How long should the thrushes be fried?

About 25 minutes in browned butter in a flat-bottomed pot, after they have first been browned. The total time for the recipe is around 55 minutes including preparation.

How are the birds prepared before frying?

They are plucked, singed quickly, and cleaned. The liver and heart are put back inside the bird, they are rubbed with a little salt, the head is tucked in under the wing, and they are bound with thin slices of pork.

How is the sauce made?

Brown 1 spoonful of fresh butter, add the frying butter, deglaze the pot with a couple of spoonfuls of stock or boiling water, whisk together, bring to a boil, and pour the juices into the sauce. A little sweet cream can be added toward the end of frying – but not so much that the birds go soft or the sauce becomes too pale.

What is served with it?

Apple sauce (page 252 in Stor kokebok, 1914). The recipe is intended for 6 people with 12 thrushes.

Roast Thrush (grives rôties)

Name: Roast Thrush (grives rôties)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 12 pcs thrush (or quail/pigeon; plucked, singed, and cleaned); 100 g butter (for frying); 150 g fresh pork belly (in thin slices to bind around the birds); 1 dl cream (into the pan at the end); 1 tsp salt; 1 tbsp butter (fresh butter for the sauce); 0.5 dl stock (or boiling water, to deglaze the pot)

Erken's 1914 recipe for roast thrush: small birds cleaned with the giblets left inside, salted, head tucked under the wing, bound with slices of pork, browned and fried in butter about 25 minutes, optionally with a little cream; sauce of browned butter and pan butter deglazed with stock. Served with apple sauce.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 328 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Thrush was common game and a delicacy in 1914. Erken gives the French name "grives rôties" as she often does in the game chapter, and recommends apple sauce with it. Such bird trapping is no longer permitted in Norway, so the recipe has primarily cultural-historical value – it can be adapted to other small birds such as pigeon or quail.

How to make it

1
Clean the birds
Pluck, singe (very quickly), and clean the birds. Put the liver and heart back inside the bird.
2
Truss
Rub the birds with a little salt, tuck the head in under the wing, and bind thin slices of pork around each bird.
3
Brown and fry
Brown the butter in a flat-bottomed pot, brown the birds in the butter, and fry them a further 25 minutes or so with even basting.
4
Cream
Optionally pour a little sweet cream in toward the end – but no more than lets the birds stay firm and keeps the sauce from becoming too pale.
5
Make the sauce
Brown 1 tablespoon of fresh butter and mix in the frying butter from the pot. Deglaze the pot with a couple of tablespoons of stock or boiling water, whisk around, bring to a boil, and pour the juices into the sauce.
6
Serve
Arrange the birds hot with the sauce. Apple sauce is served alongside.

Changes from the original

Amounts for pork, cream, and salt are estimated, as the original does not give them. "Spoon" is interpreted as tablespoon. The giblets placed inside the bird are kept but made optional. Frying time and method are otherwise unchanged.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should the thrushes be fried?: About 25 minutes in browned butter in a flat-bottomed pot, after they have first been browned. The total time for the recipe is around 55 minutes including preparation.
How are the birds prepared before frying?: They are plucked, singed quickly, and cleaned. The liver and heart are put back inside the bird, they are rubbed with a little salt, the head is tucked in under the wing, and they are bound with thin slices of pork.
How is the sauce made?: Brown 1 spoonful of fresh butter, add the frying butter, deglaze the pot with a couple of spoonfuls of stock or boiling water, whisk together, bring to a boil, and pour the juices into the sauce. A little sweet cream can be added toward the end of frying – but not so much that the birds go soft or the sauce becomes too pale.
What is served with it?: Apple sauce (page 252 in Stor kokebok, 1914). The recipe is intended for 6 people with 12 thrushes.

Equipment for this dish

Frying pan →A heavy pan gives the fish a crisp crust without sticking.Foodstuff.no

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