Making horchata quickly like this eliminates the need to soak the rice the previous night. It is simple and delicious!
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Additional Time: | 2 hrs |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 45 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
| Yield: | 16 servings |
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 2 cups finely chopped, cooked chicken meat
- ½ cup finely chopped ham
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, or as needed for dredging
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups bread crumbs
- 2 cups vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir until onions begin to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup flour and cook until flour loses its raw taste, 3 or 4 minutes. Add black pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper; stir. Remove from heat.
- Pour milk into butter-onion mixture to make the bechamel sauce. Whisk until incorporated. Return pan to medium-high heat and continue whisking until mixture thickens, 1 or 2 minutes; continue to cook and stir 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in salt.
- Place chopped chicken, ham, and parsley in bowl. Add bechamel sauce and mix thoroughly. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 2 or 3 hours.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Place 1 cup flour, beaten eggs, and bread crumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls.
- Scoop out chilled mixture into evenly-sized portions (about the size of a golf ball) to form croquettes. Roll balls first in flour, then in beaten eggs, and then in bread crumbs.
- Fry croquettes in batches until crispy, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels and transfer to rack.
- We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. Amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and specific type of oil used.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 248 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 21 g |
| Cholesterol | 58 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 11 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 335 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 13 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Yum! This is deliciously decadent. After reading the ingredient list and watching the video, you know that it will taste good but the end result surpassed good. I used leftover grilled chicken and local cured ham. The size of the chicken and ham is very important in the final texture so I will take more time to get it exactly right next time. Also, I refrigerated overnight and left out to warm up a bit. I should have rolled them when cold and maybe even rechilled before dredging. It would have been easier and had better results. I paired with garlic aioli with a little cayenne. I froze the leftovers to reheat in the air fryer for an easy appetizer. Thanks, Chef John!
It’s tough to overstate how totally happy I was to find and successfully make this recipe! I lived in Spain for many years and have never been able to make croquetas well. This recipe is excellent. The only change I made was to reduce the milk to two cups and omit the ham. Although I intend to make these again with jamon serrano instead of regular cooked ham. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe!!
More time and work that you’d think, but they are impressive. I fried in an inch or so of oil in a pot, using an infrared thermometer to make sure the temp was right. They are just as good put in the fridge and fried the next day. It makes enough for 4 people, so 1/2 the batch are getting frozen. Chef John’s ‘real aoili’ was great with these, but super difficult to make. See his recipe for Crispy Pork Cutlets for some breading tips that could apply to this recipe.
Gave them a four because I haven’t tried them yet. They look great! I’m going to try them in the air-fryer. I think they would be better this way, creamy instead of dry. It is better to have more gravy in chicken pie than have it dry, so why not the same with croquettes?
I have made the recipe. This is my third time but with turkey. Confirming that yes, Chef John, this recipe is a thing.
I was very pleased with the recipe. I made them slightly less creamy. Very tasty. Thanks Chef John. You inform and entertain. Kudos!!!
Muy delicioso pero a little fussy.
Very nice
I had never heard of these before, let alone made or ate them. They are delicious! I did reduce the butter to 6T and 1 2/3 milk (buttermilk) as Chef John suggested.
OK, I did make a couple changes to this. I didn’t add the nutmeg or cayenne and added 2 cups of milk instead of 2.5. I silly enough didn’t take his advice on the food processor…I DID use one for the chicken and while it made it SOOOO much easier, I should’ve gone for the chopped chicken. Regardless of what I did to the recipe, everyone LOVED it! I will be making it again and probably will keep changing it as I go but, this is a great base recipe.
I had searched for a recipe for chicken croquettes. I remember Them from my childhood. This was pretty close tastewise. Made the white sauce thick , added the minced cooked chicken and some of the spices. No cayenne. Rolled into cylinders, bread crumbs and fried up. Served with mashed potatoes and homemade chicken gravy with homemade peasant bread. That will do.