Egg Croquettes Recipes

EGG CROQUETTES

Steps:

• Peel and chop hard-boiled eggs.
• Melt butter in a double boiler; add flour and stir until blended.
• Add milk and seasonings; cook until mixture is thickened.
• Remove from heat and add hard-cooked eggs.
• Set aside to cool.
• Preheat oil to 365°F.
• When cold, shape egg mixture into croquettes; roll in cracker crumbs, dip in egg and again in crumbs.
• Fry in fat until golden (approximately 5 minutes).

CHICKEN CROQUETTES

Steps:

• For the croquette batter: In a heavy pot, heat the milk and chicken stock on the stove and then add the white pepper, fresh parsley and salt, if needed. In a separate heavy pot, melt the butter and add the minced celery. Stir in the flour and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the hot milk and stock and stir until thickened and smooth. Fold in the chicken meat and allow to cool.
• Breading the croquettes: Shape 3-ounce portions of croquette batter in the shape of a cone and place on a tray lined with waxed paper. Next make an egg wash from the milk, eggs and salt. Dip the croquettes in the egg wash and then into the flour and let stand a few minutes. Finish breading by dipping the croquettes back in the egg wash and then rolling in breadcrumbs.
• For the chicken gravy: Melt the butter in a 1- or 2-quart saucepan, and stir in the flour. Pour in the stock and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 20 minutes. Add the fresh parsley, white pepper and salt, to taste, (if fresh stock was used).
• Cooking the croquettes: Fry the croquettes in a pot with salad oil or liquid shortening, heated to 350 degrees F, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain well and blot on paper towels. Place on a bed of mashed potatoes and top each croquette with chicken gravy.

EGGPLANT CROQUETTES

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium-high 3 minutes. Turn eggplant over and microwave another 2 minutes. The eggplant should be tender, cook another 2 minutes if the eggplants are not tender. Drain any liquid from the eggplants and mash.
• Combine cheese, bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, onion, garlic and salt with the mashed eggplant. Mix well.
• Shape the eggplant mixture into patties. Heat oil in a large skillet. Drop eggplant patties one at a time into skillet. Fry each side of the patties until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes on each side. Patties can be frozen before frying and cooked later.

SMOKY EGGPLANT CROQUETTES

Steps:

• Place the whole eggplants directly on the burner grids of the stovetop, and turn the flames to high. Let each eggplant start to blister, and steam, and char, turning each one a quarter turn every 3 or 4 minutes, until softened and hissing inside, the skins utterly blackened and cracked, and the flesh collapsing, 12 to 15 minutes. (You could also blister them under the broiler, set on an aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet a couple of inches from the heat and cook until charred all over.)
• Remove the eggplants to a bowl. Cover with a lid or overturned bowl, and let them rest until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes. Give this the time it takes; it will help with peeling them later and also lets them steep in their smoky juices. You can do this step ahead and let them cool in the refrigerator overnight as well, to be peeled the next day, which works beautifully.
• Remove the scorched, carbonized skin from the soft, cooked-through eggplant. Discard all the black, bitter charred bits.
• Strain the remaining eggplant, and save all the viscous smoky liquid that accumulates. I usually "rinse" the peeled eggplants in this strained liquid to remove any lingering flakes or chips of charred skin from the eggplant flesh. (Sometimes people are tempted to run the eggplant under the faucet for a second to remove the flecks, but using the liquid in the bowl is much better at retaining flavor.)
• Chop the flesh to a fine dice, and place in a bowl. (I generally never remove the seeds unless I have bought an intensely loaded eggplant, in which case I'll remove them if the seed sacs are pronounced and distracting.)
• Stir in 3 tablespoons of the reserved smoky liquid, and the olive oil, then Microplane the garlic into the mixture. Season with salt, and stir well until the mixture is a bit creamy. Taste, and season to your palate by adding a few more drops of the smoky liquid or a few more of olive oil. I like mine rather smoky, rather salty, rather unctuous.
• Spread the eggplant mixture into an 8-inch square, about 1/2-inch thick, on a quarter sheet pan lined with a quarter-cut Silpat mat. Most people will not have these two things, so alternatively you can form a neat square or rectangle on a cookie sheet, or spoon the mixture into generally quenelled shapes onto a cookie sheet. Freeze overnight.
• Prepare the croquettes: Set up a standard breading procedure of three containers: flour, egg and water mixture, and the ground panko.
• Cut the frozen block of smoky eggplant into 2-inch squares, or batons or planks if you prefer. Refreeze for a bit if needed after cutting; they tend to defrost rather quickly. Bread each piece with care, dipping in flour, egg mixture then panko, leaving no bald spots, and refreeze the finished, breaded croquettes. (These can live in your freezer for months.)
• Add enough neutral oil to a deep-sided sauté pan to reach a depth of 1 1/2 to 2 inches, and heat over medium until shimmering, or when a thermometer reads 350 degrees. Working in batches, fry the frozen croquettes until golden on all sides and piping hot in the center, raising and lowering the heat under the oil accordingly. Adding frozen products to hot oil brings the temperature down, as does crowding, so it is up to the cook to control the temperature of the fry oil accordingly. Remove cooked croquettes with a slotted spoon, and drain on a baker's rack to maintain crispness (rather than a paper towel or plate, which will encourage steaming and sogginess).
• Sprinkle with a little salt while still very hot, and serve with a squeeze of lemon.

MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER'S HAM CROQUETTES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix ham, egg, mayonnaise, and half the breadcrumbs together in a bowl; shape into 6 meatballs. Spread the remaining breadcrumbs onto a plate; roll the balls in the breadcrumbs to coat. Arrange the balls in a baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

EGG, ONION, AND APPLE CROQUETTES

Steps:

• To make the croquettes:
• In a large bowl combine well the hard-boiled eggs, the onion, the apple, the béchamel, the cumin, the lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste and chill the mixture for 30 minutes. Form the mixture in 1-inch balls, dip the balls in raw eggs, shaking off the excess, and roll them in the bread crumbs, transferring the croquettes as they are made to a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Chill the croquettes, covered loosely, for 1 hour. In a deep fryer or heavy deep skillet heat 2 inches of the oil to 350°F. and in it fry the croquettes in batches, turning them and transferring them to paper towels to drain with a slotted spoon as they are done, for about 2 minutes, or until they are golden. In a small bowl stir together the applesauce and the horseradish. Serve the croquettes with the sauce.
• To make the sauce:
• In a saucepan cook the onion in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until it is softened. Stir in the flour and cook the roux, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a stream, whisking vigorously until the mixture is thick and smooth, add the salt and the white pepper, and simmer the sauce for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is thickened to the desired consistency. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl and cover the surface with a buttered round or wax paper to prevent a skin from forming. Makes about 2 1/4 cups.