I wanna make Spaetzle

[suziquzie]

Being 3/4 or so German I feel it's my duty to learn to make it...
Plus I saw some on Diners Drive-Ins Dives that looked SUPER!

I'm reading recipes and they all say to press thru a spaetzle maker, ricer, or large sieve....

What the guy I saw made was just dumped into his cooking liquid and it all separated into tiny pieces all by itself....

Has anyone done that? Same batter / dough consistency as pressed or no??

 

[jennyema]

I've made it badly a few times.

I've seen it made using a pastry knife for cutting but that looked difficult.

I used a colander.

I can't imagine how he could get the batter to break up if he just dumped it in the water .....

Maggi Spaetzle is my friend ....

 

[suziquzie]

Yeah.....
I have a half missing fingernail from chopping last week's basil that screams DONT CHOP THE SPAETZLE!!!!

I should see what episode that was, I think DH saved it.

 

[JillBurgh]

I have 12 unwatched DD&Ds on the DVR.
I can't watch them all tonight, but I'll try to find the episode you're talking about.

 

[kitchenelf]

This, I think, is the episode you are talking about? I would not even go the "cutting" route. I would spring for a ricer or use a colander. What you probably saw was when they were in a bowl it may have looked like a "blob" but they were really already cut.

 

[Andy M.]

A few years ago I wanted to try making spaetzle so, on a whim, I bought a spaetzle maker for less than $5. It works great.

 

[suziquzie]

I found it, it recorded last night.
It was in Jefferson, LA and it was a green onion, creole mustard spaetzle...
I musta missed the part where he was squeezing it out of the colander into the pot when I went outside to rescue haircut boy from Lego girl and the garden hose......
Guess I'm back to the colander!
Thanks for looking though!!!

 

[sattie]

I love Triple D and I too have been wondering about spaetzle... but I had no intentions of making it myself... I was leaning towards jennyema's idea!!!

 

[jabbur]

It's really simple to make even if you don't have anything to press it through. I've just dropped it by small spoonfuls (think babyfood spoon size) and they come out fine. Not the nice thin noodles but more like dumplings and they taste the same.

 

[justplainbill]

Being 3/4 or so German I feel it's my duty to learn to make it...
Plus I saw some on Diners Drive-Ins Dives that looked SUPER!

I'm reading recipes and they all say to press thru a spaetzle maker, ricer, or large sieve....

What the guy I saw made was just dumped into his cooking liquid and it all separated into tiny pieces all by itself....

Has anyone done that? Same batter / dough consistency as pressed or no??

To fulfill your ‘duty’ you should be making them the authentic old fashioned way. They were made by scraping small wormlike pieces of a thin layer of the flour and egg based paste / dough off of a board into a half full pot of salted boiling water with a spatula. A three inch wide putty knife could be used as the spatula. The big trick when making larger batches is avoiding over-cooking the first bunch while still schnibling the rest of the dough into the water.
Suggested rezept (for 2 - 4 Personen):
375 grams (13 oz) flour
2 eggs
1/4 liter (1 cup) water

Use only as much of the water as is needed to achieve a dough that can be spread on and scrapped off the spaetzle board.

If you cheat by using a spaetzlehobel (pictured above in thread) or a colander, you'll need to make the dough a little thinner.

- guten appetite

 

[Elf]

Spaetzle is really easy, I substitute it for macaroni in mac & cheese. Get a potato ricer, it is really easier the a colander, the hardest part is waiting for the water to boil.

 

[jabbur]

Suzi, here is a link to a spaetzel board that looks like it would be uber easy to use. I'm thinking about ordering one to try. I tried a potato ricer without a lot of success. This looks like it might be easier to do.
Nana’s Pasta Maker – Spaetzle Board for Homemade Pasta & Dumplings

 

[JillBurgh]

Wow what a bunch of great Spaetzel ideas! Inspiring... that Green Onion Creole Mustard combination sounds to die for! Are you going to go for it Suz?

 

[suziquzie]

Maybe next week.... see how much I have for groceries.....
I wanna make the pierogies I saw in Pittsburgh first actually!
Can't remember the name of that place.... I have that episode saved also.

 

[GrantsKat]

Im definitely gonna try....Im sure my kids would love it, the only thing is I dont have a rice cooker

 

[Andy M.]

You don't need a rice cooker, just a pot of boiling water. It's just like cooking pasta.

 

[suziquzie]

Do you mean the potato ricer?? I don't have one either, I'm going to try my large holed colander first.

 

[GrantsKat]

Do you mean the potato ricer?? I don't have one either, I'm going to try my large holed colander first.

Yes, my bad, thats what I meant!!!
I could try that but my colander has very small holes

 

[Andy M.]

If you have a steamer insert for a saucepan, you can use the holes in the bottom to make the spaetzle right into the saucepan.

 

[GrantsKat]

If you have a steamer insert for a saucepan, you can use the holes in the bottom to make the spaetzle right into the saucepan.

I do! It also has a colander that fits into the pot, that just might work! Thanks!