Chef Juliette
Abatis aux Navets
Glazed turnips, pearl onions, and tender poultry giblets settle into a pale, glossy sauce, with crisp-edged salt pork lending depth: a thrifty braise whose whole success rests on cooking the flour first.
Culinary Explorer
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Chicken Croquettes and Cutlets
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1664a, Chicken Croquettes and Cutlets, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Cold paste is the whole discipline: chicken, mushroom, tongue, and truffle bound in reduced Allemande, shaped two ways, sealed in fine crumbs, and fried until crisp outside and creamy within.
Appetizers & Snacks
French
Dinner Party
Budget Friendly
Make Ahead
45 min
Active Time
30 min cook•4 hr 30 min total
Yield4 appetizer servings (about 10 pieces)
Croquettes et côtelettes de volaille (chicken croquettes and cutlets) teach the discipline of a properly bound filling. The chicken, mushroom, tongue, and truffle must remain distinct inside a reduced Allemande that holds them together without swallowing them. Cold paste is the one true thing to know before you touch the frying pan: if the filling isn't firm, the crumb coat cannot protect it.
The original kitchen assumed a saucier with finished Allemande at hand, a stockpot never cold, another pair of hands for shaping, cutlet moulds, and an open kettle of fat. Here the professional mixture is halved without disturbing its proportions, giving ten proper two-ounce pieces. A small batch of finished Allemande, a broad pan, your hands, and a thermometer are the honest home equivalents. The moulds and napkin under the finished croquettes were service scaffolding and can go; the reduction, yolk binding, hard chilling, fine crumb, and separate sauce are the dish and must stay.
Fried correctly, each piece wears a close golden shell that gives under the teeth to a creamy, finely diced centre. Shape them only when the paste is cold enough to lift cleanly from the tray. If it smears, stop and chill it again. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Croquettes and cutlet-shaped preparations belong to the cuisine classique of Parisian kitchens and bourgeois dining rooms, where cooked poultry could be transformed through sauce work rather than merely reheated. Croquette comes from croquer, to crunch, while the cutlet in this preparation is not a cut of meat at all, only the shape given to the same bound paste. The luxurious tongue and truffle show how a thrifty household method traveled into grand service without losing its original purpose: enclosing tender remnants beneath a crisp coat.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
poached or roast chicken meat
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 225 g)
skin, cartilage, and bones removed; cut into 5 mm dice
cooked mushrooms
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 85 g)
cut into 5 mm dice
cooked salted ox tongue or York ham
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 85 g)
cut into 5 mm dice
cooked or preserved black truffle
Quantity
⅓ cup (80 ml / 55 g)
drained and cut into 5 mm dice
very reduced and finished Sauce Allemande
Quantity
⅔ cup (140 ml / 145 g)
large egg yolks
Quantity
2
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
melted, for the tray and filling surface
plain flour
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 30 g)
for the shaping board
large eggs
Quantity
2
for the anglaise
neutral oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
for the anglaise
fine salt
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g)
for the anglaise
fine dry breadcrumbs
Quantity
2 cups (480 ml / 180 g)
neutral frying oil
Quantity
6 cups (1.5 litres / 1.38 kg)
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
1 loosely packed cup (240 ml / 30 g)
large stems removed and leaves thoroughly dried
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| poached or roast chicken meatskin, cartilage, and bones removed; cut into 5 mm dice | 1½ cups (360 ml / 225 g) |
| cooked mushroomscut into 5 mm dice | ½ cup (120 ml / 85 g) |
| cooked salted ox tongue or York hamcut into 5 mm dice | ½ cup (120 ml / 85 g) |
| cooked or preserved black truffledrained and cut into 5 mm dice | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 55 g) |
| very reduced and finished Sauce Allemande | ⅔ cup (140 ml / 145 g) |
| large egg yolks | 2 |
| unsalted buttermelted, for the tray and filling surface | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| plain flourfor the shaping board | ¼ cup (60 ml / 30 g) |
| large eggsfor the anglaise | 2 |
| neutral oilfor the anglaise | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| fine saltfor the anglaise | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g) |
| fine dry breadcrumbs | 2 cups (480 ml / 180 g) |
| neutral frying oil | 6 cups (1.5 litres / 1.38 kg) |
| flat-leaf parsleylarge stems removed and leaves thoroughly dried | 1 loosely packed cup (240 ml / 30 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Broad 25 cm sauté pan
- •Shallow 20 cm tray or quarter-sheet pan
- •Kitchen scale
- •Bench scraper
- •Deep 4 litre heavy saucepan
- •Deep-frying thermometer
- •Wire cooling rack
Instructions
- 1
Cut the filling
Weigh the chicken only after removing every scrap of skin, bone, and cartilage. Cut it, the mushrooms, the tongue or ham, and the truffle into regular 5 mm dice. Keep the pieces distinct rather than mincing them; the finished centre should show each constituent when cut, not collapse into a paste.
Cold ingredients cut more cleanly. Chill the chicken, mushrooms, tongue, and truffle before dicing, then use a sharp knife and a ruler for the first few cuts. - 2
Dry the mixture
Put the diced chicken, mushrooms, tongue or ham, and truffle in a broad sauté pan. Fold in the very reduced and finished Sauce Allemande, then cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring and turning the mixture so nothing catches. This is the old instruction to dry the preparation over an open fire, translated to a home burner. It is ready when a spatula leaves a clean trail across the pan and the mixture gathers into a mound instead of flowing back.
- 3
Bind with yolks
Remove the pan completely from the heat and wait 30 seconds. Beat the yolks briefly, pour them over the mixture, and stir quickly until the filling thickens and shines. Do not return it to a boil, which would turn the yolks grainy. If the mixture still spreads like sauce, keep stirring off the heat for a minute before judging it; the yolks and the coming chill both add body.
- 4
Chill until hard
Brush a shallow tray with half the melted butter and spread the filling about 1.5 cm thick. Brush the exposed surface lightly with the remaining butter so no crust forms. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and continue chilling for at least 3 hours, or overnight, until the paste lifts in firm pieces. If it still bends and smears when fully cold, ça se rattrape: scrape it back into the pan, dry it over the lowest heat until it holds a clean trail, then spread and chill it again. Don't add breadcrumbs to the filling; they would dull the sauce.
- 5
Portion and shape
Dust the work surface lightly with flour. Divide the cold paste into ten portions of about 2 ounces (55 g) each. Shape five into short corks or neat rectangles for the croquettes, then flatten the other five into oval cutlet shapes with one end slightly narrowed. No mould is required; cupped hands and a bench scraper do the work perfectly well. Return any piece that softens to the refrigerator before coating.
- 6
Apply the anglaise
Make the anglaise (beaten egg, oil, and seasoning) by whisking the whole eggs with the neutral oil and salt until completely fluid. Dip each shaped piece into the anglaise, let the excess fall away, then roll it in the fine breadcrumbs. Press gently so the coat meets every edge, and give each piece its final clean shape. Chill the coated pieces for 20 to 30 minutes; this short rest sets the coating and keeps it sealed in the fat.
- 7
Fry a test
Pour the frying oil into a deep, heavy saucepan, leaving the pan no more than half full, and heat it to 180°C (355°F). Fry one croquette first. It should bubble briskly, turn evenly golden, and reach a hot centre in 3 to 4 minutes. If it leaks, stop before frying the rest. Recoat any visible seams, chill the pieces hard again, and return the oil to temperature. Ça se rattrape. Warm paste and cool fat are the usual culprits.
- 8
Fry and drain
Fry the remaining croquettes and cutlets in small batches, allowing the oil to recover to 180°C (355°F) between them. The thinner cutlets may need only 2½ to 3 minutes, while the cork-shaped croquettes need 3 to 4. Lift them when the crumbs are deep butter-gold and crisp, then drain on a wire rack rather than paper, which traps moisture against the underside.
- 9
Finish with parsley
With the parsley completely dry, lower it carefully into the hot oil for 10 to 15 seconds, shielding your hand from any splatter. Lift it as soon as it turns crisp and a shade darker, then drain and salt it lightly. Arrange the croquettes and cutlets in a crown on a warm platter with the fried parsley in the middle. Serve Tomato Sauce or Sauce Périgueux separately in a sauceboat, never poured over the crisp coating. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Roast and poached chicken both belong here. What matters is dryness: wet meat loosens the Allemande and makes the filling difficult to shape. Weigh the chicken after trimming it.
- •Salted ox tongue gives the filling its deepest savour. York ham is the source's proper alternative, but choose a firm cooked ham without a sweet glaze or heavy smoke.
- •Fresh black truffle is splendid when its season and your purse agree. A good whole preserved truffle is the honest classical-pantry answer at other times; drain it well and keep the full quantity.
- •Serve the accompaniment separately. Tomato Sauce gives acidity and colour, while Sauce Périgueux repeats the truffle note. A purée of peas, French beans, or a jardinière can turn the platter into a fuller first course.
Advance Preparation
- •The bound filling can be spread, buttered, covered once cold, and refrigerated for up to 2 days before shaping.
- •The croquettes and cutlets can be shaped, coated, and chilled up to 24 hours ahead. Keep them in a single layer and fry directly from the refrigerator.
- •Fry the parsley only when the croquettes are ready to serve. It loses its crispness if held.
- •Finished croquettes are best from the fat, but they can wait for 10 minutes on a rack in a 120°C (250°F) oven while the final batches cook.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 215g)
Calories
605 calories
Total Fat
40 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
29 g
Cholesterol
240 mg
Sodium
800 mg
Total Carbohydrates
27 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
33 g
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