Gc #43 Chicken Croquettes

 

 

 

 

The most cost effective way to eat chicken.  Buy a whole bird, cut it up, take the meat off the bones and use the bones for soup. I toss the wings in with the stock and, if I can get them, I add a few chicken feet.  You can find my recipe in Blog #1.

It’s easy to find appealing recipes for the breasts.

The meat cut off the thighs and legs is more problematic. One good way of using the leg and thigh meat is to grind it up and make it into garlic/ginger balls for chicken soup.  See my recipe at Blog #1.

 Chicken croquettes, made from raw chicken meat, will be more popular with your kids and friends than any fast food nuggets.  They are a bit more work than my chicken balls, but you can prepare them up to the cooking stage on a week-end and freeze them, for a quick, easy meal during the week.

I adopted this recipe by Maria Teresa Jorge. Check out her terrific blog at http://food52.com/users/2390-maria-teresa-jorge.

Ingredients for Chicken Croquettes     

Chicken Croquette Ingredients

 1
 pound chicken meat, raw, boneless and without skin
  2 
tablespoons chopped parsley
  1
 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
   3 
small shallots chopped finely
   1
 garlic clove
   3
 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
   2
 teaspoons granulated Mustard
    1
 cup bread without the crust
                  1/4
 cup whole milk
                  1/2
 cup bread crumbs
                  1 
egg whole
Salt
Pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

1. Chop the shallots  and garlic finely.
2. Sauté shallots and garlic in olive oil until translucent
3. Cut the inside of the bread (without the crust) in small pieces and measure 1 cup. Mix with the milk until it is totally absorbed.
4. Cut the chicken meat in small pieces. In a food processor pulse the chicken meat until is ground. Add the mustard, bread with milk, chopped parsley, shallots and garlic, and grated fresh ginger. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Pulse until combined. At this point you cab put them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
5. Beat 1 whole egg in a bowl. Put the breadcrumbs in a plate. Make the croquettes taking some chicken mince and giving them a shape of a cylinder 1 1/2 inches ling by 3/4 inches thick.
6. Roll the croquettes in the egg and then in the bread crumbs. At this point you also can chill them and wait until serving time, or freeze them in a tray and when frozen put them in a plastic bag for use later.
7. Heat the oil to medium temperature (the oil should be deep enough to come to half the height of the croquettes). Fry the croquettes slowly as you need to make sure the inside is well cooked. When golden on one side turn them over and continue frying until golden on the other side.
8. Remove from the oil and put on kitchen paper towel to absorb excess oil.

The croquettes can also be serve at room temperature for a picnic or made smaller (half the size) and served as finger food.