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Songbirds en cocotte (grives en cocotte)

Erken's Songbirds en cocotte (grives en cocotte): small game birds (thrushes, traditionally) filled with lemon butter, breaded in rusk crumbs and parmesan with egg, baked in a cocotte in a hot oven for about 30 min and served with tomato sauce.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 329 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Songbirds (thrushes) were a common small game on Norwegian tables in 1914 and were often cooked whole in a cocotte (an ovenproof, lidded pot) in the oven. Today the thrush is not a legally huntable game bird in Norway, and the dish can be made with quail or other small birds.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Prepare the birds

    Pat the cleaned birds dry thoroughly.

  2. 2

    Lemon butter

    Knead half the butter (100 g) together with the lemon juice. Place a small spoonful of the butter inside each bird.

  3. 3

    Breading

    Dip the birds in melted butter and turn them in crushed rusk crumbs mixed with half the grated parmesan. Then turn them in egg seasoned with salt and pepper, and finally once more in the crumbs and cheese.

  4. 4

    Baking

    Place the birds in a hot cocotte (ovenproof pot) with the rest of the butter. Bake in a hot oven, about 200 °C (390 °F), for about half an hour until they are cooked through and golden.

  5. 5

    Serving

    Serve the birds straight from the pot with tomato sauce.

Changes from the original

Quantities converted to modern measures (grams, tbsp/tsp). "Rusk" is given as crushed rusk crumbs/dried breadcrumbs. Baking time and oven temperature have been specified. Songbirds can be replaced with quail.

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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
Modernised → 1914 (proofread, p. 329)~81% of the text changedremovedadded
12 stk kramsfugl (eller vaktel) (renset og plukket). 200 g smør. gr. smør 3 ts sitronsaft. 1 ts teskeer citronsaft salt (etter smak). 0,5 ts pepper (etter smak). 150 g knuste kavringsmuler (griljermel). 75 g parmesan (revet). 2 stk kavring parmesanost egg (lettvispet). 4 dl tomatsaus (til servering). Tørk de pepper tomatsaus. De rensede fuglene godt.. Elt halvparten fugler tørres godt. Halvparten av smøret (100 g) sammen smørret eltes med sitronsaften. Legg citronsaften; en liten skje ske av smøret inn smørret lægges derefter ind i hver fugl.. Dypp fuglene fugl; de dyppes i smeltet smør og vend dem smør, vendes i knuste kavringsmuler støtt kavring, halvt blandet med halvparten revet parmesan. Vend dem så reven ost, derefter vendes de igjen i egg tilsatt salt og pepper, egg, tilsat salt, pepper og til sist på nytt i kavring og ost.. Legg fuglene ost. Fuglene lægges nu i en varm cocotte (ildfast gryte) med resten av smøret. Stek smørret, stekes i varm ovn, ca. 200 °C, i ovn omtrent en halv time til de er gjennomstekte og gyllne.. Server fuglene rett fra gryten ½ time. Serveres med tomatsaus.

Note on Modernised

Mengder omregnet til moderne mål (gram, ss/ts). «Kavring» er angitt som knuste kavringsmuler/griljermel. Steketid og ovnstemperatur er presisert. Kramsfugl kan erstattes med vaktel.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should the songbirds bake?
About half an hour in a hot oven, placed in a hot cocotte with the rest of the butter. Total time including preparation is around 70 minutes.
How are the birds breaded?
Half the butter is kneaded with lemon juice, and a small spoonful is placed inside each bird. The birds are dipped in melted butter, turned in crushed rusk crumbs mixed with half the grated parmesan, then in egg seasoned with salt and pepper, and finally once more in the crumbs and cheese.
What is served alongside?
Tomato sauce. The recipe is meant for 6 people and uses 12 songbirds and 200 g of butter – from Henriette Schønberg Erken's Stor kokebok (Great Cookbook) (1914), p. 329.

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