How to Make Homemade Spaetzle (Spatzle)
I've recently posted two Hungarian recipes, Beef Goulash, and Paprikas Csirke. Both would be great served with homemade spaetzle.
I asked Chef Ricco, who provided the two recipes for his favorite spaetzle recipe, and I would like to share it with you. First, Ricco gave me his little history of who invented spaetzle and a few tricks in making the dough. He says,
Austria and Germany are fighting over who invented this egg noodle pasta, which is why the Hungarians serve that noodle called csipetke. It's a spaetzle, but a little stiffer dough.
There are a few tricks in making this dough. Winter wheat flour is the best, or you may call it "hard flour." It has more gluten than summer wheat or "soft wheat flour."
The other trick, this is really not a trick, is when you mix the ingredients, you must use a wooden spoon now here comes the fun part: you have to mix it until your arm hurts, then mix it some more until it feels like your arm is going to fall off.
The spaetzle will look glossy; the texture will be between dough and batter.
📖 Recipe
Homemade Spaetzle (Spatzle)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients as described above but just before your arm falls off.
- When boiling the spaetzle, use a big pot with maximum water and plenty of salt.
- Cook the spaetzle in small batches, when they float to the top of the pot skim them out and put them in a cold-water bath just until they are cooled.
- Then coat them with a little oil so they don't stick together.
- To reheat the cooked spaetzle, just sauté them up in a little butter. If you are going to sever them right away, don't cool them just toss them in a little melted butter.
Notes
Katherine
Ate lots of it as a child but never got into making it as did some other childhood foods.Now I have arithitis in hands, up to shoulders and afraid to try it. It is excellent with Beef Burgendy though.
Katherine
Amy
I had a Swiss great grandmother. This is a beloved Swiss dish, also. Recently we had our family reunion in New Glarus, Wisconsin (it is a little Switzerland of the midwest) and got to eat lots of spatzle. I'm so happy to find this recipe and give it a try at home!
Judith
I used to live in a very German Community in MO, and the favorite delicacy was "liver dumplings" which is actually a Spaetzle with ground liver mixed into the dough. I have a special "spaetzle" tool that drops the dumplings into the boiling broth, while shielding the dough from the boiling water. Comes in handy every Oktoberfest.
Kris
We made a 14 cups of flour and 14 egg batch of this dish for the funeral meal of my father. It's been a family tradition in our home for years. Grandma, born in the German towns of the Ukraine made it. We make the dough thicker, and cut it one by one of the heel of our hands into the boiling water. We fry it after boiling. We call it Knifla.
Nancy
Is there a traditional Hungarian or Yugoslavian side dish made with tomatoes or stewed tomatoes, onions, rice and tons of paprika and perhaps cayenne?? We had it at "Belgrade Gardens" restaurant in Barberton, OH and it was called Hot Sauce, served with lard fried chicken/frys/their version of slaw. I've tried to get the hot sauce recipe for 50 years without luck! If anyone knows, I'll jump for joy!
Wallace
The background information you give on the recipes is great. I got to give these a try. Thank you.
Carol Schworer
Should they be thick or thin? Can they be reheated in the microwave?
Marilyn
In case you haven't found it yet, Nancy, here is the recipe for Belgrade's hot sauce, plus the chicken and cole slaw!
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976788318
Norm
This restaurant has been closed and tore down for some time. Only Barberton Chicken Houses left are Milich's Village Inn (actually on the edge of Norton) and Belgrade Gardens & White House downtown. Belgarde & White House are owned by the same owners, DeVoure family. Each year I go to Ohio I now eat at the downtown one, it has a different recipe than Belgrade for the chicken, according to a employee I asked.
jeanette
my grandmother, grandfather, my father & 2 brothers came here from France - Had made many spaetzle myself - but I don't have the recipe for liver spaetzle.
I don't have one either but I'm sure they are out there if that's what you are looking for. - RG
virginia
I did not see the amount of servings the spaetzle recipe makes. do you know?