What does the forcemeat consist of?

1 kg beef, 1 liter cream (or half cream and half milk plus 200 g suet), 1 tablespoon potato starch and 1 tablespoon salt. Mace or pepper can be added if desired.

Must the meat be ground in a meat grinder?

No — if the meat is finely scraped and then rubbed on a board, you do not need to grind it. Coarsely scraped meat must be ground 6 times with the salt, then the suet is added and it is ground 3 more times.

Why must the thinning with cream go slowly?

The cream is added one spoonful at a time, with thorough working between each spoon. If you thin too fast, the forcemeat turns short and grainy. The potato starch is stirred in first and the forcemeat is worked with it for 20 minutes.

Where does the recipe come from?

From Henriette Schønberg Erken's 'Stor kokebok' (1914), page 643, in the chapter on butchering, sausages and forcemeats. The forcemeat is used for pudding, balls and sausages, and yields about 8 servings.

Meat forcemeat for pudding, balls and sausages

Name: Meat forcemeat for pudding, balls and sausages
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 1 kg beef (lean, without sinews); 10 dl cream (or 5 dl cream and 5 dl milk); 200 g suet (optional, when using half milk); 1 tbsp potato starch; 1 tbsp salt; 0.5 tsp mace or pepper (if desired)

Erken's basic forcemeat: 1 kg beef, 1 liter cream (or half milk plus 200 g suet), 1 tbsp potato starch and 1 tbsp salt. The meat is scraped or ground 6 times with salt, the suet is added and ground 3 more times; the potato starch is worked in for 20 minutes before slow thinning spoon by spoon. Forcemeat for pudding is looser than for balls. Pudding is cooked in a water bath in the oven for 30–60 minutes; balls poach 3–5 minutes in stock, frikadeller (flat meat patties) 8 minutes.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 643 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

This is Erken's basic recipe for meat forcemeat, the backbone of Norwegian household cooking: meat pudding, meatballs and frikadeller. Before the meat grinder became common, the meat was scraped and rubbed on a board; Erken explains both methods and places great emphasis on slow thinning so the forcemeat does not separate.

How to make it

1
Prepare the meat
Dry the meat with a cloth wrung out in hot water. Cut it into slices along the fibers and scrape it on both sides.
2
Grind
If the meat is finely scraped and rubbed on a board, it need not be ground. Otherwise grind it 6 times together with the salt; then add the suet and grind 3 more times.
3
Work in the potato starch
Stir in the potato starch and work the forcemeat well for 20 minutes.
4
Thin
Thin with cream (and milk) one spoonful at a time, working well between each spoon. If thinned too fast, the forcemeat turns short and grainy. Half the liquid can be added by the time the meat has been ground 12 times; the rest is stirred in in a bowl. Spices are added at the very end.
5
Rest
If you let the almost fully thinned forcemeat rest overnight, you can usually add a little more liquid the next day.
6
Meat pudding
Forcemeat for pudding should be looser than for balls. Grease the mold and fill in the forcemeat to a finger's width from the rim. Cook in a water bath in the oven at about 175 °C (345 °F) for 30–60 minutes. If the pudding is to be reheated, set it in a water bath in the oven for about 45 minutes.
7
Meatballs
Shape the balls with a spoon and place them, one by one, on a flat dish with a little warm stock. Lower the dish beneath the stock in the pot so the balls slide off. Small balls poach 3 minutes, larger ones 5 minutes.
8
Frikadeller
Shape somewhat elongated frikadeller, treat them like meatballs and let them poach for 8 minutes in meat stock.

Changes from the original

Amounts are given in modern units (dl, g, tbsp). Suet is kept as an optional alternative; today only cream and milk are often used. 'Grind 6–12 times' is interpreted as repeated grinding on a fine plate in a modern meat grinder or stand mixer. Cooking time in the water bath is given with oven temperature.

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Time machine – what changed?

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

From1914 1949 Modernised

To1914 1949 Modernised

Modernised → 1949 (proofread, p. 776)~97% of the text changedremovedadded

1 ~~kg oksekjøtt (magert, uten sener). 10 dl~~ kg. oksekjøtt, 1 l. fløte ~~(eller 5 dl~~ eller 1/2 l. fløte og ~~5 dl melk).~~ 1/2 l. melk og 200 ~~g nyretalg (valgfritt, ved bruk av halvt melk).~~ gr. nyretalg, 1 ~~ss potetmel.~~ spiseskje potetesmel, 1 ~~ss salt. 0,5 ts muskatblomme~~ — salt, (muskatplomme eller pepper (etter ønske). Tørk kjøttet med et klede vridd opp i varmt vann. Skjær det i skiver langs fibrene og skrap det på begge sider.. Er kjøttet finskrapet og gnidd på fjøl, behøver det ikke kvernes. Ellers kvernes det 6 ganger sammen med saltet; tilsett deretter nyretalgen og kvern 3 ganger til.. Rør inn potetmelet og arbeid farsen godt i 20 minutter.. Spe med fløte (og melk) én skje om gangen og arbeid godt mellom hver skje. Spes det for raskt, blir farsen kort og kornet. Halve spingen kan være tilsatt når kjøttet er kvernet 12 ganger; resten røres inn i en bolle. Krydder tilsettes helt til slutt.. Lar man den nesten ferdigspedde farsen stå natten over, kan pepper, hvis man som regel tilsette litt mer væske dagen etter.. Farse til pudding skal være løsere enn til boller. Smør formen og fyll farsen i til en fingerbredd fra kanten. Kok i vannbad i ovnen ved ca. 175 °C i 30–60 minutter. Skal puddingen varmes opp igjen, settes den i vannbad i ovnen ca. 45 minutter.. Form bollene med skje og legg dem etter hvert på et flatt fat med litt varm kraft. Senk fatet under kraften i gryten så bollene glir ned. Små boller trekker 3 minutter, større 5 minutter.. Form litt langaktige frikadeller, behandle dem som kjøttboller og la dem trekke 8 minutter i kjøttkraft. vil).

Note on Modernised

Mengder er oppgitt i moderne enheter (dl, g, ss). Nyretalg er beholdt som valgfritt alternativ; i dag brukes ofte bare fløte og melk. «Male 6–12 ganger» er tolket som gjentatt kverning på fin skive i moderne kjøttkvern eller kjøkkenmaskin. Steketid i vannbad angitt med ovnstemperatur.

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Frequently asked questions

What does the forcemeat consist of?: 1 kg beef, 1 liter cream (or half cream and half milk plus 200 g suet), 1 tablespoon potato starch and 1 tablespoon salt. Mace or pepper can be added if desired.
Must the meat be ground in a meat grinder?: No — if the meat is finely scraped and then rubbed on a board, you do not need to grind it. Coarsely scraped meat must be ground 6 times with the salt, then the suet is added and it is ground 3 more times.
Why must the thinning with cream go slowly?: The cream is added one spoonful at a time, with thorough working between each spoon. If you thin too fast, the forcemeat turns short and grainy. The potato starch is stirred in first and the forcemeat is worked with it for 20 minutes.
Where does the recipe come from?: From Henriette Schønberg Erken's 'Stor kokebok' (1914), page 643, in the chapter on butchering, sausages and forcemeats. The forcemeat is used for pudding, balls and sausages, and yields about 8 servings.

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