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Sweetbread Ragout

Sweetbread ragout from Erken's Stor kokebok 1914: cooked and sliced veal sweetbreads in a butter-and-flour meat-stock sauce thickened with egg yolk, seasoned with Madeira, lemon juice, truffle, salt, and pepper, mixed with mushroom and crayfish or shrimp. Kept warm in a water bath.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 218 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

A fine ragout for small pastry shells, timbales, or pastry cases, as served in party food in Norwegian bourgeois homes around 1900. The combination of sweetbreads, crayfish, and truffle was at that time considered among the most elegant things one could offer.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Simmer the sweetbreads

    Soak the sweetbreads, blanch them, simmer them tender, press them lightly under a weight, and cut them into suitable pieces.

  2. 2

    Make the sauce

    Stir together the butter and flour, thin with the stock, and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.

  3. 3

    Thicken and season

    Take the pan off the heat and stir in the egg yolk, Madeira, and lemon juice.

  4. 4

    Mix in the ragout pieces

    Add the mushroom, the cleaned crayfish (or shrimp), and the sliced sweetbreads. Season with truffles, salt, and pepper.

  5. 5

    Keep warm

    Keep the ragout warm in a water bath until serving, without letting it boil.

Changes from the original

The stock quantity is set at 5 dl, since 50 g butter and 50 g flour make too thin a sauce for 1 liter (the original's measure is given in the note). Measures are otherwise given in modern units (g, dl, tbsp), and the method is divided into numbered steps in modern Norwegian. Crayfish can be replaced with shrimp as the original allows.

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Tidsmaskin – hva endret seg?

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

1914 (korrekturlest, s. 218)1949 (korrekturlest, s. 248)~71% av teksten endretfjernetlagt til
½ kg. brisler trøfler 50 gr. smør 50 gr. hvetemel 1 ½ l. kjøtkraft kjøttkraft 1 spiseske citronsaft spiseskje sitronsaft 1 eggeblomme 1½ eggeplomme ½ del. madeira salt pepper champignons 20 krebs kreps eller ¼ ½ l. ræker. reker. Smør og mel røres sammen, spædes spes med kraften, smaakoker småkoker i 5 minutter. Tages Tas av ilden, varmen irøres eggeblommen, eggeplommen, vinen, citronsaft, sitronsaft, champignons, de rensede krebs kreps og den blancherede, blancherte, kokte, pressede og opskaarne opskårne brissel; trøfler, salt og pepper efter smak. Holdes varmt i vandbad. vannbad. Brisselen utvannes, småkoker i 20 minutter i saltet, syrlig vann; legges straks i koldt vann for å bli fast. Alle hinner fjernes med forsiktighet. Når brislene er avkjølet litt, legges hver inn i et stykke tynt tøi, som bindes fast til. Dette gjøres, hvis man vil at stykkene skal få omtrent samme fasong; legges derefter under lett press. Brisselen skjæres derefter op i passende stykker, vendes i egg og kavring og kokes i smult eller stekes i smør. Anrettes på en varm oplagt serviet. Serveres med béarnaise- eller tartarsaus.

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Frequently asked questions

How are the sweetbreads pre-treated?
The sweetbreads are blanched, simmered, pressed, and sliced before being stirred into the finished sauce.
How do I make the sauce?
Stir together 50 g butter and 50 g wheat flour, thin with 1 liter of meat stock, and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat before stirring in the egg yolk, Madeira (1½ dl), and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, so that the egg yolk does not curdle.
What else goes in the ragout, and how is it kept warm?
Mushroom, truffles, salt, and pepper to taste, plus 20 cleaned crayfish or ¼ liter of shrimp. The dish is kept warm in a water bath.

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