What do I do if I don't have soured cream?

Use sweet cream with 1 teaspoon vinegar added, as the recipe indicates.

How is the crab roe used?

The roe is rubbed fine on a board with a little cold butter and added at the same time as the flour to the butter mixture.

How is the dish served?

The stew should be fairly firm and is filled into cleaned, trimmed crab shells. Brush with beaten egg, drizzle over melted butter, and sprinkle with sifted rusk crumbs, then bake in a hot oven until the surface is light golden brown. Served in the shells on a platter with a napkin.

Where does the recipe come from?

From Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), page 153. For 4 servings, about 45 minutes.

Stewed Crab – recipe from 1914

Name: Stewed Crab
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 35 g butter; 25 g wheat flour; 4 dl soured cream (or sweet cream with 1 tsp vinegar added); 0.5 dl sherry; 300 g crab meat (about 1 small deep plateful, from boiled crab); crab roe (from the crabs); cayenne pepper (to taste); salt (to taste); 1 pcs egg (beaten, for brushing); 2 tbsp melted butter (for drizzling); 3 tbsp rusk crumbs (crushed and sifted)

About the dish

Stewed crab served in the shells, from the fish chapter of "Stor kokebok" (1914). The dish comes right after the basic recipe for boiled crab and is a typical "starter in the shell" from the bourgeois cooking of the time.

How to make it

1
Stir the beurre manié
Stir butter and flour together in a pot.
2
Prepare the roe
Rub the roe fine on a board with just a little cold butter.
3
Thin the stew
Thin the butter-and-flour mixture with the soured cream (or sweet cream with 1 tsp vinegar). Add the roe at the same time as the flour and let the stew cook through well.
4
Season
Add salt and cayenne pepper, stir in the crab meat, and lastly the sherry. The stew should be fairly firm.
5
Fill the shells
Trim the edges of the cleaned shells, wash and dry them with a cloth, and fill them with the stew.
6
Gratinate
Brush with beaten egg, drizzle over melted butter, and sprinkle over crushed, sifted rusk crumbs. Bake in a hot oven (about 225 °C (435 °F)) until light golden brown on top.
7
Serve
Served in the shells, placed on a platter with a napkin.

Changes from the original

The amount of sherry was illegible in the OCR and is set at 1/2 dl. "1 small deep plateful of crab meat" is estimated at about 300 g. Deciliters replace "del.," rusk crumbs are retained (can be replaced with dry breadcrumbs). Oven temperature is given (about 225 °C (435 °F)), and the method is divided into numbered steps.

Original 1914 recipe

Verbatim from the first edition of the Big Cookbook.

Facsimile of the 1914 page at the National Library of Norway — Foto: Faksimile: Nasjonalbiblioteket

ProofreadPage 153

35 gr. smør 25 gr. hvetemel 4 del. sur fløte 1/2 del. sherry cayenne salt 1 liten dyp tallerkenfuld krabbekjøt. Smør og mel røres sammen, spædes med fløten; i mangel av sur fløte tages søt fløte og 1 teske eddik. Rognen gnides fin paa en fjæl med ganske litt koldt smør. Rognen haves i samtidig med melet. Stuingen tilsættes krydderier og krabbekjøttet og tilsidst vinen. Skallene beskjæres om kanten, vaskes, tørres med et klæde, fyldes med stuingen, som maa være temmelig fast, bestrykes med pisket egg, dryppes med smeltet smør og drysses over med støtt, sigtet kavring. Sættes i varm ovn og stekes lysegulbrune ovenpaa. Serveres i skallene, som lægges paa fat med serviet.

Revised 1949 recipe

From the revised edition of the Big Cookbook.

Facsimile of the 1949 page at the National Library of Norway — Foto: Faksimile: Nasjonalbiblioteket

ProofreadPage 180

Krabbe, stuet. 35 gr. smør 25 gr. hvetemel 4 del. sur fløte 1/2 del. hvitvin kajenne salt. I liten dyp tallerkenfull krabbekjøtt. Smør og mel røres sammen, spes med fløten; i mangel av sur fløte tas søt fløte og 1 teskje eddik. Rognen gnis fin på en fjel med ganske litt koldt smør. Rognen has i samtidig med melet. Stuingen tilsettes krydderier og krabbekjøttet og tilsist vinen. Skallene beskjæres om kanten, vaskes, tørres med et klæde, fylles med stuingen, som må være temmelig fast, bestrykes med pisket egg, dryppes med smeltet smør og drysses over med støtt, siktet kavring. Settes i varm ovn og stekes lysegulbrune ovenpå. Serveres i skallene. Retten kan også serveres i formen; da helles gelé øverst i formen efterat massen er stivnet. Over massen pyntes da med krepsehaler, trøfler og kjørvelblade, og et tynt lag fiskegelé helles over.

Stewed Crab

About the dish

How to make it

Changes from the original

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