Croquetas de Jamon (Ham Croquettes)

Prep time

1 hour 30 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

Croquetas de Jamon (Ham Croquettes) are a very popular Cuban snack that we usually make with some of the leftover ham after a family dinner. You can also enjoy them as a meal by pairing them with some hearty soup or rice and beans.

Author: Danny Gutierrez

Recipe type: Appetizers & Tapas

Cuisine: Cuban

Serves: 2 dozen

Ingredients

Filling

1 lb of Ham, ground
½ cup Onion, minced
1 cup Vigo Bread Crumbs
¼ cup Flour, sifted
4 tbsp Butter
1½ cups Milk
1 tbs Sherry Cooking Wine
1 tsp Parsley, dried
⅛ tsp Oregano, dried
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Black Pepper
⅛ tsp Garlic Powder

Breading and frying

2 Eggs
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Black Pepper
1 cup Vigo Bread Crumbs
¼ cup Flour, sifted
2 cup Vegetable Oil, for frying

Instructions

Mise en place for filling

Grind ham in a food processor or meat grinder.
Mince onions.
Portion bread crumbs, flour, salt, pepper, parsley, garlic powder, oregano, butter, milk, sherry.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, parsley, garlic powder, oregano and mix well.

Filling

In a large skillet, lightly saute onion in butter over medium high heat for about 1 minute.
Lower the heat to medium low.
Add the flour mixture to the skillet and mix well.
Add in the milk stirring constantly. Cook about 1½ - 2 minutes.
Add the ground ham and sherry to the skillet and mix well.
Add the bread crumbs to the skillet and mix until the ingredients come together as a dough. If dough gets too thick, you can add a little water (a bit at a time) to reach desired consistency. Remove from heat when desired consistency as been obtained.
Let the dough mixture (masa) come to room temperature.
After reaching room temperature... Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Mise en place for breading and frying

Whisk eggs with salt and pepper in a bowl.
Mix flour with bread crumbs in a separate bowl or plate.
Remove masa from the refrigerator.

Form croquetas and bread them

Take about 1½ - 2 tbsp of dough mixture (masa) and form the croquetas into long cylinders with rounded ends and place on a plate.
One by one... Dip croquetas in egg wash and then transfer them to bread crumb mixture to cover them completely. Lastly, transfer to a plate till ready to fry.

Frying

Preheat oil to about 350º F.
Fry the croquetas until golden brown.
Remove from oil and let them drain on paper towels.
Serve hot.

Notes

Inspired by the Croquetas my Abuela Mima used to make.

These croquetas can be frozen and enjoyed at a later date. Just thaw them completely before frying.

Last updated: 1/25/22