Chicken Croquettes
I made this couple of days before on a cold rainy rainy day along with hot and sour chicken soup for dinner. Can you imagine how comforting it was. I had a steaming hot bowl of the soup and lots of croquettes. This is perfect for parties or any get togethers, Because it it so easy to make and a batch of croquettes yields lots of this tiny morsels.
About Chicken Croquettes
A croquette is a small cylinder shaped mixture made with chicken, vegetables, prawns or potatoes. This recipe is a french origin and is loved and enjoyed all over the world. The mixture is made with a thick béchamel or brown sauce, or mashed potatoes. Typical fillings include finely chopped meat, seafood, cheese, rice, pasta, or various vegetables as well as seasonings such as spices, herbs, and mushrooms. Croquettes are usually served as a side dish, a snack, or fast food. This recipe for croquettes is made with chicken. But I have few other flavour of croquettes on the blog like corn cheese croquettes, potato croquettes, spinach croquettes and vegetable croquettes. There is a version of Sweet croquettes may use a pastry cream binder and be filled with fruit. Croquettes may also be formed in other shapes as well like disks, ovals or balls. This croquette is made with chicken. If you have leftover rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken, then you can make this in a matter of minutes. I made these to my taste with onions, chillies, ginger and garlic. But traditional croquettes is made with thick béchamel sauce and cooked chicken alone.
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Watch Chicken Croquettes Video
Chicken Croquettes Ingredients
Chicken - cooked chicken is used in making croquettes. I used leftover grilled chicken, but you can use rotisserie chicken or boiled chicken which is cut into small pieces of shredded in a blender. Butter - butter is essential for the flavour and to create the roux for the filling. You can easily use olive oil instead of butter. Flour - you need some kind of flour to make the béchamel sauce. You can use plain flour (all purpose flour) or wheat flour. Spices - Any spices like dried herbs, chilli powder, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder can be used. Vegetables - along with chicken you can use chopped mushrooms, corn or any veggies that you prefer. But I added some chopped onions, capsicum, ginger and garlic. Optional - shredded cheese can be mixed into the croquettes for a cheesy flavour. For Breading - breading includes plain flour, egg, breadcrumbs. The basic breading station. I added some Indian touch to the traditional chicken croquettes with some ginger and garlic paste and green chillies. You could add any herbs or spice powders as you wish. My favourite will be oregano or rosemary. The cool thing about this dish is you could make a ton of this until bread crumbs coating and freeze the whole lot in freezer containers. So you can make it whenever you want. Isn’t that cool.
How to Make Croquettes Better
This croquette is made with chicken. If you have leftover rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken, then you can make this in a matter of minutes. I made these to my taste with onions, chillies, ginger and garlic. But traditional croquettes is made with thick béchamel sauce and cooked chicken alone. The filling usually starts by sautéing onions, herbs in butter. Then a good amount of plain flour is added into the butter. Stir fry the flour in the butter for few minutes. Pour in milk and cook the mixture till it thickens. Now you can add in cooked chicken or cooked vegetables. This is your croquette mixture. This recipe for croquettes is made with chicken. But I have few other flavour of croquettes on the blog like corn cheese croquettes, potato croquettes, spinach croquettes and vegetable croquettes.
Breading Station for Croquettes
Croquettes gets it name because of the cylindrical shape. Take small portion of the chicken mixture and shape it into cylinder like shape. Now you can prepare the breading station for the croquettes which include flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Use a shallow tray or any plate for the ingredients. Make sure you have your station ready before you start shaping the croquettes. Now take small portions out this and shape into oval shape or your favourite shape. Now dip the croquettes into flour, then in egg and lastly in breadcrumbs. Continue doing this till the entire mixture gets over. Shaped croquettes can be kept in fridge for 2 days and in freezer for a month.
How to Make Chicken Croquettes (Stepwise Pictures)
Sauteing Onions & Peppers
1)For this recipe you will be needing cooked chicken. You can use boiled shredded chicken or leftover rotiserrie chicken. I like to use cooked chicken which I blend in a food processor till it is fine shreds. We are going to make the chicken filling first. Heat butter in a pot. If you don’t want to use butter, you can use olive oil. 2)Add in finely chopped onions. Onions adds a sweetness to the croquettes. You can use chopped spring onions instead of onions. 3)Add in chopped capsicum or bell peppers. Make sure to chop them really fine. So it cooks till soft and evenly mix with the croquette mixture. Pro Tip - you can add in finely chopped carrots, green beans, mushrooms, sweet corn at this point. 4)Add in finely chopped green or red chillies. This is optional, you can skip this if you are making this for kids. 5)Saute the mixture for 2 minutes till it softens.
Ginger & Garlic
6)Add in ginger garlic paste. You can use grated ginger and garlic at this point. 7)Add in salt and black pepper to taste. 8)Cook this mixture for 2 minutes till the raw smell of the ginger and garlic is gone. 9)Now I added some finely chopped coriander leaves and some chilli powder which is optional. 10)Mix this ingredients really well so the raw smell leaves.
Making Croquette Mixture
11)Now add in flour. You can use plain flour or all purpose flour. But I used wheat flour for a healthy option.
12)Once the flour is added in, stir fry the flour with the vegetables for at least 5 minutes till the raw smell leaves. You can add more butter or oil if you want.
Stir fry the flour till it starts to smell nutty.
13)Now pour in milk and mix well. As soon as you add the milk, it will start to thicken.
14)Now add in cooked chicken. I used leftover rotisserie chicken. You can add boiled shredded chicken.
I like to use cooked chicken which I blend in a food processor till it is fine shreds.
15)Mix the ingredients together and cook till the mixture gets thick like this. It should form into a mass.
Shaping Croquettes
16)Once the mixture gets cool enough to handle. I used a mini ice cream scoop to divide the mixture into equal portions. Take a scoop of the mixture. 17)Shape it into ball and then roll into croquette shape. 18)All done.
Breading Station
19)Use a shallow tray or any plate for the ingredients. Make sure you have your station ready before you start shaping the croquettes. Now dip the croquettes into flour. I used plain flour for this. 20)I coated all the croquettes lightly with flour. 21) Take the shaped croquettes, dip them in egg and lastly in breadcrumbs. Continue doing this till the entire mixture gets over. 22)Shaped croquettes can be kept in fridge for 2 days and in freezer for a month.
Frying Croquettes
23)Drop the croquettes in hot oil and fry for 2 to 3minutes till it get crispy. 24)Don’t fry in hot oil, always cook croquettes in medium hot oil. So it can get deep golden colour. 25)Strain the croquettes using a slotted spoon and place it onto some paper towel to absorb the excess oil. 26)Serve croquettes with ketchup.
Expert Tips
You can add any chopped vegetables like carrots, beans, mushrooms, corn, spinach in the filling. Instead of butter, you can use olive oil. I used wheat flour in the filling, you can use plain flour for better texture. Boiled chicken, cooked leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken can be used in this recipe. Make sure you chop them finely.
Storage
Filling can be made a day ahead and stored in fridge. You can shape the croquettes, coat them in egg and breadcrumbs. Take them in a baking tray and place in a freezer. Once frozen, you can collect them in a ziploc bag and keep them frozen upto a month. Shaped, coated croquettes can be kept in fridge upto 2 to 3 days and fried when needed.
Variations & Flavours
1)Potato Croquettes
if you have kids around then you can make this for them and they will love it for sure. You can even add a piece of cheese cube in the centre of the croquettes and then coat them in the other stuff, this makes them so cheesy and delicious.
2)Spinach Cheese Croquettes
This version is my favourite of all croquettes i ever made. Hubby who is fussy about cheese loved it so much, the spinach and cheese just tasted yummy together.
3)Corn cheese Croquettes
This one i made and served it with a cup of tea. You don’t need any dipping sauce for it, but tomato ketchup or sweet chilli sauce or my garlic sauce taste fantastic with this. And this is great for kids who love sweet corn so much.They will love it for sure.
4)Vegetable Croquettes
This vegetable croquettes is a perfect way to sneak in vegetables in your kids diet.
More Chicken Recipes to Try
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