Curious Reader
April 30, 2025
Popovers super easy to make, and this popover rack is a very nice one. Well made and sturdy. Everything is one piece - the popover cups permanently affixed to the rack. For newbies it would be nice if it came with a cookie sheet but it does not, so be aware you’ll need a cookie sheet large enough so that the popover rack can stand inside it. This makes it easy to take the popover rack in and out of the oven and to clean up if any batter drips, etc.The key to making great popovers is having a rack like this one AND having the right recipe that makes the perfect amount for this Popover Rack. This recipe is what worked perfectly for me, makes exactly the right amount of big fluffy popovers every time:Preheat oven to 440 Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil (I already had a cookie sheet that was the perfect size) and place the empty popover rack on the tin-foil-lined cookie sheet. THEN PUT THE EMPTY POPOVER RACK ON THE COOKIE SHEET IN the oven so the popover rack is heating up while you prep the popover batter. This pre-heart step is key.Prep the batter by hand: Whisk 3 ROOM TEMP eggs. Whisk in 1.5 cups ROOM TEMP whole milk (I use goat milk). Then whisk in 1.5 cups all purpose flour. Then whisk in about 1.25 teaspoons sea salt. You want to see some air bubbles and have a batter that’s about like a pancake batter. That’s it. That’s the batter. Super easy. Key here is to make sure eggs and milk at room temp. Before you start prepping the batter, putting the eggs and milk on the sink (out of the sun) for about 10 minutes is long enough to bring them to room temp.Once you’re done prepping the batter, carefully take the cookie sheet with the popover rack out of the 440 degree oven. CAREFUL IT IS HOT! Don’t touch anything hot :). Without touching the popover rack, give each popover cup a quick spray of cooking spray (can use Pam (I use a healthy avocado oil cooking spray). Then carefully using a soup ladle, ladle the batter into each popover cup - ONLY FILL THE POPOVER CUP 3/4 full! The batter you made will be exactly enough to fill each popover cup on this rack 3/4 full. REMEMBER THE RACK & COOKIE SHEET ARE SUPER HOT, so use your oven mitts to get the cookie sheet with the popover rack back into the 440 degree oven. Once those popovers are in that oven DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN AGAIN UNTIL THEY ARE DONE, or you won’t get maximum puffiness. Bake at 440 degrees for 20 minutes. WITHOUT OPENING THE OVEN, reduce temp to 350 degrees and bake another 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the cookie sheet and popover rack from the oven, and using tongs gently pull each popover out of their cup and put them on a baking rack to cool. They will just slide out! Wait a few minutes and be careful of steam releasing from the popovers when you eat them! If you have any left over, store in fridge. They can be reheated wrapped in damp paper towel in microwave for about 20 seconds. That’s it. Super easy, and once popover rack is cooled down, clean up is a breeze - don’t use anything scratchy to clean it, just a soft sponge and warm soap water! Bon Appetite! I hope this review is helpful to you :)
Charlie in NW
December 21, 2024
Love this pan. But you could also save $3 and buy this other pan that, in my opinion, is a smidgen better than the Chicago Metallic.Compare this to: Bellemain 6 Cup Nonstick Popover Pan(Available on Amazon).I bought both simultaneously and tried them both simultaneously and I have the following conclusions:1. The Chicago is slightly lighter in weight than than Bellemain. I do mean slightly. A few onces maybe. However, this does not make a whole lot of difference in the overall performance. Nonetheless, the Bellemain felt a bit "sturdier" because of that extra bit of weight.2. The Chicago had a slightly smoother interior and exterior. This may impact the long term non-stick performance. In the short term I found no difference between the two. Long term? I cannot tell yet. When I buttered up the cups I wore kitchen gloves (food preparation latex gloves) and used my fingers to directly butter up the cups (well, how else do you do it??) Yes, I felt like a doctor with a jar of butter oiling up the pans, but ANYWAY... I could definitely felt the extra bits of bumps and imperfections in the metal surface in the Bellmain cups and not as much in the Chicago cups. So, perhaps Chicago will have better performance in the long run?3. The Bellmain is darker. Now this is important. To properly make a popover you need high heat and high amounts of heat absorption. That's why popover pans are separated like that to allow air circulation. The darker the pan, the better the pop. This is where the Bellmain took an advantage over the Chicago. The Bellmain popped better because of the better/higher heat absorption. Winner: Bellamin.4. The Bellmain has 0.25" wider mouth than Chicago. This did not make a whole lot of difference. The overall capacity of the two were about the same. The extra 0.25" wider mouth allowed the pop over to open ever so slightly more than the Chicago.5. The curvature of the Bellmain cups was better than the Chicago. The Chicago brand had a more straight side (so to speak) whereas the Bellmain curved out slightly more rounded at the top of the cups. Hard to describe but you'll see if you compare the two side by side closely. Did it help with the pop performance? I cannot be 100% sure. The Bellmain did pop prettier, though, during a side-by-side bake off.6. Both were made in China. What isn't made in China these days?Conclusion:I loved the Chicago. It performed very, very well. I was America Test Kitchen's #1 pick and recommended product. They did not compare it to the Bellmain, however, during their test. Now I compared the Bellmain side by side against the Chicago, I found the Bellmain a slight bit superior than the Chicago. Just slightly, not a whole lot. Again, the extra edge the Bellmain had was: smoother opening/curvature of the cup, darker color for better heat absorption, and slightly heavier weight. The slight problem the Bellmain had was more imperfection as detected by my fingers and this may lead to longer term non-stick performance issue but again I cannot predict this without a long-term trial. Both cups when new released the pastry very, very easily without any issue whatsoever. Both dishwashed perfectly without issues. The Bellmain produced a slightly prettier popover than the Chicago. But again, slightly is the operative word here for the above comparisons.Given the near identical performance, perhaps Bellmain is the better buy for $3 less. But you cannot go wrong with either one.Remember, popover needs high temperature and high heat absorption, and you need your batter to be at luke warm temperature even before baking. Make sure you hot water soak your eggs, milk, and melt that better before whisking the batter. You'll get a much better pop that way.