Las croquetas son porciones pequeñas de una masa cremosa (generalmente hecha con bechamel, puré de patata o legumbres) mezclada con ingredientes troceados o desmenuzados (jamón, pollo, pescado, verduras, etc.), que se empanan y se fríen hasta quedar doradas y crujientes por fuera, manteniendo el interior cremoso.

Las croquetas de aprovechamiento son las que se hacen para aprovechar la carne que se utilizó previamente para elaborar un caldo. En este caso, el caldo era de carne de cerdo, ternera y pollo.

Vamos con la receta.

Estos son los ingredientes utilizados para hacer la masa: pollo, ternera, cerdo, cebolla, ajo, harina, leche, pimienta negra.

ENGLISH

Hello, greetings to everyone.

Croquettes are small portions of a creamy mixture (usually made with béchamel, mashed potatoes or legumes) mixed with chopped or shredded ingredients (ham, chicken, fish, vegetables, etc.), which are breaded and fried until golden and crispy on the outside while remaining creamy inside.

Leftover croquettes are those made to use up meat that was previously used to make broth. In this case, the broth was made with pork, beef and chicken.

Let's get to the recipe.

These are the ingredients used: chicken, beef, pork, onion, garlic, flour, milk, black pepper, egg and breadcrumbs.

First step is to clean the broth meat of bones and fat, then cut it into smaller pieces.

I finely chopped the garlic and onion and fried them in olive oil before adding the meat.

When the garlic and onion were golden, I added the meat and kept frying everything together until the meat dried out. The béchamel later adds the juicy touch. Once done, I removed the pan from the heat and started making the béchamel.

Given the large amount of meat available, I eyeballed the proportion of flour needed: twelve heaping tablespoons total, divided into four of whole wheat flour and eight of refined flour.

Although I didn't usually use whole wheat flour in my preparations, I recently heard a nutritionist doctor's recommendation about the benefits of consuming it. Since then, without completely replacing refined flour, I've chosen to include a small proportion of whole wheat when cooking.

In a pan, I added extra virgin olive oil and then the flour. I lightly sautéed the mixture to remove the raw flour taste. Not everyone does this but I prefer it this way. Plus it significantly reduces lumps when adding the milk later.

On low heat, I gradually added the milk while stirring until reaching the desired texture. I used about one liter of milk for the amount of flour I put in.

Once the desired texture was achieved, I removed the pan from the heat and added the meat, mixing all ingredients until uniform.

Since it was almost dinner time and I needed the mixture to cool to make the croquetas, I refrigerated it until next day. To prevent sticking to my hands and make it easier to work with, I rubbed a few drops of oil on my palms to handle it easily.

Once shaped, the next step was breading the croquetas: first in beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs. I spent quite some time preparing them and, though I didn't count, I estimate about 30-35 came out. Enough to enjoy for quite a while!

I stored most in food containers and put them in the freezer to enjoy little by little. I froze all except a few, because after all that work I couldn't resist trying some. I fried them in very hot olive oil as it should be done.

To crown my efforts, I enjoyed a nice cold beer in the best possible company while we savored those delicious homemade croquetas that had taken me so much work to prepare.

I hope you liked it and thank you for coming here.