Chicken Croquettes

Chicken Croquettes

Not to be confused with croquet, which I do enjoy playing, these chicken croquettes are pretty tasty!  Here I am playing croquet in my backyard. My decolletage helps me to “crunch up” my opponents and “hit away.” (I looked up croquet jargon.  I was surprised at all that I didn’t know.)

croquet

The cousins played a lot of croquet back in the day at my grandparents house but about the only terminology we heard was my grandpa cussing at us because we left the wickets (hoops) out in the grass and he ran over them with his lawnmower.  I’m sure it was pretty jarring to him but we figured it just added to the fun because he would then hide our croquet set and we got to go on a scavenger hunt of sorts to find it.  He may have been intimidating to some, but we were fearless and a bit oblivious in our youthful naivete.

We play croquet now but some of the fun is gone because the game stands forlornly in our garage and there is no challenge to find it.  Besides, if I leave the wickets out in the grass, I am now the one to run over them. Payback I guess for my lack of concern over my grandpa’s lawnmower lament.   My croquette recipe is delicious and a good comfort food for even the crabbiest of grandpas. I like it as a change from chicken salad.

Chicken Croquettes

1 cup milk

1 cup chicken broth

1 stick butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

salt to taste

4 cups chicken, chopped

Breading

1 cup milk (or more if needed)

2 eggs

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 cups breadcrumbs (or more if needed)

Salad oil for frying

Chicken Gravy

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy pot, heat the milk and chicken stock on the stove. In a separate heavy pot, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and seasonings and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the hot milk and stock and stir until thickened and smooth. Fold in the chicken and allow to cool.

Use a medium scoop to make balls with the chicken. Next make an egg wash from the milk, eggs and salt. Dip the croquettes in the egg wash and then into the breadcrumbs and let stand a few minutes. For a thicker coating repeat the egg and breadcrumb steps.  Fry in oil heated to 350 degrees until golden brown, 2-3 minutes.  Drain well and blot on paper towels.  Serve with gravy.

For the chicken gravy: Melt the butter in a 1- or 2-quart saucepan, and stir in the flour. Pour in the stock and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 20 minutes. Add the parsley, pepper and salt, to taste. Serve with mashed potatoes.

A quick how to:

Melt the butter and add the flour.

1

Add the milk, broth and seasonings.

2

Allow to cool.  Scoop in uniform balls.

3

Dip and fry.

4

Don’t crowd the pan.

5 6

Delicious hot out of the pan.

7

I forgot to photograph the gravy.  I guess I was too excited that they held together and browned evenly.

8

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

2 Responses to Chicken Croquettes

  1. Merry Carol January 4, 2016 at 8:36 pm #

    Did the thrill of the croquettes holding together equal the thrill of finding the hidden croquet set? or the thrill of one-upping grandpa?

    • Julie January 4, 2016 at 8:43 pm #

      That’s a tough question. Grandpa was a memorable fella!

Leave a Reply

three × 3 =