Country Style Egg Noodles
This isn’t your refined pasta noodle, this is a rough and ready type of egg based noodle that can be put together at a moment's notice.
Definitely a recipe of its time, my family’s recipe for egg noodles is anything but fancy. These egg noodles were created out of necessity when you had many hungry mouths to feed, not a lot of money nor a lot of time. You needed to get a dinner for five hot and ready on the table while you had a million daily chores and multiple small children running around. It can be hard to imagine not being able to make a pre-made meal or just get takeout when you’re this busy but back then these types of conveniences either did not exist or were absolutely inaccessible. You had to prepare almost every aspect of your life from scratch just to survive. They were hard times but they deserve to be acknowledged and have their age old recipes highlighted.
Now that we’re done with a little bit of the noodle’s origins let’s talk about some applications for this chewy noodle. Growing up I had often seen these bouncy noodles used for chicken noodle soup as well as for an Eastern European recipe called Stroganoff. But that’s not all you can use in a variety of ways. From brothy soups to thick stews or even a very simple melted butter and grated cheese. No matter what you choose they are a glorious homemade accompaniment that you can add to any dish.
Egg Noodles
5 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
½ cup evaporated milk
1 tsp kosher salt
3 TBSP unsalted butter
1-6 TBSP warm water
In a large bowl measure flour, baking powder, and salt.
Measure out evaporated milk and add butter, heat the evaporated milk and butter on low heat until butter is fully melted; let cool slightly.
Add eggs into the dry mixture and beat until eggs are incorporated.
Stir in the cooled evaporated milk and butter mixture. After the evaporated milk and butter are stirred in completely, start kneading the dough by hand, if the dough is crumbly and dry add warm water one tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together. Once the dough is moist enough to stay together knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes or until the dough feels smooth and elastic. Wrap up the dough with cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.
While the dough is resting you can cover several baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle the parchment with a dusting of flour, this will ensure that the noodles won't stick.
Roll out the dough into a long rectangle with a rolling pin about a 1/4" thick. If the dough is springing back and is difficult to roll out, cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
Once rolled out use a pizza cutter to cut long one inch wide strips. Cut each long strip into desired length. I tend to cut them about two inches in length for a medium sized egg noodle but you can cut them however short or long you desire.
You can shape each noodle by twisting it to create a spiral or have them be just plain flat noodles. I’ve seen them done both ways so it depends what you personally like and prefer.
Lay your noodles on your prepared sheet pans in a single layer. From here you can either boil them straight away or you can freeze them to use at a later date.
To boil: Fill a large pot with salted water and add noodles when water is at a full boil. Cook the noodles for 4-6 minutes or until desired doneness.
To freeze: Put your noodle ladened baking sheets in the freezer and leave alone for about 1-2 hours or until the noodles are frozen completely solid. Once frozen, store the noodles in freezer storage bags for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, follow the boiling instructions.