How long must the hens boil?

Count on around 2–2.5 hours in all (the recipe is set to 150 minutes). The hens are boiled in 2 liters of boiling water over low heat until tender – old hens need longer than young ones.

How is the sauce made?

90 g butter and 60 g wheat flour are stirred together and thinned with the strained stock from the hens to a suitably thick sauce. 2 dl whipped cream is stirred in right before plating, and the sauce is seasoned with salt, pepper and a pinch of mace.

Which vegetables are used, and how is the dish served?

The hens are boiled with a bouquet garni and yellow and white roots, or celeriac alone. The hens are cut up neatly and placed high in the middle of the platter, the cut-up roots are arranged around, and the sauce is poured over.

Are there other sauces for boiled hen?

Yes, Schønberg Erken (Stor kokebok 1914, p. 284) mentions that boiled hens are also served in tomato sauce, oyster sauce or horseradish sauce.

Boiled hens

Name: Boiled hens
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h 50 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 2 pcs hens (cleaned); 1 pcs bouquet garni (herb bundle) (parsley, thyme and the like); 1 pinch mace; 90 g butter; 60 g wheat flour; 2 dl cream (whipped); pepper (to taste); salt (to taste); 2 l boiling water; vegetables (carrot and parsley root, or just celeriac)

Erken's 1914 recipe for boiled hens: two hens are boiled tender in 2 liters of water with a bouquet garni, mace, pepper, salt and root vegetables. The sauce is made from 90 g butter and 60 g flour thinned with the strained stock, and thickened with 2 dl whipped cream just before serving. The hens are cut up and placed in the middle of the platter with the cut-up roots around and sauce over. Can also be served in tomato, oyster or horseradish sauce.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 284 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

The recipe appears in the «Poultry and game» chapter of Henriette Schønberg Erken's «Stor kokebok» (1914). Boiled hens with a white sauce made from their own stock was a classic everyday and party dish, where the stock from the birds became the base for the sauce and the root vegetables were served around.

How to make it

1
Prepare the hens
Clean the hens in the usual way and place them in a pot together with the bouquet garni, pepper, salt, mace and the roots – carrot and parsley root, or just celeriac.
2
Boil tender
Pour over 2 liters of boiling water and let it cook over low heat until the hens are tender.
3
Make the sauce
Stir together butter and flour, thin with the strained stock from the hens to a suitably thick sauce and let it simmer through. Season with salt and pepper.
4
Finish the sauce
Stir in the whipped cream just before plating; the sauce must not boil after that.
5
Plating
Cut the hens up neatly and place them high in the middle of the platter. Arrange the neatly cut roots around and pour the sauce over.
6
Variation
Boiled hens can also be served in tomato sauce, oyster sauce or horseradish sauce.

Changes from the original

Measures are converted to modern Norwegian units (deciliter, gram, liter). «Yellow and white roots» is interpreted as carrot and parsley root, «suppevisk» as a bouquet garni. The amounts are otherwise kept as they stand.

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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. 284) → 1949 (korrekturlest, s. 316)~32% av teksten endretfjernetlagt til

2 høns 1 suppevisk 1 ~~knivsod muskatblomme~~ knivsodd muskatplomme 90 gr. smør 60 gr. hvetemel 2 del. fløte pepper salt 2 l. kokende ~~vand grønsaker.~~ vann grønnsaker. Hønsene rengjøres ~~paa~~ på vanlig ~~maate, lægges~~ måte, legges i gryte med suppevisken, pepper, salt, gule og hvite røtter eller sellerirøtter alene, ~~paaheldes~~ påhelles det kokende ~~vand,~~ vann, koker over svak varme, ~~indtil~~ inntil de er møre. Smør og mel røres sammen, ~~spædes~~ spes med den ~~silede~~ silte kraft fra hønsene til en passe jevn saus; den vispede fløte ~~haves~~ has i like før anretningen. Hønsene skjæres pent op og ~~lægges~~ legges høit midt ~~paa~~ på fatet, de pent ~~opskaarne~~ opskårne røtter ~~lægges~~ legges omkring, sausen ~~heldes~~ helles over. Kokte høns serveres ~~ogsaa~~ også i tomatsaus, ~~østerssaus~~ østerssaus, løksaus eller pepperrotsaus.

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Frequently asked questions

How long must the hens boil?: Count on around 2–2.5 hours in all (the recipe is set to 150 minutes). The hens are boiled in 2 liters of boiling water over low heat until tender – old hens need longer than young ones.
How is the sauce made?: 90 g butter and 60 g wheat flour are stirred together and thinned with the strained stock from the hens to a suitably thick sauce. 2 dl whipped cream is stirred in right before plating, and the sauce is seasoned with salt, pepper and a pinch of mace.
Which vegetables are used, and how is the dish served?: The hens are boiled with a bouquet garni and yellow and white roots, or celeriac alone. The hens are cut up neatly and placed high in the middle of the platter, the cut-up roots are arranged around, and the sauce is poured over.
Are there other sauces for boiled hen?: Yes, Schønberg Erken (Stor kokebok 1914, p. 284) mentions that boiled hens are also served in tomato sauce, oyster sauce or horseradish sauce.

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