Egg Noodles -- To Make, or Not to Make

Nothing is as good as home made egg noodles, hands down.

Problem: Time consuming. Who has time anymore? Not many, so it becomes rare that most of us can enjoy the pleasure of home made egg noodles.

In my family, we grew up with a comfort food called Chicken and Noodles (Recipe is on this blogger). Mom would spend half the day making the egg noodles for this. Mixing, rolling, cutting, laying out on newspaper to dry...but WOW it was so worth it.

I wanted to be able to have my mom's chicken and noodles with homemade egg noodles more often than once a year tho. So I tried it with store bought packaged egg noodles. Blah. It was just merely eatable, left no comfort in my belly. Wasn't no where near the same.

Then I started to hear about frozen egg noodles. I was intrigued. My brother Rodney told me about them, said they tasted like homemade. I was eager to find them and try them. But, as fate would have it, that item was not available in the area I lived in. So I continued to make my own egg noodles about once a year, feeling glad to have that least.


One day as I was shopping in a newly opened grocery store, I came across an item called Anne's Old Fashioned Flat Dumplings in the frozen section. I was curious about it, I picked up the red and yellow box, turned it over, and my eyes went wide, and I think I let out an audible "woot", because right there on the back of the package, first thing I read, was a recipe for Old Fashioned Chicken and Noodles. I knew I HAD to try this. So I picked me up a whole chicken along with this, and headed home. My day was planned: Going to make Chicken and Noodles with this new frozen dumpling.

I cooked the chicken, made a rich stock from it as well, and opened the package of Anne's Old Fashioned Dumplings. I saw thin, wide strips of noodles, which looked like the raw egg noodles mom used to make, except a lot wider. I used them as they were, added them to the simmering pot of stock, and let them cook.

After the cooking was done, I noticed these noodles really soaked up a LOT of the stock, and became about 3 times as big..so now I had noodles about the size of a postcard. I tasted one, and was pleased as to just how close they did come to homemade egg noodles. I concluded they came close enough to the taste of real homemade egg noodles, that they can be used in place of them when I didn't have the time to make it from scratch.

Anne's dumplings was not as rich as homemade egg noodles, carried a weaker flavor, but it was sure a heck of a lot better than those dried bagged egg noodles. I figured these would do fine in a pinch, for those times I crave Chicken & Noodles, but don't have the time to make my own egg noodles.

As far as the size problem I had with the noodles the first time, I resolved that by simply laying out the noodles on the counter and using a pizza wheel, I simply just cut each noodle into three separate strips, and that seems to of worked out fine.

I did find other frozen noodles, but so far, Anne's seems to be the best. Are there other frozen noodles out there that is better? I honestly don't know, simply because I am sure I haven't tried them all (yet). I am sure anyone who reads this and does know of a product that they enjoy, will let me know, and please do!

In closing, I just want to reiterate that if your are going to make a dish that calls for egg noodles, such as Chicken & Dumplings, its always best to make your own noodles, and that should be your first choice, given you have the time. Use the frozen stuff for those times when you are pressed for time, yet really want that homemade experience. It will not be EXACTLY the same, but it comes pretty darn close.

All About Brining

What is Brining?

Brining, or soaking in salt water, is an easy way to make moister chicken or pork (it does not work on beef). Typically a ratio of 16 parts water to 1 part salt is used (e.g. 1 quart water to 1/4 cup salt). Note that brining does not add salt to the meat; it makes the meat moist through osmosis which draws water out of cells.
Brining increases the temperature (from 140 to 160 degrees) at which meat dries out (i.e. the cells burst and lose their water) due to cooking.

Brining was originally used to preserve food (strong salt solution); now it is used to flavor meat (medium salt solution).

How does Brining Work?

The meat's cells have a concentration of salt in them. Brine has a higher concentration of salt than the meat. The osmosis process will balance the concentration of salt between the cell and the brine so in order to increase the concentration of salt (note salt is not adding to the meat) in the cells, the water in the cell moves from the cell (passes through the cell's wall) to the space surrounding the cell.

The temperature that causes the cell to burst (and dry out the meat) has been raised from 140 deg to 160 degrees (due to higher concentration of salt in the cell).

Maximum Brine Time

If meat is kept past the maximum brine time, it will taste salty and perhaps turn mushy. Start out at the low end of the range.

Meat	Brine Time
Whole chicken (4 pounds)	4-8 hours
Chicken parts	1 1/2 hours
Chicken breasts	1 hour
Whole turkey	12-24 hours
Pork chops	2-8 hours
Whole pork loins	1-3 days
Pork Tenderloin	2-12 hours
Shrimp	1/2 hour
Cornish game hens	1-2 hours

Salt Choice

Table salt, sea salt, and kosher salt provide the same saltiness if they weigh the same. It is not true for volume. A cup of table salt weighs about 10 oz while kosher salt weighs 5-8 oz per cup, depending on the brand.

Professional cooks use kosher salt since it is pure. Sea salt is too expensive to use on a regular basis and table salt contains additives such as anti-caking agents (prevents caking in humid weather) and iodine (prevents thyroid disease).

Do not use lite salt since it contains other substances besides salt (sodium chloride). Pure salt must be used for brining.

Meat	Volume	Weight
Table salt	1 cup	10 oz
Morton kosher salt	1 1/2 cups	7.7 oz
Diamond Crystal kosher salt	2 cups	5 oz

What Container to Use

Since brine is very salty a nonreactive container must be used:

• plastic buckets
• coolers
• Ziploc bags
• stainless steel or anodized pots
• glass bowls
• ceramic bowls
• stainless steel bowls

Use a heavy ceramic bowl or plate to weigh down the meat so it is completely submerged in brine.

Basic Brine Recipes

Brine solutions work best when they are 40 degrees which is the expected temperature of a refrigerator. Salt dissolves quickest in hot water but be sure the brine solution is cooled before placing meat in it. After brining, thoroughly rinse the meat.

Basic Brine

• 1 cup water
• 1 TBL table salt (or 2 TBL DC kosher salt)

Basic Chicken or Pork Brine

• 1 quart hot water
• 1/4 cup (5 oz) Diamond Crystal kosher salt (2 TBL cup table salt)
• 1/4 cup sugar (brown or white. Optional)

Dissolve salt and sugar in hot water then chill in refrigerator (40 deg). Immerse chicken breasts and keep immersed in refrigerator or in an ice chest for 1 to 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts and rinse thoroughly.

High Temperature Chicken or Pork Brine

For grilling, broiling, and roasting chicken or pork.

• 1 quart hot water
• 1/4 cup (5 oz) Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 2 TBL cup table salt)
• 2 TBL sugar (brown or white.)

Dissolve salt and sugar in hot water then chill in refrigerator. Immerse chicken breasts and keep immersed in refrigerator or in an ice chest for 1 to 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts and rinse thoroughly.

Basic Turkey Brine

• 2 gallons water
• 2 cups Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Brine turkey 8 to 12 hours at 40 degrees.

Brine Tips

Use these helpful tips to maximize your brining experience.

• Make sure you refrigerate your brine and meat.
• Do not use acidic liquids such as orange juice or beer on poultry. It will make it mushy.
• Rinse meat after brining.
• Use kosher salt. It does not contain additives, like table salt.
• Make sure the meat is *completely* covered by the brine solution.
• Do not reuse brine.
• Pat meat dry with paper towels after rinsing.
• For full benefits of brining do not cut back on salt.

"Burn Your Recipes!"

Do not literally burn your recipes, but don't be a prisoner to them! Use them more of an outline. There are many variances to take into account, and besides, cooking is an art, have fun with it! To make my point, Watch Chef Todd in this video, he has a unique way of getting the point across!

(This only refers to cooking, NOT baking (pies, cakes, pastries, breads, etc).