Croquetas de Jamón Madrileñas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy saucepan or saute pan
• •Flat wooden spoon or silicone spatula
• •Shallow dish for chilling the bechamel
• •Deep pan or fryer
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Wire rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Soften the onion

   Melt the butter with the olive oil in a wide heavy pan over low heat. Add the minced onion and cook it gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft and translucent but not browned. This is a quiet base, not a sofrito taken dark; the croqueta wants sweetness without color.

2. 2

   Cook the flour

   Add the 90g flour and stir constantly for 3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan. It should smell nutty and no longer raw, but stay pale. This little roux is the spine of the croqueta, so don't leave dry flour hiding in the corners.

   A flat wooden spoon or silicone spatula is better than a whisk once the paste thickens; it reaches the edges of the pan where flour likes to cling.
3. 3

   Build the bechamel

   Add the warm milk a ladleful at a time, stirring hard after each addition until the paste turns smooth before you add the next. When all the milk is in, season with nutmeg, pepper, and the measured salt. Keep cooking over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring all the time, until the bechamel is very thick and pulls cleanly from the sides and base of the pan.

4. 4

   Add the jamón

   Stir in the chopped jamón and cook for 1 minute more, just long enough for its fat to perfume the bechamel. Taste before adding any more salt; jamón carries its own. The mixture should be thick enough that a spoon dragged through it leaves a clear track for a moment.

5. 5

   Chill the dough

   Scrape the bechamel into a shallow dish, smooth the top, and press baking paper or plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight if you can. Cold dough shapes cleanly; warm dough teaches patience the messy way. Nadie nace sabiendo.

6. 6

   Shape and bread

   Set out three bowls: 60g flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs. With lightly oiled hands or two spoons, shape the cold dough into 24 small logs, about 30g each. Roll each one in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, coating every seam. For a sturdier crust, pass them through egg and breadcrumbs a second time.

7. 7

   Fry in batches

   Heat the frying oil to 180C in a deep pan. Fry 5 or 6 croquetas at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, turning gently, until evenly deep golden. Do not crowd the pan or the oil cools and the crust drinks grease before it sets.

8. 8

   Drain and serve

   Lift the croquetas onto a rack or paper towels and let them stand for 2 minutes before serving. The center will be very soft, which is the point. Serve them hot, with nothing more than a small glass of vermut or a cold beer beside them. Tal como se hace allí.

Chef Tips

• •Use jamón serrano with good flavor and a little fat. Jamón ibérico is lovely here, but don't waste the finest hand-cut slices inside bechamel; neat trimmings are exactly what a Spanish kitchen would use.
• •Prosciutto can stand in if jamón is impossible to find. It is softer and sweeter, so chop it very fine, reduce the salt, and expect a gentler cured flavor.
• •The bechamel must be thicker than a sauce. If it does not pull from the pan, keep cooking. A loose filling bursts in the oil, and then you have fried regret on a plate.
• •Freeze breaded croquetas on a tray, then bag them. Fry from frozen at 175C, adding a minute or two, and keep the batches small so the oil temperature recovers.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the bechamel dough up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator.
• •Shape and bread the croquetas up to 24 hours ahead, then refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes before covering so the crust stays dry.
• •Breaded croquetas can be frozen for up to 1 month and fried straight from frozen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)