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Chicken with crayfish (poularde aux écrevisses)

Classic poularde aux écrevisses: crayfish shells are pounded with butter and cooked out to a crayfish butter, thickened with flour and chicken stock into a sauce seasoned with lemon and nutmeg; boiled chicken meat and crayfish tails are warmed in the sauce, and the rest of the sauce is enriched with egg yolks and served on the side.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 282 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

A finer presentation from the poultry and game chapter of "Stor kokebok" (1914), where crayfish shells are cooked out with butter into a crayfish butter that gives the sauce color and flavor. The dish requires a ready-boiled hen and boiled crayfish.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Crayfish butter

    Pound the crayfish shells together with the butter. Set the mixture over the heat and let it steep gently for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

  2. 2

    Cook it out

    Pour in 5 dl boiling water and boil for 15 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and let it stand a while.

  3. 3

    Skim off

    Skim off all the red butter, taking care that no water comes with it. Strain the butter and pour it into another pot.

  4. 4

    Sauce

    Stir the flour into the crayfish butter and thin with the chicken stock to a smooth sauce of the right consistency, about 6 dl. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon, salt, and nutmeg to taste, and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes.

  5. 5

    Warm through

    Place the crayfish tails and the cut-up chicken pieces in the sauce and let them warm through (they must not boil).

  6. 6

    Presentation

    Pile the chicken pieces slightly high on the platter and pour a little of the sauce over. Garnish with the stewed crayfish tails.

  7. 7

    Sauce to serve

    Enrich the rest of the sauce with the egg yolks, season with spices, and serve it on the side.

Changes from the original

Measurements have been modernized (dl/g). The amounts of stock (about 6 dl) and water (5 dl) have been quantified, and the method has been divided into steps in modern language.

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Time machine – what changed?

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

From19141949Modernised
To19141949Modernised
1949 (proofread, p. 314) → 1914 (proofread, p. 282)~46% of the text changedremovedadded
(Poularde aux écrevisses.) I 1 kokt høne 30 kreps krebs 80 gr. smør 40 gr. hvetemel sitron citron 1 knivsodd knivsod muskat 2 eggeplommer eggeblommer salt 80 gr. smør. Krepseskallene Krebseskallene støtes med smøret, settes smørret, sættes over varmen ilden og småtrekker smaatrækker under stadig omrøren i 10 minutter, på helles ½ paaheldes 1/2 l. kokende vann, vand, koker ¾ 1/4 time. Tas Tages av varmen, står ilden, staar en stund, avskummes alt det røde smør, passes pas, at intet vann vand følger med; siles og has haves i en annen anden gryte, irøres melet, spes spædes med hønsekraften til en passe jevn saus, ca. 6 del., tilsettes tilsættes saft av ¾ sitron, 1/2 citron, salt og muskat efter smak, småkoker smaakoker i 10 minutter. Krepsehalene Krebsehalerne samt den opskårne opskaarne høne varmes vannes i sausen. Ved anretningen legges hønsestykkene lægges hønsestykkerne sammen og litt høit på paa fatet; litt av sausen helles heldes over. Pyntes med de stuede krepsehalene. krebsehaler. Resten av sausen jevnes med eggeplommene, eggeblommerne, krydres efter smak og serveres særskilt.

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Frequently asked questions

Why are the crayfish shells pounded with the butter?
To draw out color and flavor. The shells and butter are pounded, left to steep gently for 10 minutes with constant stirring, topped with 1/2 liter boiling water, and boiled a quarter hour. Then the red crayfish butter is skimmed off – taking care that no water comes with it – and strained.
How is the sauce made?
The skimmed crayfish butter goes into a pot, 40 g all-purpose flour is stirred in and thinned with chicken stock to about 6 deciliters of smooth sauce of the right consistency. Season with the juice of 1/2 lemon, salt, and nutmeg, and let it simmer 10 minutes. The egg yolks are used for enriching at the end – the sauce must not boil then.
How much crayfish is needed, and what is used for garnish?
30 crayfish for 6 servings. The crayfish tails are warmed in the sauce together with the cut-up chicken, and the rest of the crayfish is used to garnish around the chicken pieces on the platter.
Where does the recipe come from?
From Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), page 282, in the chapter on poultry and game.

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