The Art of Making Croquettes

Every once in awhile, one wants to do something just a little more special when one has chicken, turkey, or even tuna or salmon. I have found that making croquettes are an answer to turning an otherwise boring meal into something wonderful, and croquettes are great to make and solving the problem if one has a lot of leftover chicken or turkey in particular.

In making croquettes, one of the main basic ingredients is to make the basic white sauce, and for croquettes, it is recommended that one uses the "thick" kind of white sauce to bind the mixture together. Many recipes for croquettes will actually call for using a can of cream of mushroom soup for the "sauce" part, however, I prefer the white sauce method instead.

The recipe for the Basic Thick White Sauce is:

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1⁄8 teaspoon pepper

Important note: For the croquettes, it's recommended to double the recipe to make 2-cups worth of white sauce

Chicken or Turkey Croquettes:

3½ cups cooked chicken or turkey, very finely chopped
2 cups Thick White Sauce,
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon onion, finely minced
1 tablespoon green pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
2 cups breadcrumbs

Combine chicken or turkey, white sauce, add the lemon juice, onion, green pepper, parsley and seasonings to taste and blend ingredients all together in a bowl. Place bowl in refrigerator to chill for at least an hour in order to make mixture more firm to handle. Once chilled, take mixture and shape into even sized cylinder, cone or any other shape desired, such as patties, and roll croquettes into breadcrumbs, placing the croquettes on a small cookie sheet. Beat the egg slightly in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of water, and dip each shaped croquette into the egg mixture, then again into breadcrumbs, coating evenly and let stand for at least 15 to 20 minutes on cookie sheet again. You may wish to place the cookie sheet with the croquettes on them in the refrigerator again to chill. Deep fry croquettes in oil for about 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown and crispy. With slotted spoon remove croquettes from oil and drain excess oil from croquettes by placing them on a paper-toweled plate.
Serve Croquettes with Medium White Sauce
Makes up to 6 croquettes

Medium White Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (optional)

In saucepan, slowly melt the butter so as to not burn, then add the flour and blend in with a wire whisk. Slowly add the milk, constantly blending with the whisk to eliminate any lumpiness.
If you wish to have a slightly cheddar cheese taste to the white sauce add the grated cheddar cheese and continue blending into the white sauce mixture. You may need to add just a little more milk to return the white sauce to it's medium sauce thickness as the added cheese thickens the sauce.
Pour even portions of the sauce over croquettes and serve.

Croquette filling Substitutions:

Croquettes can actually be made with other fillings as well, not just chicken or turkey, such as tuna or salmon.

Tuna or Salmon Croquettes:

Ingredients:

3 to 4 7-oz. cans of tuna, or 2 large cans of salmon, drained
2 cups Thick White Sauce,
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon onion, finely minced
1 tablespoon green pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley
½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
2 cups breadcrumbs

In a colander, drain tuna or salmon of liquid and rinse under cold water. In a bowl, place either tuna or salmon and break up the chunks of either for easier handling. Combine either the tuna or salmon, white sauce, add the lemon juice, onion, green pepper, parsley and seasonings to taste and blend ingredients all together in a bowl. Place bowl in refrigerator to chill for at least an hour in order to make mixture more firm to handle. Once chilled, take mixture and shape into even sized cylinder, cone or any other shape desired, such as patties, and roll croquettes into breadcrumbs, placing the croquettes on a small cookie sheet. Beat the egg slightly in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of water, and dip each shaped croquette into the egg mixture, then again into breadcrumbs, coating evenly and let stand for at least 15 to 20 minutes on cookie sheet again. You may wish to place the cookie sheet with the croquettes on them in the refrigerator again to chill. Deep fry croquettes in oil for about 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. With slotted spoon remove croquettes from oil and drain excess oil from croquettes by placing them on a paper-toweled plate.
Serve Croquettes with Medium White Sauce
Makes up to 6 croquettes