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Mackerel Fish Balls

Mackerel fish balls: a forcemeat of scraped mackerel flesh, beef suet or butter, egg, potato starch, nutmeg, and milk, simmered 5 minutes in stock made from the skin and bones; served as a fish soup or with brown sauce.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 98 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Erken shows how cheap summer mackerel can be used for fish balls. Beef suet gives a richer forcemeat but can be swapped for butter. The balls are cooked in stock made from the trimmings, and the stock becomes soup—or the balls are served with brown sauce.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Prepare the fish

    Clean, wash, and dry the mackerel and scrape the flesh from the skin and bones. Keep the skin, bones, and heads.

  2. 2

    Make the forcemeat

    Pound, stir, or grind the fish flesh together with finely chopped beef suet (or butter), the butter, and the salt until the forcemeat is stiff and elastic.

  3. 3

    Thin the forcemeat

    Add potato starch, egg, nutmeg, and pepper. Thin with the milk a little at a time and season with more salt.

  4. 4

    Make the stock

    Boil stock from the skin, bones, and heads and strain it.

  5. 5

    Cook the balls

    Shape balls with a spoon and simmer them in the stock for 5 minutes.

  6. 6

    Serving

    Make a fish soup from the stock with the balls in it, or serve the balls with brown sauce.

Changes from the original

Measurements have been modernized (teskeer → tsp, del. → dl, knivsod → pinch). Beef suet is kept with butter as the stated alternative. The egg, which appears in the ingredient list, is stirred into the forcemeat together with the potato starch.

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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. 98) → 1949 (korrekturlest, s. 119)~47% av teksten endretfjernetlagt til
y 2 makreller av alm. størrelse 100 gr. nyretalg eller 50 gr. smør kg. skrapet makrellkjøtt 30 gr. smør 2 teskeer teskjeer salt 1 egg 2 teskeer teskjeer potetesmel 1—2 del. melk 1 knivsod knivsodd pepper 1/4 teske % teskje muskat. Makrellen Makrelen renses, vaskes, tørres og skrapes fra skind skinn og ben, støtes eller røres eller males med den finhakkede talg, smørret det smeltede kolde smør og saltet. Naar Når det er seigt, tilsættes tilsettes potetesmelet, muskat, det vispede egg og melken litt efter litt og mere salt efter smak. Kok kraft paa skind, på skinn, ben og hoder, sil kraften og smaakok bollerne småkok bollene heri i 5 minutter. Lag saa så god fiskesuppe av kraften og bollerne i bollene — eller, den som vil ordne det paa på en anden maate: annen måte: lag brun eller lys saus til bollerne. bollene. Det er godt det ogsaa. også.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should the mackerel balls cook?
The balls are simmered in the strained fish stock for just 5 minutes. The recipe itself takes around 70 minutes in total, including cleaning the fish and boiling the stock from the skin, bones, and heads.
What do I use as fat in the forcemeat?
The original recipe uses 100 g beef suet or 50 g butter, plus 30 g butter. The suet (or butter) is finely chopped and pounded, stirred, or ground together with the mackerel flesh and 2 teaspoons of salt until the forcemeat becomes stiff and elastic.
How are the balls served?
Henriette Schønberg Erken suggests two options: make a good fish soup from the stock with the balls in it, or serve the balls with brown sauce. She writes that both versions are good.
What binds the forcemeat?
2 teaspoons of potato starch and 1 egg, together with 1–2 dl milk added little by little. Season with 1 pinch of pepper, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and more salt to taste.

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