Original 1914 recipe
Verbatim from the first edition of the Big Cookbook.

Erken's basic technique for singeing poultry: salt in a pan, 1–2 tbsp denatured alcohol lit, and the plucked bird kept moving over the flame until down and pinfeathers can be removed. Small birds are singed several at a time on a long stick.
Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 259 (falt i det fri)
The introductory section of the chapter on poultry and game, where Erken describes how a bird should be handled after slaughter: poultry should hang for 1–6 days but be plucked immediately while still warm. After plucking, the bird is singed free of down and pinfeathers.
Prepare the flame
Place a little salt in a pan (preferably a frying pan you can clean afterward). Pour 1–2 tablespoons of denatured alcohol over the salt and light it. A gas torch can be used instead.
Singe the bird
Hold the bird by the wings and legs and keep it constantly moving over the flame, so that the flame only touches the bird lightly and does not burn it.
Continue until the down is gone
Continue singeing until all the down is gone and the pinfeathers have crept out, so they can easily be removed with a pointed knife or, best, a strawberry huller.
Remember the plucking
Feathers left behind after careless plucking must be pulled out, not singed off – otherwise the bird gets an unpleasant smell of burnt feathers.
Small birds
To singe small birds, set 4–5 of them on a long stick with a little space between each one. Hold each end of the stick, pass it over the flame, and turn it now and then.
Finishing
Rub the bird with a cloth. Cut off the head – on wild ducks and some small birds the head is often left on – and push the skin at the neck aside. Clean the pan well and grease it with fat after use.
The technique is set out as a step-by-step recipe. "Denatureret spiritus" is kept as denatured alcohol (methylated spirits), but a modern alternative (gas torch) is mentioned in the steps. Quantities given in tablespoons.
Original 1914 recipe
Verbatim from the first edition of the Big Cookbook.

Revised 1949 recipe
From the revised edition of the Big Cookbook.

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