Croquetas (Ham and other Variations)

 

Many countries have their own version of croquettes. But the Cuban croquetta is simple and very popular at large gatherings. A typical croquetta is made with a béchamel sauce base and a meat. The recipe given below is for the traditional ham coquetta, which can serve as a basic recipe for all different varieties, which are also listed below. There are other unique croquetta recipes which I will make as separate posts later.

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HAM CROQUETAS (and other Variations)

Time: about 3 hours (including 2 hours cooling time)
Makes approximately 20-40, depending on size

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. onion (about ¼ onion)
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup flour
½ tsp. salt
⅛ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cooking wine (vino seco)
2 cups ground ham
2 eggs
1 cup cracker meal 

 

Prep:

• In a blender, blend the milk, flour, salt, and pepper together for a few seconds
• Grait the onion until you have 1 tsp. This is a little less that 1/4 of the onion.
• Use a food processor to grind the ham
  

Directions:

• In a saucepan, melt the butter at low heat and fry the onion
• Add the blended milk, flour, salt, and pepper mixture to the pan
• Cook the sauce on low, stirring constantly until it thickens up into a dough and the bottom of the pan is visible when running a spoon through it
• Remove from heat, then add the cooking wine and ground ham. Stir until well incorporated.
• Place dough onto a plate or bowl with flat surface, then let cool in refrigerator for about 2 hours (or overnight)
• When ready to cook, scoop about a tablespoon (more or less) of the dough and use hands to form into croqueta shape
• Coat each in beaten eggs and cracker meal. This should be done twice.
• Allow to cool to room temperature before frying, about 5 minutes
• Fry at 375°F for about 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown
• Allow to cool slighty.
  

Other Variations:

• Chicken Croquetas: Substitute 2 cups of ground cooked chicken in place of the ham. Add an additional ½ tsp. salt and ⅛ tsp. nutmeg to the sauce. 
• Ham and Chicken Croquetas: Use 1 cup on ground ham and 1 cup ground cooked chicken.  
• Fish or Shellfish Croquetas: Substitute 2 cups ground boiled fish or shellfish in place of the ham. Add 1 tsp. seafood seasoning to add more flavor.  
• Meat Croquetas: Substitute 2 cups ground cooked beef or pork in place of the ham. Add an additional ½ tsp. salt to the sause. If you use beef for stew (chuck), add 1 tsp. Maggi seasoning sauce for additional flavor.  
• Hardboiled Egg Croquetas: Substitute 2 cups diced hardboiled egg in place of the ham. Add an additional 1 tsp. salt to the sauce.  
• Ham and Egg Croquetas: Use 1 cup ground ham and 1 cup diced hardboiled egg. Add an additional ½ tsp. salt to the sauce.
• Rice Croquetas: Substitute 2 cups cooked rice in place of the ham. Add 1 can deviled ham to the sauce. This is a great way to make use of leftover rice.

Notes & Comments:

• These were really fun to make. Will definitely play around with the variations in the future.
• Blending the milk and flour step is inconvenient, and it leave a somewhat floury taste. It's better to make a roux by adding the flour directly to the butter and onion and allowing it to cook until it starts to brown slightly. Then add the milk, salt and pepper and mix well until thickens.
• Some people blend the ham/meat in the food processor to a paste. But I personally like the small chunks. Also, using fresh deli ham might be better than the generic pre-packaged diced ham.
• You can fry in a pan or deep fryer. If using a pan, make sure to have enough oil to immerse the croquetas completely.
  
• Although you can buy cracker meal, it's very easy to make your own: grab a sleeve of saltine crackers, smash the bag slightly, pour contents into a blender, and blend for about 10 seconds.
  
• I personally would add a little bit more salt and vino seco.
  
• I heard that coating your hands in olive oils make rolling the dough into croquetta shapes a lot easier.
• The rolling and coating part is fun and could be a fun activity to do with a few people.
  
• You can freeze the croquettas after coating them and fry them at any time.
  
• These tasted better cold the next day in my opinion.
  

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Receta Original:

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CROQUETAS

 

            Las croquetas que se hacen a base de salsa bechamel son todas parecidas. La receta que le damos a continacios puede servirle de receta basia pada todas las croquetas de este tipo.

 

CROQUETAS DE JAMON

 

4 cdas. mantequilla

1 cdta. de cebolla

1 taza de leche

¾ taza de harina

½ cdta. de sal

⅛ cdta. de pimienta

1 cdta. vino seco

 

2 tazas de jamon molido

 

2 huevos

1 taza de galleta molida

 

            Caliente la mantequilla y sofría ligeramente la cebolla picadita. Anadale la leche “osterizada” con la harina, sal y pimienta. Cocine la salsa a fuego lento revolviendo constantemente hasta que tenga espesor de crema doble y se vea el fondo de la cecerola al mover la crema con la cuchasa. Bajela del fuego. Anada el vino seco y jamos. Revuelvalo todo bien. Vierta la mesa en una fuente o plato llano y déjela refrescar antes de guardarla en el refrigerador. Deje enfriar bien la masa por lo menos un par de horas antes de hacer las croquetas.

            Tome la masa por cucharadas, dele forma de croquetas y envuélvalas dos veces en huevo batido y galleta molida. Dejelas permanecer un rato a la temperatura ambiente antes de freírlas. Frialas a 375°F hasta que estén doraditas. Salen unas 20 croquetas de tamaño mediano ó 40 chiquitas como para saladitos.

 

Croquetas de pollo:

            Use 2 taza de masa de pollo cocinado y molida en lugar de jamon. Anadale ½ cucharaditas mas de sal a la salsa y ⅛ cucharadita de nuez moscada.

 

Croquetas de pollo y jamon:

            Use 1 taza de jamon y 1 taza de nada de pollo cocinada.

 

Croquetas de pescado o mariscos:

            Use 2 taza de masa de pescado o marisco hervido en lugar de jamon. Anadale a la crema 1 cucharadita de polvos para mariscos y quedaran mas sabrosas.

 

Croquetas de carne:

            Use 2 taza de carne de res o puerco cocinada y molida en lugar de jamon. Anadale ½ cucharaditas mas de sal a la crema. Si usa falda de la sopa las croquetas quedaran mas sabrosas si le anade a la crema una cucharadita de jugo Maggi.

 

Croquetas de huevo:

            Use 2 tazas de huevos duros picaditos en lugar de jamón. Añádale una cucharadita mas de sal a la crema.

 

Croquetas de huevo y jamon:

            Use 1 taza de jamón molido y 1 taza de huevos duros picaditos. Añádale media cucharadita más de sal a la crema.

 

Croquetas de arroz:

            Use 2 tazas de arroz cocinado en lugar de jamón. Añádale a la crema el contenido de una latica de jamón del diablo. Esta es una manera muy sabrosa de aprovechar el arroz sobrante de una comida anterior.