Tricks to make the perfect croquette

The croquettes and especially our chicken croquettes are a dish that is not usually missing in any kitchen, whether it is a tapas bar or a restaurant where haute cuisine is practiced. And is that the croquette, creamy interior and crunchy exterior, falls in love with everyone. In Cocina Casera, you can find it with many fillings, made with all kinds of ingredients, among which we highlight our hake croquettes (includes video), the ham croquettes (my favorite), the chicken croquettes, and our falafel. Although this is a simple dish, there are a number of aspects to keep in mind if we want to be successful, so today we share some tricks to make the perfect croquette.

• Bechamel.

  
  The key point in the preparation of the bechamel is to add the flour to the butter once it has melted. We will cook the flour a little so that it is not raw, but carefully so that it does not burn either. It is very important that, while we make the bechamel, we do not stop stirring at any time, because it is the only way to obtain a lump-free dough.

• Mass

  
  When preparing the dough, we must look for the balance between creaminess and hardness. The more creamy the croquettes are, the richer they are, the problem is that if they do not have a certain consistency, and, consequently, less creaminess, it will be hard to give them shape. To achieve that balance, we can add the milk little by little, until we obtain the texture that we like the most.

• The rest

  
  If it is important to pay attention to the point of the mass, it is so important to give it, a ready view, an adequate block rest. But it is not enough with a small rest of half an hour, ideally, if we want to obtain a good result, it is that the rest is carried out from one day to another.

• More rest

  
  Once we have formed and rebozado our croquettes, it is advisable to let them rest another 30 minutes before frying, in this way, the breadcrumbs will dry and our croquettes will be more crispy.

• Breaded

  
  It is not necessary to coat the croquettes in several layers of bread crumbs, with one layer is more than enough. The reason why the croquettes are cracked is not because they have little bread crumbs, but because the oil is not hot enough, or the dough is too liquid, or the croquettes are too cold, which causes a shock heat between hot oil and cold croquettes.

• A good oil

  
  Choose a good oil in which to fry the croquettes. Do not think that any oil is valid. The best is the olive, because, as we told you in our article "The dangers of reusing the oil", is the one that best resists the high temperatures that occur during the frying process. Do not throw away all the work to make use of any oil.

• The fry

  
  Croquettes should be fried in a good oil that is hot. In addition, we will fry them in batches so that there is not a very sharp drop in the temperature of the oil, which would cause the croquettes to absorb a large amount of it.

• Excess oil

  
  When finishing the frying, we will put the croquettes on absorbent paper to remove the excess oil.