Skip to content
H. Schønberg ErkenArkivet
NOENLog in

Chicken à la française (roast chicken, French style)

Erken's French-style roast chicken: the chicken is cleaned, the breastbone removed, stuffed with parsley butter, browned in butter, and braised covered for about 1 hour with cream and meat stock. The sauce is reduced with cream, stock, and cold butter. Served with fried potatoes, tomatoes, and salad. Reckon ½ chicken per person.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 286 (falt i det fri)

Be the first to rate

About the dish

The recipe appears in the chapter on poultry and game, right after Erken's introduction on chickens. There she explains that good, well-fattened chickens are easy to digest and surpass all other meat, that the chicken takes on a rounder and plumper appearance if the sharp breastbone is removed before it is stuffed with butter and parsley, and that one reckons half a chicken per person.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Clean the chicken

    Scald or pluck the chicken, singe it, open and clean it. Put it in water for 1 hour, set it to drain, and dry it well with a dry cloth.

  2. 2

    Remove the breastbone

    Press the breastbone down from the outside so it cracks, twist it loose on the inside and remove it — or simply press it down.

  3. 3

    Stuff and truss

    Mix the butter and chopped parsley and stuff the chicken with the mixture. Truss it neatly and rub it with salt.

  4. 4

    Brown the chicken

    Lightly brown 60 g butter in a pot. Put the chicken in breast-side down first and brown it nicely and lightly on all sides. Put the gizzard, heart, and liver in the pot.

  5. 5

    Braise covered

    Turn the chicken breast-side up, drizzle over a little cream and meat stock, and let it braise gently under a tight lid for about 1 hour. Baste with stock along the way to save on butter and cream.

  6. 6

    Make the sauce

    Reduce the liquid in the pot hard for 5 minutes together with a couple of tablespoons of cream, a couple of tablespoons of cold stock or cold water, and 25 g cold butter. Stir the whole time. Strain the sauce if you like.

  7. 7

    Plating

    Serve the chicken with fried potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber salad, and leaf salad, with the sauce on the side.

Changes from the original

Quantities have been specified and given in modern units (dl, grams), and the method has been divided into numbered steps. The original gives only "60 g butter per chicken" and "a couple of tablespoons" of cream and stock; here this has been converted for one chicken. The language in the steps has been modernized, while the transcription retains Erken's spelling.

In stores now

Clean, minimally processed groceries matched to the ingredients — approximate prices.

Product data and prices via Kassalapp. Prices are updated daily and may vary.

Tidsmaskin – hva endret seg?

Velg to utgaver og se hva Henriette Schønberg Erken la til, fjernet eller endret mellom dem.

Fra19141949Modernisert
Til19141949Modernisert
1914 (korrekturlest, s. 286) → 1949 (korrekturlest, s. 319)~86% av teksten endretfjernetlagt til
60 gr. smør pr. Kylling å la frangaise. (Poulet roti å la frangaise.) i kylling persille smør til fyld salt søt fløte litt kjøtkraft 25 30 gr. koldt smør Kyllingerne skoldes eller plukkes, svides, aapnes og lægges i vand 2½ dd. buljong 1 time, stilles saaledes, at vandet kan rinde av, tørres godt med et tørt klæde. Brystbenet trykkes ned eller tages ut, og kyllingen fyldes med blandet persille liten løk 1 gulerot 2 skiver flesk salt pepper. Kyllingen rengjøres som vanlig, tørkes og smør; sættes pent op; gnides med salt. 60 gr. smør pr. kylling brunes lyst, heri lægges kyllingerne med brystet ned først; brunes pent lyse paa alle sider, kraas, hjerte settes op. Gni smøret tykt over brystet. De rensede røtter skjæres i skiver og lever lægges i, dryppes legges i gryten med søt fløte og litt kjøtkraft; det sidste for at spare paa smør flesket, leveren og fløten; smaasurrer under lok 1 time med brystet op. — Sausen kokes sterkt ind hjertet, surrer over varmen i 5 minutter 10 minutter; kyllingen legges i, krydres med et par spiseskeer fløte, et par spiseskeer kold kraft eller koldt vand pepper og 25 gr. koldt smør; maa må røres i hele tiden. Siles eller ikke, som man vil. Anrettes med stekte poteter, sopp, tomater, agurksalat og bladsalat.

Community interpretations

Be the first to share your own version.

See interpretations →

Frequently asked questions

How long does the chicken cook?
It braises covered for about 1 hour, breast-side up, after first being lightly browned in butter on all sides (breast-side down first). Reckon around 2.5 hours in total, since the chicken must also soak in water for 1 hour and be dried well.
What is used as the stuffing?
Mixed parsley and butter are placed inside the chicken after the breastbone has been pressed down or removed. The chicken is then rubbed with salt.
How is the sauce made?
The chicken is basted during cooking with sweet cream and a little meat stock (the stock saves on butter and cream). The sauce is then reduced hard for 5 minutes and finished with 25 g cold butter.
Where does the recipe come from?
From Henriette Schønberg Erken's Stor kokebok (1914), page 286.

Related recipes

More dishes in the same category from the archive

Read also

Kommentarer

Ingen kommentarer ennå. Bli den første til å dele!