Cuban Ham Croquettes (Croquetas de Jamon)

by Doug Hartill | Dec 1, 2018 | Recipes

HEY MAN, YOU KNOW I’M HALF CUBAN RIGHT?

You should see the looks I get.  I am probably one of the whitest Latinos you have ever seen.  I guess my 1/4 Irish and 1/4 English heritage won out on the looks department.  THAT BEING SAID…Let us take a look at one of the staple appetizers in the Cuban household.

HAM CROQUETTES

They can be served with anything for any occasion.  Being that they take a long time to make, it isn’t something that you can whip up in a few minutes.  You need to plan to make them.

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Cuban Ham Croquettes

A classic Cuban appetizer that is a staple for any Cuban dish or party.

Course

Appetizer

Cuisine

Cuban

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

Passive Time

3-4 hours

Servings

Croquettes

Ingredients

Croquettes

• 2 cups Ham Minced
• 1 tsp Onion MInced
• 4 tbsp Butter
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp white wine dry
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 cups cracker meal

Dipping Sauce

• 1 cup mayonaise
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 4 slices pickled jalapenos diced fine
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

Course Appetizer Cuisine Cuban Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 15 minutes Passive Time 3-4 hours Servings Croquettes Ingredients Croquettes 2 cups Ham Minced 1 tsp Onion MInced 4 tbsp Butter 1 cup milk 3/4 cup flour 1 tsp white wine dry 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 2 cups cracker meal Dipping Sauce 1 cup mayonaise 3 cloves garlic 2 tsp lime juice 4 slices pickled jalapenos diced fine 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

Directions

1. Throw the ham in a blender or food processor. Keep going until you get a total of 2 cups of pureed ham.
2. Combine milk, flour, salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a 2 qt. pot and saute onions over medium heat until translucent.
4. Add the milk mixture and stir constantly over med-hi heat until the mixture begins to thicken into a dough-like consistency.
5. Remove from the heat, add the minced ham to the mixture and combined until it is thoroughly mixed.
6. At this stage, you will want to transfer the “masa” to a bowl and put in the fridge to chill for several hours or put in the freezer until the masa is firm but not frozen.
7. When the masa is firm enough, take a tablespoon of meat in your hands and roll it like a small hot dog and continue until you’ve made approximately 16 croquettes. If you make them small/party size, you’ll end up with roughly 30-35 of them. Place the croquettes in a container that will fit in your freezer, using a sheet of wax paper in between the stacks.

Breading and Frying

1. Beat the two eggs and spread the cracker meal on a plate or shallow surface. Dip croquettes in the egg, then cracker meal, twice.
2. Heat the oil in a pan or deep fryer to 375 degrees. Fry croquettes until golden brown. Transfer from pan to paper towels, to soak up excess oil.
3. Enjoy!

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