flour should remain.) Cover the bowl and let it sit out at room temperature until your roast leaves the oven.
- When the meat comes out of the oven, remove it to another tray (or a warmed serving platter) and loosely cover it with aluminum foil. Turn the oven temperature to 450°F. with the rack on the center shelf. Pour all of the drippings into a bowl (a 9-pound roast should yield ½ to 1 cup of drippings). Place a small heatproof bowl on your work surface, and into it place the measured beef drippings and melted butter (if not using drippings, use equal amounts of whole and clarified butter).
- Place a 13 × 9-inch glass baking dish in the oven to preheat for 5 minutes. Open the oven and add the mixed fat to the dish and shut the door. Allow the fat to heat for 1 minute. Give the batter a brief stir, then open the oven and pour the prepared batter into the hot dish, using a rubber spatula to scrape out all of it (try to be quick, so the oven doesn’t cool down). Shut the door and bake the custard for 12 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 400°F. and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F. and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the pudding is golden, crisp, and puffed around the edges and the center is fully set but not overly dark. Remove the dish from the oven and cut the pudding into 6 to 8 equal rectangles, making sure that each person gets a portion of the crisp rim. Serve as soon as you can, surrounding the sliced roast or on an individual platter.