Often served as tapas, croquetas are most well known as a Spanish dish. This recipe comes from my Cuban influence. The best Cuban ham croquettes I’ve had on the west coast were at Felix Continental Cafe in downtown Orange, California. Dip these into a side of Cuban mojo and you’ll be in heaven.

Filling

4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups room temperature milk
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
4 cups of smoked ground ham, about one pound
1 cup dry bread crumbs
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Coating

2 eggs, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil

In a large pan sauté the butter and onions until the onions are translucent. Slowly stir in the flour and make a roux. The roux needs to be very smooth with all the flour dissolved. Add more butter if necessary. Gradually whisk in the milk. Continue cooking until the sauce thickens. The sauce needs to be very thick. Add the nutmeg, sherry, and parsley. Fold in the ham and bread crumbs. If you can’t find ground ham, you can finely mince it yourself or grind it in a food processor. Allow the mixture to simmer for five minutes on low heat. Taste the mix and season with salt and pepper if necessary. The ham has quite a bit of salt in it already, so be careful. Spoon the mixture into a baking pan and refrigerate at least one hour. The mixture needs to be firm enough to form into rolls. If your mixture is too soft or sticky, add some additional bread crumbs.

Shape the ham mixture into three inch long logs, ¾-inch thick. Make an egg wash by beating the eggs with water until frothy in a small bowl. Combine the bread crumbs, flour, salt and pepper in a second bowl. Dip the logs in the egg wash and roll the logs in the seasoned bread crumbs. Dip the rolls in the egg wash a second time and re-roll in bread crumbs. Cover logs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two to three hours. This is very important!

Sauté the croquettes in hot vegetable oil, a few at a time, for three to four minutes, turning occasionally until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. You can also deep fry them if you like. Serve immediately.

One variation of these croquettes is making them with chicken. You can easily substitute a pound of cooked chicken for the ham, white or dark meat, or a combination. Finely mince the chicken or grind it in a food processor. Add a dash of fresh lime juice to the chicken. You can also grind in a small handful of chopped cilantro instead of the parsley for a nice flavor twist.

One Response to “Croquetas de Jamón (Ham Croquettes)”

1. Yolanda says:

   May 25, 2006 at 2:02 pm

   Great recipes and pictures, you wil have to try the croquetas from Spain that I make, usually chicken and jamon serrano. I don’t used the flour for coating only bread crubms and couple beaten eggs. I usually shaped the filling with two tablespoons, then I dip it on the eggs, then dip it on the bread crumbs and fry it on olive oil, I made like 4 or 5 before I have the oil hot bcs it burns very easy. I think from dipping the croquetas mix on the crumbs first you avoid bread crumbs burn all over the oil in the pan. I used to drain the oil while frying croquetas bcs I ended up with brown oil in the pan from all the burn from the bread crumbs.

   Good job and hope I can taste on day your cooking.

   Yolanda Ruiz-Gibson