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Stuffed Calf's Head (tête de veau farcie)

Classic stuffed calf's head from Erken's Stor kokebok 1914: the head is soaked, blanched, cooked with root vegetables, boned, filled with strips of ham, hard-boiled egg, and parsley, rolled, simmered in the stock, and pressed cold.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 217 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Calf's head was a prized festive dish in older Norwegian and French cuisine. Here Erken gives the classic "tête de veau farcie," in which the boned head meat is rolled with ham, egg, and parsley and pressed into a cold roll that is cut into slices.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Clean the head

    Scald the calf's head and split it. Take out the tongue and brain and use them for their own dishes.

  2. 2

    Soaking

    Wash the head in several changes of water and then place it in salted water for 12 hours. Change the water several times.

  3. 3

    Blanching

    Place the head in a pot with a heaped tablespoon of salt, pour over cold water, and heat to the boiling point. Take the head out and wash it well over with cold water.

  4. 4

    Cooking

    Return the head to the pot, pour over cold water, bring to a boil, and skim well. Add the cleaned root vegetables, the herb bunch, peppercorns, pepper, and salt, and let it simmer 1½–2 hours, until the bones can easily be removed.

  5. 5

    Boning and filling

    Remove all the bones. Lay the meat out flat on a board, sprinkle over a little pepper and salt, lay on thin strips of the ham and slices of the hard-boiled eggs, and sprinkle over the finely chopped parsley.

  6. 6

    Rolling

    Roll the meat up tightly, wrap it in a meat cloth (cotton cloth), and tie it up well.

  7. 7

    Finishing simmer

    Place the roll in the boiling stock and let it simmer gently for 1½–2 hours.

  8. 8

    Pressing

    When the meat is well cooled, tie the cloth more tightly and place the roll under a press until it is completely cold. Cut into slices to serve.

Changes from the original

Quantities are given in modern units (dl/tbsp/grams). The "suppevisk" has been described as a herb bunch (bouquet garni). The soaking, cooking time, and pressing have been kept, but divided into clear steps. The meat cloth is given as a cotton cloth/cheesecloth.

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Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

Modernised → 1914 (proofread, p. 217)~78% of the text changedremovedadded
1 stk kalvehode (kløyvd, tunge og hjerne tatt ut). 500 g ½ kg. mager, ukokt skinke (skåret i tynne strimler). 2 stk egg (hardkokte). 2 ss spiseskeer finhakket persille. 1 ss salt (toppet, til første oppkok). persille salt (til smak). pepper (til smak). 1 stk løk. løk 1 stk gulrot. gulerot 1 skive selleri. selleri 1 skive kålrabi. — kaalrabi 4 stk pepperkorn. pepperkorn 1 stk urtebukett (suppevisk). Skold kalvehodet og kløyv det. Ta ut tunge suppevisk (se side 35). Hodet skoldes, kløves. Tunge og hjerne tages ut og bruk dem tillages til egne retter.. Vask hodet særskilte retter. Hodet vaskes i flere vann og legg det deretter i saltet vann vand, utvandes derefter i 12 timer. Skift vannet timer i saltet vand; byt vandet flere ganger.. Legg hodet ganger. Lægges i en gryte med en toppet spiseskje spiseske salt, hell over kaldt vann og varm opp overheldes med koldt vand, bringes til kokepunktet. Ta hodet opp kokepunktet, tages op og vask det vaskes godt over med kaldt vann.. Legg hodet koldt vand. Lægges tilbake i gryten, hell over kaldt vann, kok opp og skum godt. Tilsett paaheldes koldt vand, kokes op, skummes godt; tilsæt de rensede rotsakene, urtebuketten, pepperkorn, røtter, pepper og salt, salt og la det småkoke 1½–2 smaakok i 1½—2 timer, eller til beina lett benene let kan fjernes.. Fjern alle bein. Legg fjernes. Benene tages væk, og kjøttet flatt lægges helt utover en fjøl, strø over fjæl, strøes med ganske litt pepper og salt, legg på tynne belægges med ganske finskaarne strimler av skinken og skiver av de hardkokte eggene, og strø over haardkokte egg, strøes med den finhakkede persillen.. Rull kjøttet tett persille. Kjøttet rulles tæt sammen, pakk det i et kjøttklede (bomullsklede) omvikles med kjøtklæde og surr det godt om.. Legg rullen surres om, lægges i den kokende kraften kraft og la den trekke svakt i 1½–2 timer.. Når smaatrækker 1½—2 timer. Naar kjøttet er godt avkjølt, surrer du kledet tettere sammen avkjølet, surres klædet tættere sammen, og legger rullen kjøttet lægges i press pres, til den det er helt kald. Skjæres i skiver ved servering. koldt.

Note on Modernised

Mengder er oppgitt i moderne enheter (dl/ss/gram). «Suppevisk» er beskrevet som urtebukett. Utvanning, koketid og pressing er beholdt, men fordelt på tydelige trinn. Kjøttklede er angitt som bomullsklede/gasbind.

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Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to prepare the calf's head before cooking?
The head is scalded and split, and the tongue and brain are taken out for their own dishes. Then the head is washed in several changes of water and soaked 12 hours in salted water, with several water changes. This is why the total time is around 25 hours.
How long should the head cook?
After it has been brought to a boil, skimmed, and had cleaned root vegetables, pepper, and salt added, it simmers 1½–2 hours – until the bones can easily be removed.
What is used for the filling?
½ kg lean, uncooked ham, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, plus salt and pepper.
Which vegetables and seasonings go in the stock?
1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 slice of celery, 1 slice of swede, 4 peppercorns, and a bouquet garni (see p. 35 in Stor kokebok 1914), in addition to salt.

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