Third time's a charm for perfect popovers

Popovers are one of those things I have always wanted to try, but the opportunity didn't present itself until this summer when we went to the Jordan Pond House in Acadia National Park in Maine.  Jordan Pond House is known for its popovers, and expected, they were hot and delicious.  So, I then thought more about making them myself.

A couple weeks ago I picked up a box of popover mix by King Arthur Flour at the grocery store.  I made them, they only popped a little.  They tasted good, so they weren't a total loss.

This morning I looked at the popover recipe in my Fannie Farmer Cookbook.  Very different technique for this recipe, in which you start the popovers in a cold oven.  I tried a half batch, and they hardly popped at all.

So I went to the King Arthur Flour website and found this article: Never-fail popovers, fact or fiction?  I followed their recipe, and this time, they popped wonderfully.  I was whooping it up in my kitchen.  Here's the combination of techniques that worked:

1. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.  I used the eggs in water trick they mentioned, and I microwaved my milk for a minute to bring it to room temperature.
2. Preheat the pans in the oven to 450 degrees F so they are hot when you're ready.
3. Mix the ingredients together until combined, then use an electric beater on high for 30 seconds.
4. Pour the mix into the hot muffin pans so cups are 1/2 to 2/3 full, and quickly put back into the oven.
5. Follow the timing instructions for when to reduce the temperature, and do not, under any circumstances, open the oven door.

I indirectly followed one of their other recommendations of having a pan over the popovers to deflect the direct heat.  I cooked a pork roast at the same time, so with it on the top rack it acted like the pan trick.