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)

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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

Modernised → 1949 (proofread, p. 178)~92% of the text changedremovedadded

~~40 stk kreps (gjerne~~ (Écrevisses.) Krepsen finnes i Norge særlig i Halden-vassdraget og på Ringerike. En god matkreps bør være ca. 12 ~~cm store). 3 l vann (til koking). 3 spiseskje salt (ca. 1 spiseskje per liter vann). 1 håndfull dill (i kokevannet). 12 stk oliven (til pynt, skrelt~~ cm., den er da 5 —6 år gammel. Krepsen — alle må være levende — legges noen minutter i ~~spiral). 50 g krepsesmør (til fylling av olivenene). 1 grønne salatblader (til pynt). Kok opp vann med salt og~~ en ~~god håndfull dill. Vask~~ balje med koldt vann og ~~skyll krepsen godt.. Legg krepsen~~ settes over varmen i ~~det kokende, saltede vannet og la den koke~~ kokende saltet vann, koker i 10 ~~minutter.. La~~ —15 minutter. Legg 6 å 8 kreps i kokevannet ad gangen, legg lokk på og kok hurtig opmellem hver gang der legges nye i, dette for ikke å avkjøle vannet for meget, for krepsen ~~ligge~~ blir lett seig i kjøttet. Fra alle kreps er kommet ikok, helst ikke mer enn 25 —30 av gangen, regnes koketiden. Man regner til f. eks. 20 kreps 2% 1. vann og 1 dd. grovt salt, eller 1 spiseskje salt til hver liter vann. Kreps skal bli liggende i kokevannet til ~~den~~ de er ~~helt avkjølt.~~ ganske avkjølet, men slå hurtig alt over i en stor balje, så avkjølingen kan gå hurtig. En håndfull dill i kokevannet gir god smak. Skal ~~den~~ kreps serveres au naturel, ~~bør den~~ må de være ~~iskald.. Ta skallet av halene og fjern tarmstrengen, men la skallet sitte på hodene.. Legg krepsen~~ iskolde. De oplegges på et rundt ~~fat med~~ fat, halene ~~mot midten. Legg oliven skåret~~ møtes i ~~spiral~~ midten, og ~~fylt~~ hele fatet pyntes med ~~krepsesmør mellom hodene,~~ dill som stikkes ned mellem krepsen. Serveres med ristet brød og ~~sett grønne salatblader i midten.~~ smør. Om koking av skalldyr se også side 170.

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.

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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.

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