Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 12:23

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https://www.patreon.com/ulillillia --- Published on Oct 27, 2014

I love Hamburger Helper. I hate meat. You'd think that that would mean I can't have it. Wrong! I just have to make it in a different way than as directed by the box. Also, since I'm a big eater, able to eat a lot in one go, one box just isn't enough. I need 2 boxes in one. Due to YouTube having an unexpected (and sudden) video length limit again when (just 50 days before, I posted a video nearly 100 minutes long just fine), I'm having to split this video into 2 parts. Sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused.

For the most part, here's what you do:

1. Gather all necessary supplies. You'll need a sauce pan, a measuring cup, a plate, a big spoon (for stirring safety), a small spoon (for eating with), and, obviously, the Hamburger Helper itself. Do not add meat.
2. Measure the necessary amounts of milk and water. Be sure to apply the multiplier(s) on this. I'll explain this below.
3. Add the noodles and sauce mix into the sauce pan.
4. Turn the stove on. 100% heat is good for starting with but should be reduced to 85% later on.
5. Stir the contents as best as you can, getting as much of the sauce mixed in as reasonable. Stir repeatedly about every 45 to 60 seconds at this point.
6. When the liquid is about to boil, noted by jiggling, reduce heat to 30 to 40%. You should get a light boil.
7. Stir frequently, once every 20 to 30 seconds. Cook usually 15 to 25 minutes (about 5 to 15 minutes longer than what the box states).
8. Turn off the stove and transfer the contents to the plate.
9. Soak the pan by filling it full of water.
10. Eat.

Because you're leaving out the hamburger, you don't need as much total liquid as the box states. Thus, through months of experimenting, I found the optimal ratios. Those are 5/9, 7/12, 5/8, and 2/3. Thus, if the box states of needing 1 2/3 cups water (I always use cold water), that means you multiply 5/3 by one of these multipliers. The larger the multiplier, the more liquids you'll have and you'll either need to cook it longer or you'll just get more sauce. Forgetting the multiplier can mean a huge amount of sauce or needing to spend 70 to 90 minutes cooking. Water boils away at about 1 1/2 cups per hour during the main cooking phase. For a single box, this means you'll need a bigger multiplier, from 3/4 to 1 (estimated).

When you turn the stove on, you could use 70 to 90% (of the way from the lowest setting to the highest setting) for the start to get the liquid to heat up then reduce it from there.

The duration you cook depends on how soft you want your noodles and/or how thick of a sauce you want. If you want a thin sauce, a lot of it, then use the shorter of the cooking times or use more liquid (a bigger multiplier). If you want a thick sauce, use a smaller multiplier and/or cook it longer. For soft noodles, cook it longer.

What happens if you stir less frequently? First, the noodles tend to stick to the bottom making it difficult to get them up. Second, it becomes a lot more difficult to clean. Pay attention and stir frequently like I say and neither of these should be an issue. Problems seem to start after 40 seconds since the last stir.