Which cut of beef is used for benløse fugler?

The recipe uses 1 1/2 kg of trimmed beef chuck. The meat is cut small, ground once, and divided into 12 equal portions that are pounded thin.

What goes inside the roulades?

Finely sliced beef marrow, finely chopped suet, or cooked pork belly slices, along with a blend of salt, pepper, ginger, and cloves — one teaspoon of each spice except cloves, which are used to taste.

How long should the roulades cook?

After being dredged and browned in butter, they simmer covered in the sauce for 15 minutes. Then 1–2 dl of sour cream is added and the dish cooks for 5 more minutes. Total time including preparation is about 80 minutes.

How is the sauce made?

50 g of butter is browned, 40 g of wheat flour is stirred in, and it is thinned with 3/4 liter of meat stock and brought to a boil. The roulades are added, and the sauce is finished with sour cream.

Benløse fugler (Norwegian beef roulades) I

Name: Benløse fugler (Norwegian beef roulades) I
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 1.5 kg trimmed beef chuck (ground once); 150 g beef marrow, finely chopped suet, or cooked pork belly slices (for the filling); 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp pepper; 1 tsp ginger (ground); 0.5 tsp cloves (ground); 3 tbsp wheat flour (for dredging the rolls); 100 g butter (for browning); 50 g butter (for the sauce); 40 g wheat flour (for the sauce); 0.75 l meat stock; 1.5 dl sour cream (1–2 dl)

Benløse fugler ("boneless birds," traditional Norwegian beef roulades) from Erken's Stor kokebok (1914): ground beef chuck is pressed thin into 12 portions, filled with beef marrow or suet, seasoned with salt, pepper, ginger, and cloves, rolled, browned in butter, and simmered in a brown gravy finished with sour cream.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 179 (falt i det fri)

Be the first to rate

About the dish

"Benløse fugler" ("boneless birds") are small meat rolls with a fatty filling, a classic of Norwegian home cooking. In Erken's version the meat is ground once and pressed out thin on a board, rather than cut into flat slices as in today's versions.

How to make it

1
Grind and divide the meat
Cut the beef into small pieces and run it once through a meat grinder. Divide the mass into 12 equal portions.
2
Pound out and fill
Press each portion out thin on a dampened cutting board. Top with finely sliced beef marrow, finely chopped suet, or cooked pork belly slices.
3
Season and roll
Mix the salt, pepper, ginger, and cloves and sprinkle a little of the blend over each portion. Roll up tightly and tie with string if needed.
4
Brown the roulades
Dredge the rolls lightly in flour and brown them nicely in butter in a pan.
5
Make the sauce
Brown 50 g butter, stir in the flour, and thin with the meat stock. Bring the sauce to a boil.
6
Simmer and finish
Place the browned roulades in the sauce and let them simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the sour cream and cook for 5 more minutes. Season with salt.

Changes from the original

Quantities are converted to modern measures, the old board ("fjæl") is replaced with a cutting board or parchment, and the method is split into numbered steps. Beef marrow can be swapped for finely chopped suet or cooked pork/bacon slices, as in the original.

In stores now

Clean, minimally processed groceries matched to the ingredients — approximate prices.

Product data and prices via Kassalapp. Prices are updated daily and may vary.

Tidsmaskin – hva endret seg?

Velg to utgaver og se hva Henriette Schønberg Erken la til, fjernet eller endret mellom dem.

Fra1914 1949 Modernisert

Til1914 1949 Modernisert

1914 (korrekturlest, s. 179) → 1949 (korrekturlest, s. 208)~45% av teksten endretfjernetlagt til

~~1 1/2~~ Benløse fugler. 1½ kg. ~~renskaaret oksekjøt~~ renskåret oksekjøtt oksemarv 1 ~~teske~~ teskje salt 1 — pepper 1 — ingefær ½ — nellik hvetemel. Saus: 50 gr. smør 40 gr. hvetemel ~~3/4~~ ¾ l. ~~kjøtkraft 1 a 2~~ kraft av grønnsaker, potetvann, eller kjøttbuljong ½ del. rømme. Kjøttet av bogen skjæres ~~smaat~~ smått og males 1 gang; deles op i 12 likestore ~~dele.~~ deler. Hver del hakkes ~~tyndt~~ tynt ut ~~paa~~ på en ~~fjæl, belægges~~ fjel, belegges med ~~finskaaren~~ finskåren oksemarv, finhakket talg eller kokte fleskeskiver. Krydderierne blandes, og ~~herav drysses~~ heraf drypsses litt ~~paa~~ på hver del. — Rulles godt sammen, ombindes — hvis nødvendig — meles og brunes i smør. Til sausen ~~brunes smørret, irøres melet~~ langbrunes smør og ~~spædes~~ mel, spedes med kraften, ~~gives~~ gis et opkok; heri ~~lægges fuglene, naar~~ legges fuglene når de er brune, og ~~smaakoker~~ småkoker under ~~lok~~ lokk i 15 minutter; ~~tilsættes~~ tilsettes rømmen, koker igjen 5 minutter.

Community interpretations

Be the first to share your own version.

See interpretations →

Frequently asked questions

Which cut of beef is used for benløse fugler?: The recipe uses 1 1/2 kg of trimmed beef chuck. The meat is cut small, ground once, and divided into 12 equal portions that are pounded thin.
What goes inside the roulades?: Finely sliced beef marrow, finely chopped suet, or cooked pork belly slices, along with a blend of salt, pepper, ginger, and cloves — one teaspoon of each spice except cloves, which are used to taste.
How long should the roulades cook?: After being dredged and browned in butter, they simmer covered in the sauce for 15 minutes. Then 1–2 dl of sour cream is added and the dish cooks for 5 more minutes. Total time including preparation is about 80 minutes.
How is the sauce made?: 50 g of butter is browned, 40 g of wheat flour is stirred in, and it is thinned with 3/4 liter of meat stock and brought to a boil. The roulades are added, and the sauce is finished with sour cream.

Related recipes

More dishes in the same category from the archive

Kommentarer

Ingen kommentarer ennå. Bli den første til å dele!