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The best recipe for quick and easy ham croquettes
Ham croquettes are the star dish of Spanish gastronomy, second only to the potato omelette. With a crunchy texture on the outside and a creamy interior full of flavour, they are the perfect accompaniment to any meal or even a main dish on their own, the perfect tapa. However, if what we are looking for is to make our own croquettes at home but we are not a prodigy in the kitchen, this is our recipe.
We start with the most important thing, the choice of a good ham, we have opted for a Teruel DOP Ham, because if the ham is of good quality, we already have 50% of success assured.
Teruel's Ham is one of the star products of Aragonese gastronomy and has the Protected Designation of Origin (DOP), which guarantees its origin and superior quality. This ham has the particularity of being made with a natural curing of 24 months, which gives it an intense flavour, ideal for this. Once the basics have been explained, let's get to what interests us, the recipe.
Ingredients
To prepare these amazing Teruel Ham croquettes, you will need the following ingredients:
For the croquette dough
- 150 g of Teruel Ham DOP, cut into small pieces
- 100 g of butter
- 100 g of wheat flour
- 1 litre of whole milk
- 1 small onion (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Nutmeg to taste
For the batter
- 2 eggs
- Wheat flour
- Breadcrumbs
- Extra virgin olive oil, for frying.
Step-by-step preparation of the dough
First step: Infuse the milk
This step is optional, but if you want your ham croquettes to be perfect, we recommend not skipping it. Pour half a litre of milk into a pot, which we will later use for the bechamel sauce. Place a whole ham bone in it and boil this mixture for about 20 minutes over a medium heat. Then let it sit for two hours or more, preferably overnight before making the croquettes, so that the milk absorbs all the flavour and aroma of the ham. This step is not complicated, you just have to let the ham bone and milk infuse.
Preparation of bechamel sauce
The next step in making our croquettes is to prepare the dough base. In a large frying pan, melt the 100 grams of butter over a medium heat. If you want to give your croquettes a softer, sweeter touch, add a small, finely chopped onion and fry it until it becomes transparent. This step is optional, as some ham croquette recipes do not use onion, but it will add a nice nuance.
Once you have the butter melted and the onion browned (if you have decided to use it), add the flour all at once. Stir well with a whisk so that the flour cooks and loses its raw flavour, this should take about 3-4 minutes. When we see that the flour begins to have a yellowish colour, we will know that it is ready.
Start adding the infused milk little by little, stirring constantly. It is best to add it in small quantities, making sure that it is well absorbed before adding more. The most important thing about this step is to stir constantly with the whisk to prevent lumps from forming and thus obtain a smooth and perfect bechamel.
It is time to add the ham. Since it is a top quality ham, it is not necessary to cook it for a long time, since its flavor intensifies in the process. Add the pieces of ham to the mixture and mix well so that they are evenly distributed.
Finally, add salt and pepper to taste, and if you want a touch of nutmeg.
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Chill the dough
Once all the ingredients are well combined, remove the dough from the heat and transfer it to a tray or dish. Spread the dough out evenly and cover it with cling film, making sure the cling film touches the surface of the dough to prevent a crust from forming.
Leave the dough to rest in the fridge for at least 4 hours, although ideally overnight. This will allow the dough to gain consistency and make it easier to handle when forming the croquettes.
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Make the croquettes
Once the dough is cold and compact, it's time to shape our croquettes. Take small portions of the dough with a tablespoon and shape them into a cylinder or round, whichever is easier for you.
Next, prepare three plates: one with flour, another with beaten eggs and the last with breadcrumbs. Pass each croquette first through the flour, then through the egg and finally through the breadcrumbs, making sure they are well covered.
The last step is to fry the croquettes. To do this, heat plenty of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the croquettes in small batches, making sure they are golden on all sides. This step is quick, you will only need a few minutes to get them perfectly crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.
Some final recommendations:
- You can freeze the croquettes before frying them. This will help them not to fall apart with the heat of the oil and keep their shape.
- Add a sheet of gelatin to the bechamel if you want to get an even creamier batter that is easy to coat when cold.
- Teruel Ham DOP is the star ingredient in this recipe, but you can combine it with other ingredients such as cured cheese to give it an extra touch of flavour.
