Croquetas De Jamon Spanish Ham Croquettes Recipes

CROQUETAS DE JAMON (SPANISH HAM CROQUETTES)

Steps:

• Melt butter and oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat.
• Add the flour and stir to moisten it completely. Sauté the flour until it begins to turn a light brown color 2-3 min.
• Add the milk a little by a little, stirring constantly to incorporate each addition, until you have added it all. (At first, it will look like you won't be able to get a smooth sauce, but continue working your sauce with a rubber spatula as you add a little milk at a time and it will smooth out.) Reduce the heat to medium low as needed, if your milk seems to scald before you can mix it into the roux. Continue heating the mixture as needed until it is creamy, thick, and smooth.
• Add the diced ham and nutmeg. Mix well.
• Taste your mixture and add salt as necessary.
• Remove your mixture from the heat and let it cool slightly
• Transfer the croqueta dough into a casserole dish and cover it with plastic wrap (or a lid). Refrigerate the dough overnight.
• Place the beaten egg in a shallow bowl. Place the breadcrumbs in a second, wide bowl.
• (We found it easiest to shape all the croquettas first and then bread them. But, if you have extra hands in the kitchen, now is a good time to employ their help, assembly-line-style.)
• Working with roughly 2 Tbsp of dough at a time, shape the chilled dough into little, fat thumbs. (Your hands will get sticky while shaping the dough. Keeping them lightly floured helps to cut down on the stickiness.)
• Dip each croqueta, one at a time, in the beaten egg, turning to coat.
• Then, roll it in the breadcrumbs, pressing to coat.
• Place the breaded croquetas on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once all the croquetas are breaded, place your baking sheet in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, to firm them up slightly.
• At this point you can heat ½ inch of vegetable oil over med high heat in a shallow skillet. (When you drop a little flour or bread crumbs into the oil and they sizzle, the oil is ready.)
• Fry your chilled croquetas in batches, making sure not to crowd the oil, 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
• Remove the croquetas from the frying pan and place them on a paper towel lined platter to cool slightly.
• Serve warm!
• Once the croquetas are frozen solid, transfer them to an airtight container until you are ready to fry them up.
• To fry your croquetas from well-frozen, let them thaw on the counter for 10-15 minutes before frying.

CROQUETAS DE JAMON RECIPE - SPANISH HAM CROQUETTES

Steps:

• Heat up four tablespoons (around 60 grams) of unsalted butter and 1/4 cup (about 60 milliliters) of extra virgin olive oil in a pan. Keep the flame low and let the butter meltdown before adding anything else.
• Once the butter is completely melted and hot, add one medium-sized onion (very finely diced) to the pan. Sauté for about five to six minutes and move on to the next step as soon as the onion slices start to gain some color.
• Once the onion shows some color, add a pinch of salt and nutmeg to the pan and mix everything thoroughly.
• Add the finely diced Serrano ham to the pan. Mix everything again and cook the ham for a maximum of one minute. Keep stirring the pan to ensure nothing gets burnt.
• Add one cup of flour (approximately 120 grams) to the mixture and sauté everything constantly to avoid any unnecessary burns.
• Keep stirring the mixture repeatedly to cook the flour as much as possible, while also not burning it. Once the paste starts showing a creamy brown color, it is time to add milk to the paste.
• Add a bit of milk to the brownish paste and mix everything again.
• Continue adding milk to the paste little by little every time for the next 15-20 minutes to thicken the paste. Each time the mixture in your pan dries up, add more milk to it. Stir constantly all the time you're adding more and more milk until the dough is creamy and thick enough.
• Pour the dough into a large bowl and let it cool down to room temperature. Afterwards, cover the bowl with plastic wrap (directly over the dough) and store it in the fridge for at least four hours. For better results and taste, leave the paste covered with plastic wrap in the fridge overnight.
• When the croquette dough is thick and cold, begin forming small croquette logs and place them on a plate.
• Prepare three separate bowls with flour, beaten eggs, and bread crumbs respectively. Start by cover the croquettes one by one in flour, then eggs, and then bread crumbs.
• Heat up extra virgin olive oil and ensure it gets hot, but not too hot or the croquettes will burn. Start heavy frying the croquettes and do NOT forget to turn them around so that they get evenly brown on all sides.
• Once they are nicely fried, remove the croquettes from the pan and drain on paper towels to let them soak up all the extra oil and cool down. Once cool enough, you can begin enjoying these delicious bites with your friends and family.

CROQUETAS DE JAMON: HAM CROQUETTES

Steps:

• In large saute pan, saute ham, onions, peppers, and garlic. Add tomato paste and caramelize. Add parsley, nutmeg, and heavy cream. Sprinkle with 1/2 the flour.
• Season, cool, and grind in meat grinder. Shape into finger sized sticks or patties. Bread using remaining flour, egg, and cracker meal.
• Heat a saute pan filled 1-inch with canola oil to 375 degrees F. Fry the croquettes until golden brown.

CROQUETAS DE JAMON (HAM CROQUETTES)

Steps:

• Make your bechamel sauce by first melting olive oil and butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Add flour to melted butter and mix well with whisk.
• Add 1/2 cup milk to saucepan and increase heat to medium-high.
• Stir constantly to avoid burning, and cook for about 5 minutes or until bechamel has thickened.
• Reduce head to medium and cook for another 10 minutes to allow bechamel to thicken fully.
• Add minced ham and season lightly with salt (as ham is already salty).
• Blend evenly and transfer mixture to a lightly oiled 8 inch shallow dish. Ensure the mixture is even all across.
• Refrigerate mixture at least 2 hours, but overnight is best.
• To make croquetas, shape the chilled ham mixture either with two tablespoons or your hands into a cylindrical shape about the length of your thumb or forefinger.
• Break eggs into a bowl and whisk. Put breadcrumbs seasoned with salt only, if you really want to season breadcrumbs, on a plate.
• Heat oil in a large pan over medium to medium-high heat.
• Dip croquetas into egg and roll in breadcrumbs; do this twice to double-coat them.
• After all croquetas have been assembled, refrigerate them for 30 minutes before frying.
• Fry each croqueta until golden brown and put on paper towel-lined plate. As you cook, you can keep them warm in a low oven.
• I like to eat these alone, or maybe with some steamed white rice and black beans. I hope you enjoy!