How long should the crayfish boil?

The crayfish are put in boiling, salted water and boil for 10 minutes. They should then be left in the cooking water until completely cooled.

How large should a good eating crayfish be?

According to the book, a good eating crayfish should be about 12 cm long – at that size it is 5–6 years old. Crayfish were caught especially in the Fredrikshald watercourse and at Ringerike.

How is crayfish au naturel arranged?

They should be ice-cold. The shell is removed from the tail and the thread taken out, while the shell is left on the head. Arranged on a round platter with the tails toward the center, olives cut in a spiral and filled with crayfish butter between the heads, and green lettuce leaves in the middle.

How do you get more flavor into the cooking water?

A handful of dill in the cooking water gives good flavor, in addition to salt.

Crayfish (boiled crayfish au naturel)

A basic recipe from Erken's Stor kokebok (Great Cookbook) for boiled crayfish: the crayfish are boiled 10 minutes in salted water with dill, cooled in the cooking water and served ice-cold au naturel, garnished with olives filled with crayfish butter and green lettuce leaves.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 151 (falt i det fri)

Be the first to rate

About the dish

Erken opens the crayfish chapter with a short note on where crayfish are caught in Norway and how large a good eating crayfish should be, before giving the basic recipe for boiled crayfish served ice-cold au naturel.

How to make it

1
Bring the water to a boil
Bring water to a boil with salt and a good handful of dill. Wash and rinse the crayfish well.
2
Boil the crayfish
Put the crayfish in the boiling, salted water and let them boil for 10 minutes.
3
Cool in the cooking water
Leave the crayfish in the cooking water until completely cooled. If they are to be served au naturel, they should be ice-cold.
4
Clean the tails
Remove the shell from the tails and take out the intestinal thread, but leave the shell on the heads.
5
Arrange
Arrange the crayfish on a round platter with the tails toward the center. Place olives cut in a spiral and filled with crayfish butter between the heads, and set green lettuce leaves in the middle.

Changes from the original

Quantities have been estimated and given in modern measures (liters, grams, tablespoons), since the original only mentions the ingredients in the text. The language of the method has been modernized; the cooking time and method have been kept.

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

1914 (proofread, p. 151) → Modernised~88% of the text changedremovedadded

~~Krebs dild~~ 40 stk kreps (gjerne ca. 12 cm store). 3 l vann (til koking). 3 spiseskje salt ~~vand~~ (ca. 1 spiseskje per liter vann). 1 håndfull dill (i kokevannet). 12 stk oliven ~~krebsesmør grønne salatblade Krebsen findes i Norge særlig~~ (til pynt, skrelt i ~~Fredrikshalds-vasdraget~~ spiral). 50 g krepsesmør (til fylling av olivenene). 1 grønne salatblader (til pynt). Kok opp vann med salt og ~~paa Ringerike. En~~ en god ~~matkrebs bør være ca. 12 cm., den er da 5—6 aar gammel. Krebsen skylles godt~~ håndfull dill. Vask og ~~sættes over ilden~~ skyll krepsen godt.. Legg krepsen i ~~kokende saltet vand, koker~~ det kokende, saltede vannet og la den koke i 10 ~~minutter. Krebs skal bli liggende~~ minutter.. La krepsen ligge i ~~kokevandet,~~ kokevannet til de den er ~~ganske avkjølet. En haandfuld dild i kokevandet gir god smak.~~ helt avkjølt. Skal ~~krebs~~ den serveres au naturel, bør de den være ~~iskolde. Naar de skal anrettes, tages da~~ iskald.. Ta skallet av ~~halen,~~ halene og ~~man fjerner strengen, mens man lar~~ fjern tarmstrengen, men la skallet ~~bli paa hodet. De oplægges paa~~ sitte på hodene.. Legg krepsen på et rundt ~~fat, halerne møtes i midten; mellem hoderne lægges oliven, utskaaren~~ fat med halene mot midten. Legg oliven skåret i spiral og ~~fyldt~~ fylt med ~~krebsesmør. I midten sættes~~ krepsesmør mellom hodene, og sett grønne ~~salatblade.~~ salatblader i midten.

Note on Modernised

Mengder er anslått og oppgitt i moderne mål (liter, gram, spiseskjeer), siden originalen bare nevner ingrediensene i teksten. Språket i fremgangsmåten er modernisert; koketiden og fremgangsmåten er beholdt.

Community interpretations

Be the first to share your own version.

See interpretations →

Frequently asked questions

How long should the crayfish boil?: The crayfish are put in boiling, salted water and boil for 10 minutes. They should then be left in the cooking water until completely cooled.
How large should a good eating crayfish be?: According to the book, a good eating crayfish should be about 12 cm long – at that size it is 5–6 years old. Crayfish were caught especially in the Fredrikshald watercourse and at Ringerike.
How is crayfish au naturel arranged?: They should be ice-cold. The shell is removed from the tail and the thread taken out, while the shell is left on the head. Arranged on a round platter with the tails toward the center, olives cut in a spiral and filled with crayfish butter between the heads, and green lettuce leaves in the middle.
How do you get more flavor into the cooking water?: A handful of dill in the cooking water gives good flavor, in addition to salt.

Related recipes

More dishes in the same category from the archive

Kommentarer

Ingen kommentarer ennå. Bli den første til å dele!