Käsespätzle like the ones in Bavaria

Question

I'm really impressed how here in Bavaria people can cook some delicious things... Well I fell in love with Käsespätzle. I keep having trouble making them just like at the restaurant, where no matter what, the chef doesn't want to tell me his secrets.

I basically buy the Spätzle at the supermarket, let them cook 1 minute in salted and boiling water, then put them (without water of course) in a wok with some olive oil. Meanwhile I "fry" onions chopped into small rings in a bit of oil until they become brown, and I prepare some grated Gouda cheese. I put onions and cheese on the Spätzle and I stir until the cheese melts. Easy.

The difference between mine and the restaurant's are the following:

• The Röstzwibeln ("fried onions") are not totally crunchy
• The consistency of the Spätzle is somehow different
• The entirety doesn't seem to develop crunchy sides after the last steps

While I'm ok with the fact that the supermarket-Spätzle cannot be super-good, I don't get how to cook the onion and I feel that I'm using a wrong cheese (beware: I don't want CREAMY stuff, I want the CRUNCHY one!).

Can anybody help?

Answer 1

In order to get crispy-crunchy fried onions, you need to deep-fry them at a high temperature. Pan frying just won't get them crunchy, they'll just get softer and softer as they get browner and browner. I don't know where you are from, but we have a product in the US that is ubiquitous in late fall, particularly on the Thanksgiving table. Perhaps something like this could give an effect more like what you want?

Here's an Amazon search that shows similar products from all over the world.

You say you know that supermarket-spatzle can't be super good, so I am not even going to go there. I'm sure you could find highly rated recipes yourself.

As far as cheese having crunch, the key there is to not stir it while it is getting a bit brown, either under the broiler or on the stovetop (or both, to get crunchy surfaces on both the top and bottom). Also consider using aged Gouda instead of young. That will reach a crunchiness faster, and the flavor will be more intense, allowing you to use less, which will also make it easier to get crunchy.

EDIT: Another thing you can do to get crunchy cheese is to bake it into crisps first, then crunch them up and sprinkle them onto (and into) your completed, or nearly completed, dish. That way you can get melty (with the same cheese baked in) and crunchy if you'd like. That will work with any hard, aged cheese like Parmesan or aged Gouda.

That picture is from Giada De Laurentiis's recipe for Parmesan Crisps.

Answer 2

I don't have much to add on the subject of onions and cheese, but making your own Spätzle is not that difficult and totally worth the trouble. I use this recipe from The Galley Gourmet, and have found it to be very similar to what I've eaten in Bavaria.

Answer 3

About the onions:

I have not made them this way for a while, but: Prepare them by covering them in sugar and some salt (I never had any measurements... sugar/salt ratio tended do depend on what I was planning to do with them) and leaving them standing like that for a bit while your oil/fat heats up.

When frying-time comes, the onions should be quiet moist on the outside. Cover your onions in flour, and fry in lots of fat. Place them on a paper towel to get rid of the excess fat you will have.

If anyone has a hint on sugar/salt ratios or frying-times, please comment, my only possible advice is: mix to taste, and fry till crispy.