This is a recipe that my mother-in-law makes for my husband, Mike, every time we come to visit. It is his comfort food. She will make this using left-over Thanksgiving turkey or canned chicken. If you have a food processor or the Tupperware Ultimo Smart Chopper, it makes getting the right consistency on the meat a snap.
I don’t have the time to make this in one day. So what I’ve done is get to the part where you are refrigerating for the second time – after it’s been formed into balls – and then I just leave that overnight. Frying the next day takes almost no time. I think she got this original recipe from an old Betty Crocker cookbook but she’s changed a few things over the years.
Ingredients:
1 cup of Thick White sauce (for mixing with chicken or turkey)
2 cups of ground or finely shredded chicken (canned chicken or leftover turkey work great)
1 TBS of minced onion
1 Tsp of snipped parsley (optional)
salt and pepper
1 egg
2 TBS of water
1/4 cup of dry bread crumbs
Veloute sauce (to spoon over the top of the croquettes)
Serve peas on the side.
Prepare Thick White sauce, stir in meat 1TBS minced onion and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture in an ungreased square pan, 8x8x2. Cover and chill 2 to 3 hours.
Divide into 12 equal parts and shape into balls. Beat egg and water until blended. Dip each ball into egg mixture, then roll into bread crumbs till completely coated. Flatten slightly to make disks, but keep them tightly packed. Cover croquettes and chill at least 2 hours.
Fry croquettes in butter. –This is the South, people, use butter for frying this dish. I started to fry this in avocado oil and realized quickly this is not a dish for trying to be healthy. Fry a couple minutes until light brown, remove and keep warm in a 350-degree oven until ready to serve.
Serve with a side of peas and the Veloute Sauce on top.
Thick White Sauce
For each cup sauce
1/4 cup of butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup milk
Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat, stir in milk. Heat to boiling stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Sauce will thicken.
Veloute Sauce
2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1 cup of chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour cook over low heat stirring until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat stir in broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly, boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in seasonings.
RachaelStanley.com 