Recipe for stew croquettes
Today we are going to make croquettes with the leftover meat from the stew, preparing a delicious homemade bechamel sauce, very simple but with a lot of flavor.
Ingredients
- 250 g leftover meat from the stew
- 75 g Flour
- 500 ml Milk
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Pinch Nutmeg
- 1 Pinch Pepper
- Salt (to taste)
For the breading
- 70 g Breadcrumbs
- 2 Eggs
Instructions
We will begin by preparing the dough for the stew croquettes.
- We are going to begin chopping the meat very well (some people, once they have the croquettes dough, grind it all together, but I prefer that the pieces of meat are noticeable, but well chopped). Once chopped, set aside.
- In a large frying pan, we are going to pour a teaspoon of butter and let it melt.
- Once it has melted, lower the heat to medium and add the flour. Stir well so that it does not burn, and be very careful not to burn it.As soon as it starts to turn golden brown (if it is not well done, it will taste like raw flour), add the milk, which we have previously heated in the microwave. This way we avoid lumps.
- We are going to add the milk very slowly, little by little and always stirring while we pour it into the pan. From this point on, we will not stop stirring gently until we finish.
- Here it will begin to thicken. If you see that it is too thick add more milk (it is better to have to rectify milk than flour, because if you have to thicken now with flour, this will be raw when pouring it in the milk and not having toasted it in the pan, although I have to say that sometimes it has happened to me, and for a little bit of flour that you add later to correct it, there is no difference).Add salt, nutmeg and pepper. Taste it to check the flavor and if necessary, rectify.
- When you see that it begins to thicken, but still has about a minute left to thicken to your liking, add the meat of the stew, and continue stirring. This way, at the end it will cook with the meat and will release much more flavor over the bechamel.
- When it has the desired texture, turn the dough into a deep dish, without protruding, and let it cool. Cover with a kitchen towel, and once it is cold, put it in the refrigerator until the next day.
We are going to make the croquettes.
- The next day, when the dough has rested well, we will begin to assemble the croquettes. Prepare a deep dish with a couple of beaten eggs with a pinch of salt, and a flat dish with the breadcrumbs.
- To shape the croquettes: I make them with two spoons, I leave a video so you can see how. It seems a bit complicated but by the second croquette you have got the hang of it.
- As you shape them, dip them in the egg, so that they are well soaked, and then in the breadcrumbs to coat them in breadcrumbs. Once here you can freeze them or fry them.If you are going to fry them, put a frying pan with plenty of oil, and when it is very hot start frying them in batches. Until they are well browned.And now you have your stew meat croquettes ready!
Notes
NOTE: the quantities are approximate, since it will depend on the meat you have left over, as well as on how creamy you want to make the croquette dough.
For example, I make a lot of bechamel sauce. I divide it in two batches because I usually have a lot of meat left over, and with the pan full of bechamel sauce I can't add the meat to mix it, so once I have made the bechamel sauce, I remove half of it, add half of the meat to the pan and cook it all together.
Then repeat with the other half of the bechamel sauce and the rest of the meat.
On the other hand, as I consider this dish a bit cumbersome to make, when I make it I like to make enough to keep in the freezer and have homemade croquettes for a while.
Besides, I like to make the bechamel sauce by eye, since it looks very good when it has the texture we are interested in.
NOTE 2: The milk for the bechamel add it warm, so you will avoid lumps.
NOTE 3: Once you have your croquettes ready, you can freeze them. To do this, put them in trays, leaving a small gap between them so that they do not stick. Cover with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. When they are frozen, you can remove them from the trays and store them in freezer bags, so they will take up less space.
For example, I make a lot of bechamel sauce. I divide it in two batches because I usually have a lot of meat left over, and with the pan full of bechamel sauce I can't add the meat to mix it, so once I have made the bechamel sauce, I remove half of it, add half of the meat to the pan and cook it all together.
Then repeat with the other half of the bechamel sauce and the rest of the meat.
On the other hand, as I consider this dish a bit cumbersome to make, when I make it I like to make enough to keep in the freezer and have homemade croquettes for a while.
Besides, I like to make the bechamel sauce by eye, since it looks very good when it has the texture we are interested in.
NOTE 2: The milk for the bechamel add it warm, so you will avoid lumps.
NOTE 3: Once you have your croquettes ready, you can freeze them. To do this, put them in trays, leaving a small gap between them so that they do not stick. Cover with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. When they are frozen, you can remove them from the trays and store them in freezer bags, so they will take up less space.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!